People of Faith for Our Reefs
From Australia Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) newsletter
For the first time in eight years, Australians have an opportunity to speak up about Woodside’s proposed Browse Gas Project and stop it in its tracks.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has successfully persuaded the Environment Minister to reopen public consultation on whether the climate impacts of the project on the Great Barrier Reef should be considered under Australia’s national environment laws.
New scientific evidence shows that the Browse Gas Project’s climate pollution could contribute to the loss of nearly 30 million additional coral colonies during every future mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef.
As people of faith, we may express our beliefs in different ways, but many of us share a commitment to care for our Common Home and to act for the sake of all beings.
Stand with the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef and our Common Home
ARRCC is partnering with ACF to encourage people of faith to write submissions calling on the Environment Minister to ensure that the Browse Gas Project is fully assessed for its climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef and other nationally significant ecosystems.
We are making this as easy as possible. Please just fill out a form.
By filling out the form and adding your name, you will be making a submission that will echo one drafted by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) calling on the Environment Minister to ensure that the climate impacts of Woodside’s Browse Gas Project are properly assessed under Australia’s national environment laws.
Your submission will argue that:
- The climate impacts of the Browse Gas Project should be considered as part of the federal environmental assessment.
- New scientific evidence prepared by ACF shows that the project’s 1.6 billion tonnes of climate pollution could have devastating consequences for the Great Barrier Reef, including the loss of nearly 30 million additional coral colonies during every future mass bleaching event.
- This new evidence shows that future bleaching events are likely to occur more frequently, with less time for the Reef to recover between them.
- The original assessment of the Browse Gas Project should therefore be reconsidered to include these climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.
- The project also poses significant risks to Scott Reef in Western Australia, including threatened marine species such as Green Turtles and Pygmy Blue Whales, as well as the risk of catastrophic oil spills and damage caused by gas extraction.
- Although the gas would be exported overseas, the climate pollution from burning it contributes to global warming that damages Australia’s own reefs and ecosystems.
- The submission asks the Environment Minister to require that these climate impacts be fully considered when assessing the Browse Gas Project.
Please do so before Tuesday 21 July, when public consultation closes.
Together, we can help ensure that the voices of Australia’s faith communities are heard.
Gig to Clean Up the Strait!
From Friends of the Earth, Energy Justice Collective
There’s still time to grab tickets to an epic union-enviro movement collaborative fundraiser next weekend!
Click the link below to grab your ticket for an afternoon of great tunes from two epic bands: Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats, and Steel City Sue and the Smoke Stacks.
Where: The Fringe Common Rooms, Victorian Trades Hall, 54 Victoria Street, Carlton
When: 26 July, 2-7pm
Why are we doing this gig?
Australia’s biggest offshore clean-up is coming. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore our oceans and build a sovereign decommissioning industry.
But oil and gas companies are applying to dump large quantities of industrial waste in the Gippsland basin.
We’re fighting for a clean-up that puts Victorians and our coast first.
That means:
- Everything out of Bass Strait.
- Everything processed and recycled in Australia.
- Victorian workers doing the work.
- Companies paying the full cost of cleaning up the assets they profited from.
This campaign is about jobs, manufacturing, accountability and the future of our coast.
Every ticket sold and every raffle ticket purchased helps build the campaign to Clean Up the Strait.
Stand with the workers who are ready to do the cleanup, and let’s make sure it creates Victorian union jobs!
We hope to see you there for a drink, a chat and a boogie.
Five Leaf Churches Connect: Season of Creation 2026 Planning Event
From Five Leaf Eco Awards email
Tuesday 28th July 7:30pm – 8:30pm on Zoom
Join us for a special Five Leaf Eco-Awards online gathering as we plan for the Season of Creation in September 2026. This one-hour Zoom event is an opportunity to connect with other awarded churches, schools and religious organisations, hear inspiring stories, share what you’ve learned, and gather practical ideas for celebrating the Season of Creation this year. Together, we’ll explore how we can keep growing as a network for change, supporting one another in worship, action, advocacy, and care for Creation.
Come ready to network, learn, and be inspired!
Register Now: https://events.humanitix.
Making big polluters pay for climate change in local communities – Sign the Petition
From Climate Action Merri-bek
The campaign to make polluters pay for the cost of climate change damage to local communities is gathering strength. Community groups are working with 85 local councils across Australia. Five councils have adopted the motion in full and many are considering it.
If you are a resident of Merri-bek, and you support making polluters pay, please sign the local petition here and forward it to friends and neighbours.
Merri-bek council is in favour of the principle but has not yet fully adopted the motion so we need strong support for this petition.
For those wanting to learn more about the campaign in general, there is a webinar on 23 July.
See our blogposts:
Standing with the nation of Tuvalu
From UCA National Update
For the people of the small Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, rising seas are more than an environmental challenge. They threaten homes, livelihoods, culture and identity. In Tuvalu, land is inseparable from faith, ancestry and belonging. As coastlines erode, so too does a way of life nurtured for generations.
During a visit to Tuvalu in late May, a Uniting Church delegation witnessed both the significant challenges facing the Pacific nation and the extraordinary faith, resilience and hope of its people. The visit also included the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Uniting Church and the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (EKT Church), reaffirming a shared commitment to discipleship, justice and partnership.
We are pleased to share this special video exploring the profound connection between land, faith and identity for the people of Tuvalu. It invites us as the Church to respond with more than prayer alone. It is a call to faithful action: to advocate, to care for God’s creation and to stand alongside our Pacific neighbours in hope and solidarity.
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