Shae Fleming – Coordinator of the Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA)
Early in the formation of our organisation, we formed a strong bond with the @nominesclarencevalley Instagram. Through a series of back and forths we eventually found out the women behind the algorithms was Shae Fleming – the coordinator of the Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA).
We like to think of Shae as a real go-getter, who along with a bunch of local crew from the Clarence Valley have been pestering the government – namely John Barliaro, the deputy Premier – to reconsider their policies on proposed mines in the Clarence River Catchment.
The RTNR crew headed down to Clarence Gorge in May of this year to remind ourselves of the beauty, power and ecological significance of the upper Clarence catchment. Having visited the Gorge many times as children, we’d already built a strong relationship with the area teeming with the nostalgia of our early years. As fate would have it we unknowingly arrived as the CCA crew were leaving!
Shae’s been a busy woman of late – running the CCA’s social media, doing interviews for local television and creating content to tell stories of local farmers, fisherman and other industries that are threatened by the mine proposals. These are tales of people who need clean water – not only for economic survival but for life itself. Put simply; healthy rivers equal healthy people.
She kindly took the time to answer our questions. We spoke about her great-grandfather being the local baker in the Clarence Valley and the immense beauty of Birrinba itself. Shae also shed some light on the immense risks inherent from the proposed mines that threaten the health of one of the largest river systems on the Eastern Seaboard.
Hey Shae. Thanks so much for taking time our to chat with us. First off, what non-English names do we have for the river we call the Clarence?
There’s a number of names actually. As far as we are aware there are the following names from each language group that borders the river:
Biirrinba in Yaegl
Boorimbah in Bundjalung
Barrway or Bindarray meaning ‘Big River’ in Gumbaynggirr
When did your relationship with Biirrinba begin?
My Great Grandfather was the local baker on the Clarence River in Southgate, so my family has a long-established love for the Clarence. My real wow moment came to me when I was camping at Cangai with my mum. I had been splitting my time for years between Yamba and Sydney and had just left a very stressful corporate city job and mum had been very sick and dreamed of buying a van. So, we bought one and took it upriver for her first trip as she got better. Camping on the banks, the silence, in all that beauty, the healing energy, the continual flow, everything alive, you see life in its purest form. I found myself the calmest I’d ever been. I thought a lot about the traditional custodians that stood right where we were for millions of years of before us, I watched animals closely, painted, thought a lot, and truly soaked in Biirrinba. We stayed longer than first planned as it was just exactly where we needed to be to heal, and we acknowledged how grateful we were to call this home. It was pure serendipity as two weeks after our trip I found out about the proposed mines on the Mann and Clarence, searched for more info and found the CCA.
Why do you think Biirrinba is so special?
Its sheer scale and beauty are amazing but knowing that our community sees her as a living entity is what makes the big river so special for me. She is the environmental, social, cultural, and economic life-force of the Clarence. The living backbone of our communities, and the support source of our most amazing land and aquatic flora and fauna species. The deep respected spirituality that Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr, and Yaegl River Dreaming Stories bring to our entire community makes it that much more special. The most beautiful nature-based connection to past, present, and future shared with us by local Traditional Owners provides the most of valuable lessons. We are water people, and if you live in the Clarence, you are in some way reliant on the river. Geographically, culturally, spiritually, environmentally, leisurely, economically we are all in some way tied back. It’s a calming experience coming home, and being greeted by her, knowing she literally hugs our towns.
Where’s your favourite spot on the river?
Hard to pick one. The Gorge is spectacular but camping at Cangai is so special. There is such great energy there and I really feel grounded and connected to mother earth in that most amazing of places. My most frequented is where the river meets the sea at Yamba. Walking the break wall and seeing the two mighty water sources combine is amazing, especially at sunset with dolphins wrangling dinner.
Clarence Gorge
Favorite river species?
