I've grown up in Wollongong and recently moved to Sydney. The move has been hard because I've had to leave just about everything I love β being close to nature, a low population, the peaceful forest trails, the gorgeous coastline and the serene hilly landscape. What was harder, however, was seeing Wollongong's slow decay in the past 20 years. Coal companies have completely destroyed this city. I'm not exaggerating when I say that coal is the root cause of EVERY major issue in my city. It was depressing seeing the environmental damage. It was depressing seeing coal miners lose their jobs and turn to drug abuse. It was depressing seeing the crime rate skyrocket with unemployment. Above all, it was infuriating to see the people responsible walking away with no consequences. Wollongong's unemployment rate and meth use are now among the highest in NSW. Could our lawmakers have prevented this? Yes, absolutely. There were a dozen red flags. CEOs with a history of fraud, bankruptcy and corruption were first allowed to do business here and then run both their businesses and this city to the ground.
When people think of corruption and coal mining, they think Adani. While Adani got a lot of attention (as he should have), the story doesn't end with him. A company by the name of Wollongong Coal Ltd (WCL) encapsulates everything that's wrong and alarming about this industry Here are a few details:
- WCL's owner, Naveen Jindal, is on trial for a scam of $4.4 billion in his home country India
- An activist, Ramesh Agarwal, was shot by gunmen after closing one of Jindal's mines
- WCL's chairman, Milind Oza, was prosecuted in the U.S. Supreme Court for failure to pay dues
- Following multiple trials, Oza declared bankruptcy and left the U.S.
- Oza's pay rose by 50% to $500k the same year he fired 80 WCL workers
- WCL has a credit score of 1/100 meaning it is almost certain to default
In short, Australia's lawmakers allowed 2 men with a history of crime and business failure to operate a failing company, incur billions in losses, fire hundreds of workers and cause irreparable damage. Meanwhile, individuals can't even enter the country on a visa if they have a criminal record overseas. This is why the movement against coal is about much more than just climate change. It's also an issue of white collar crime, workers' rights, CEO overpay and government negligence. It's an issue of criminality on the highest level going unchecked by authorities that ar
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- Chickos
Edit: Thanks for all the engagement everyone. Some great places here
I'm in Wollongong next Monday for training/business and as an avid GOT fan I need somewhere to watch ep 3, being the biggest battle in television history and all that. Not sure whether the hotel will have a channel for it, or whether the internet will allow (security/speed) for an online stream.
Does anyone know of pubs/bars or anything that play it during the evening?
