"WHY shouldn't we protect the Pilliga?"
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Traditional owners the Gomeroi people, local community members and unionists are calling for an end to the Santos Pilliga-Narrabri Coal Seam Gas project.
Gomeroi woman from Coonabarabran Suellyn Tighe has organised a series of protests from 9:30am on Saturday, August 12.
A rally will begin in Neilson Park followed by a convoy through the Pilliga at 10:30am, a midday rally at the junction of the Newell Highway and X-Line road in the Pilliga, and a 3pm rally at the Santos office in Narrabri.
There's cultural significance for the Gomeroi people within the Pilliga, with stories visible in the landscape, Ms Tighe said.
"It's an area of vital importance for the Great Artesian Basin," she said.
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The gas giant was permitted to proceed with its major project when the tribunal ruled that proposed mining leases should be granted for the project.
A decision is set to be handed down on Friday, August 11, but the protest will go ahead if the outcome is positive or negative for traditional owners.
"It's important that this goes ahead to show that people support saving the Pilliga," she said.
"I think it's important that people understand why we need to protect it.
"And it's also a way of not letting it slip out of the public arena as well."
Joining the protest is Unions NSW assistant secretary Vanessa Seagrove, as affiliates of the organisation resolved to support the Gomeroi people's fight to protect the Pilliga Forest last year.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association representing more than 76,000 members is also supporting their fight.
Ms Tighe said the numbers add up, especially as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent just 3.8 per cent of the total Australian population, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
"We don't have the numbers to make huge impacts when it comes to lobbying, rallying and boots on the ground, to apply pressure to the legal system, as well as the political systems," she said.
"It's great, because from a Gomeroi perspective, we're not alone in the fight."
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