FEW people would spend five hours in the mud and rain locked beneath a truck, but one Armidale grandmother has done so for her grandchildren.
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Pat Schultz, 63, is the latest person to be arrested for blockading coal seam gas operations in the Pilliga.
On Friday the grandmother of five used a homemade lock-on device, made from metal pipe and a dog clip, to attach herself to a truck to prevent mining company Santos from moving equipment into the forest.
She chose to protest this way to protect the future of the area for her grandchildren.
Ms Schultz and three other protesters approached the truck before they were stopped by two Santos security guards.
It was a very big jump from knitting to locking on.
- Pat Schultz, Armidale grandmother
She locked on to a bar on the side of the truck and as the guards tried to undo the bolts to remove her, she unlocked herself and crawled underneath to attach herself to the axle. There she stayed for about five hours.
“It was a real adrenaline rush,” she said. “It was scary before I locked-on, but I found it surprisingly easy once I had.”
It was not the first time Ms Schultz had been involved in protests against mining in the Pilliga, but said it was her first time locking on to a mining machine.
She is an organiser of the Armidale loop of the Knitting Nannas, a group of grandmothers who conducted knit-ins against coal seam gas mining.
“It was a very big jump from knitting to locking on. I didn’t believe we were making headway because Santos was not listening so I went more extreme to make a point.
“When I was locked on to the truck the police asked me lots of questions. I refused to answer some of them, but one asked me why I was doing this and I said I will do whatever it takes to stop coal seam gas mining.”
Ms Schultz’s greatest concern was this form of mining would damage the Great Artesian Basin and seriously affect livelihoods in the region.
“I believe they can’t do any mining without destroying [the basin],” she said. “Once it is destroyed, that’s it.”
Ms Schultz said she has been congratulated for her actions so many times, despite being arrested and charged with pedestrian impeding a driver and failing to comply with a reasonable police order.
I believe they can’t do any mining without destroying [the basin]
- Pat Schultz, Armidale grandmother
She will face Narrabri court on April 29.
Ms Schultz said while she has not given up her fight against mining, she would not be locking-on to any mining machinery any time soon.
“The very lovely police woman who arrested me said if I locked-on again before my court date I will be thrown in jail,” she said.
Instead Ms Schultz said she would continue her protest through the Knitting Nannas.
The knitters plan to travel to Sydney on June 30 for the trial of environmental activist Jonathan Moylan in the Supreme Court.
Mr Moylan pleaded not guilty to a charge of disseminating false material for allegedly issuing a fake media release in January last year which stated ANZ had withdrawn a $1.2 billion loan to Whitehaven Coal.
As a result $314 million was temporarily wiped of Whitehaven Coal’s market value.
Ms Schultz said the group plan to knit out the front of the court to show their solidarity for the cause.
