A Week in Regional Queensland
You eat 473 spiders in your sleep every year.
I. I hurriedly reach to slap that hard to reach spot on the middle of my back. I’m tired of all the curious creatures crawling, brushing and biting my body. My nose if gifted with hints of guano and I find splinters in my feet and pants(?!). I sleep on a mattress too thin for the hard ground and too short for my long legs. My pillow is dusty on both sides after flipping it twice trying to find the cool side. I close my eyes and tune out the buzzing of the bugs. I’m now painfully aware of people snoring.
I wake up and see another participant yawning and rubbing their eyes. We groggily exchange waves and quietly to avoid disturbing others, mouth “morning“ to each other with a friendly smile. I duck under the shed’s roller door out into the sunlight and cross the wet grass to the canteen and toilet block.
I survived my first night staying at the Chinchilla Showgrounds.
II. I was away with QUT Big Lift where I volunteer in regional Queensland. This trip I worked on and learnt from projects in Chinchilla and Injune.
I worked on one project where my team and I helped and older lady of Chinchilla in her garden. I worked with my team to move her garden’s shade cover. With the shade cover in it’s previous location, she was at risk of knocking her head. Some team members helped rearrange her various plants. Others worked with a pitchfork and shovel to prepare the back lawn for the installation of a new garden bed. The practical work we did for her meant the world. What cannot be understated is how much she appreciated the company. As way of thanks, she invited us to partake in aromatherapy and the creation of our own blends of essential oils. Between taking whiffs of exciting scents and going “oooh“ and “ahhh“ at pretty crystals, we talked of many things. She shared with us that she’d recently bought her house and in the last year it’s value appreciated roughly $18,000. Her house’s appreciation due to increased demand as a result of coal seam gas activities in the area.
Days later we would visit Arrow Energy’s Community Information Centre1 in Dalby. Here I learnt about some of the legal and physical mechanisms at play for extracting Coal Seam Gas. I learnt that the crown first grants rights for exploration and mining requires further rights2. I learnt that Arrow reimburses land owners for the placement of gas wells on their land based on estimations of that land’s expected revenue (e.g. crop or cattle value). I learnt that Arrow extracts coal seam gas from under properties where they do not have wells through a technology called deviated drilling3 and that there has been cases of them not notifying the above land owners. I learnt that a byproduct of coal seam gas extraction is water than can be treated and used for farming. I learnt that this water is not the same ground water that farmers use (coal seam gas comes from much lower down). I learnt that what is done by Arrow Energy is not fracking.
To reduce the bias of opinions expressed to us, we had planned to hear from other members of the community but the flooding of roads prevented this. We found informal learning opportunities in interacting with community members under other pretexts. Being more observant when walking around town also led to new insights.
I learnt that our accommodations had been built by or supported by donations from coal seam gas companies. Injune’s childcare is funded by coal seam gas. I saw a community owned barbecue in storage which had “donated by Santos“ written on it in sharpie.
I also learnt about other aspects of rural life. From the aged care facility staff, I heard about their difficulty of getting their residents to specialists and hospitals. I heard about the benefits of telehealth from another community member. A council worker told us of Injune’s many job openings and how people work multiple jobs. They work multiple jobs not because they need money, but because the town needs their services.
III. chk chk chk chk. The fan with small car sized blades circles high above my face. The memory of yesterday where I accidentally dug the volleyball to it and watched the ensuing ricochet brings a small giggle to my face. I’m awake early enough to witness the sacrificial first pancake. I’m playing table tennis. I’m chatting with the bus driver. I can’t stop singing Riptide. I’m letting loose on the camera because it’s the last day and I’m not sure I’ve taken enough photos yet. I’m laughing at banalities because I stayed up late playing basketball and singing even more Riptide.
I’m on the bus. I’m having those real conversations. The conversations which take a week to come out. The conversations which require the pressure of the last day to come out. The conversations you didn’t realise you needed. I’m dancing in the isles and singing with what is left of my voice. I can recognise the city buildings out my window and it makes me sad. We’ve arrived in Brisbane and the trip is coming to and end.
I survived and thrived Big Lift. I’m happy to have met every single one of you.
https://www.arrowenergy.com.au/contact-us/community-information-centres
https://www.austrade.gov.au/land-tenure/land-tenure/mining-and-mineral-exploration-leases
https://www.arrowenergy.com.au/innovation/deviated-drilling