The endangered and protected Eastern Freshwater Cod. We are working hard to protect it as tragically they live and breed in the rivers and tributaries below the sloping proposed mine sites. Crazy that NSW Gov fisheries shut down fishing between August and October to protect this amazing species and allow spawning and yet the same state government hands out mining Exploratory Licences right beside the same river that could decimate them.
How did the Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA) originate?
The CCA is a non-political, all-inclusive, non-profit, volunteer group operating as a subcommittee under the Clarence Environment Centre (CEC) It formed in 2018 when multinational mining companies began exploration here, as an official amalgamation of a few smaller groups opposing mining in the area.
What are the main aims of the CCA?
The Clarence Catchment Alliance’s purpose is to:
Unite and support the community through affirmative actions against proposed mineral mining and provide an outlet for community concerns
Defend the biodiversity of the Clarence Catchment, our right to clean water, and our community’s environmental, social, cultural, and economic wellbeing.
Lobby to exclude mining from areas of unique and high conservation value, from water catchment areas, and in areas of cultural significance like those in the Clarence Catchment.
Have existing exploratory licences within the Catchment revoked.
What are the main risks associated with the proposed mines in the Clarence Valley?
The main risk is the proposed mine site’s proximity to our waterways and drinking water catchments, and the huge threat to them if a contamination was to occur. Toxic chemicals are used in the processing of minerals to separate them from the earth and the sludge is left in tailings dams forever. Evidence from around the world proves that these fail, they seep, and overflow. Acid mine drainage renders waterways inhabitable and tailings dams are man-made, hold only so much, are prone to failure and remain forever. Mostly unregulated after mining companies leave. The Clarence is a high rainfall flood zone, so the risk is just too high. Our Valley relies on clean water for so much and this is not just a ‘green’ issue but a social, cultural and economic one.
Do you know of a mine elsewhere that posed similar risks to the proposed Clarence mine and how it’s impacted that local environment?
We cannot afford to ignore the well-documented evidence of tailings dam failure and we cannot trust that this won’t happen in our high rainfall and flood-prone region. Local evidence from Timbarra Gold mine in Tenterfield vindicates our arguments. In 2001, after heavy rainfall, two successive overflows from the cyanide ponds occurred. The mine went into "care and maintenance", and never reopened. Redbank copper mine, NT poisoned Hanrahan's Creek and Wentworth Aggregate wetlands, 80km downstream. A Monash University environmental engineer described it as "the most intensely polluted mine site I have ever seen, and I don't say that lightly." The Mt Oxide mine in Mount Isa turned waterways bright blue, in 2018 the mothballed Baal Gammon copper mine near Cairns rendered the Walsh River and Jamie Creek unusable, and in 2009 The Lady Annie Copper Mine, in the Lake Eyre catchment resulted in record fines for releasing 447 megalitres of metal-contaminated water into creeks. The risk of water contamination is too high, and we are not naïve when it comes to this. Just one contamination incident could poison our water and water reliant industries forever. We have way too much at stake.
Where can people find all the information about proposed mines in the Clarence?
We invite you to visit our linktree for more information.
In an ideal world, how would you like to see the Clarence River catchment managed in the future?
It would be great to see it officially acknowledged as a living breathing entity and managed from a place of care and protection. Having an ethical, common sense evaluative system based on what’s best for the health of our environment and long-term future for everyone, rather than short-term gain for a few is key. The incorporation of traditional land and water management techniques and the millions of years of skills and knowledge held by Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl custodians would benefit this greatly.
What’s the best way for people in the community to assist CCA’s “No Mines” campaign?
Our petition debate has been rescheduled for Sept/Oct, and in the lead up we ask that the community write to NSW Ministers and MPs to express their concerns surrounding mining in th Clarence Catchment. We have a letter writing template and contact details of the MPs linked in our bio, and available at https://cec.org.au/local/NoMinesClarenceValleyMP.LetterTemplate.docx
Biirrinba from Mount Gilmore