The following is the transcript of a speech given by Geelong Anarchist-Communists member Levi H at a rally against the proposed Prospect Hill Incinerator in Lara, Victoria.
Header photo used with permission from Matt Hrakc.
I would like to acknowledge that we’re meeting today on the lands of the Waddawurrung people, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.
This land, on which this facility is planned to be built, was never ceded to the British Empire, or the the subsequent colonial governments. It is, and always will be, Aboriginal land.
In the 235 years since colonisation began, industrial production has decimated the ecology of this continent. A vast and rich land, tended purposefully for tens of thousands of years, now suffering the threat of widespread ecological collapse.
This is shameful – it’s disgusting.
At a time when we should be looking forwards, we’re forced backwards yet again by those in power. Politicians and their crony capitalist mates are signing cheques that they’ll never have to cash. It’s future generations of Lara and Geelong that will be footing the bill.
25 years of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, cancer-causing dioxins, acid gases, and toxic ash that will STILL need to be securely land-filled, to run the most expensive, carbon-heavy form of energy production technology available today. Technology that is ALREADY being phased out in the US and Europe.
This is the kind of thinking that has dragged us to the brink of climate collapse.
If this type of facility was proposed for Wandana Heights, Barwon Heads, Torquay or even Highton it would be rejected outright. If it was the wealthy and influential that had to breathe in toxic, cancer-causing gases for two generations, this proposal would be killed on the spot. Because it’s Lara and Corio that will be disproportionately affected, it’s out of sight, out of mind.
Make no mistake, this fight has, at its very core, a deep connection to class. Rooted at the very centre of this project is the belief that production and profit are more valuable than people, and the world that they inhabit. This project is a direct signal from those in power that they couldn’t care less about our present, and are willing to directly participate in the destruction of our future.
I’ve lived in Geelong my whole life. I’m young, but I remember a time before many newer suburbs existed. I remember a time when our waterways were cleaner, our beaches less eroded, our wildlife more plentiful. I remember being heartbroken when the bay was dredged. I remember being shocked driving along the peninsula, seeing all the suburbs joined, from Ocean Grove and Drysdale all the way through to the city. The theme of growing up here has been the constant, inexorable growth of industry and development, at the cost of the environment and the welfare of the people living here.
This mentality has to change. We can no longer afford to continue with projects like this proposed Waste to Energy facility. It’s dangerous, it’s costly, and it makes our energy production more carbon intensive.
What we really need is community-led processes of energy transition. We need to be securing the future of this region, not through quick fixes, but through a dialogue between experts in the field of renewables and clean energy, and the people that actually live their lives here. This is the only way to achieve a truly equitable dynamic between us and the environment we inhabit.
Make no mistake, this facility will harm us, both in the short and long term. It will harm the flora and fauna of this area, and it will poison the soil where its waste is stored. Running it will be an economic burden, which we will have to choice but to carry.
My own proposal is this: no waste-to-energy facilities here, or anywhere. Not now, not ever!
Instead, let’s work together to create a sustainable, livable future for our region through proven technology and democratic planning.
You can follow the campaign to stop the Incinerator here
Anarchist Communist Federation - Geelong 