We all depend on a healthy environment.
And a healthy environment depends on us.
Do you remember the first time you had a personal connection with nature? And the moment you twigged that you are not separate from, but part of nature? Perhaps at the beach, bushwalking or encountering a native animal in the wild.
I certainly do. For me it was as a child, walking amongst the fragrant living bush, as well as feeling the cool embrace of the ocean when I first plunged into its chilly waters. I felt connected to the trees, to the oceans and to the animals that live amongst us. I believe that we have a responsibility to protect them and the clean air and water we all share.
We’ve known for years the damage we’re causing to our precious environment. Yet here I am, writing to you in 2017, asking you to urgently support us in helping people like you to use the law to protect the environment we are a part of – and upon which we all rely and depend.
The slow progress of our politicians and business leaders is frustrating; but rest assured all hope is not lost. Your dedicated and experienced EDO Qld lawyers take on the David-and-Goliath legal fights that many members of the community feel powerless to influence without us.
We’ve spent the last 25 years empowering the community to use the law to protect the environment, and we are most certainly not backing down now when we are needed most! But know we need every dollar that you can spare to help us even out an unbalanced playing field.
We are excited to announce that our dollar matching is back! Every dollar you donate to EDO Qld (up to a maximum total of $20,000) will be matched by a generous donor. (For example, if you donate $100, EDO Qld will receive $200!)
Will you please make a donation to EDO Qld today to help even the scales between well-resourced corporate interests and the community’s underfunded legal voice?
Thanks to your support to date, we have an outstanding track record in helping communities bring legitimate and considered environment and planning cases before the courts.
We are the community’s legal voice for the environment – from protecting vital water resources, to standing up for our Great Barrier Reef in the face of dangerous climate change.
Outside of court we’ve been there for you too (and thousands of other Australians), guiding you through law and policy changes, providing free legal advice and information, offering free community legal education, and giving you a voice at government and industry roundtables.
Right now, we urgently need your support to take the next steps to winning the legal fight for our environment. In the next year we plan to:
- Continue to run landmark climate cases;
- Push for stronger laws to legislate renewable energy targets and remove legal barriers to clean energy;
- Advocate for laws to protect wildlife, wild places, water quality and vegetation;
- Hold industry and government to account on decisions that affect us all (like the legal changes to support the controversial Adani project); and
- Stand up for the Great Barrier Reef.
You’ve likely already seen a number of appeals asking for donations. We know it can be hard to tell where your donation will make the most impact. Believe me when I tell you that we make every dollar count! In fact, for every dollar you give to EDO Qld, the community gets at least $8 worth of legal services.
Please, will you make a tax-deductible donation to your EDO lawyers before 30 June so we can continue to use the law to fight for the environment?
As the voice of quality journalism dwindles, and our environment faces more attacks from many directions, now more than ever it’s vital that EDO Qld lawyers are there to expose the truth.
Please join me in supporting our non-profit work. With your support we’re confident we can do what’s needed. But if we can’t raise a minimum of $100,000 by 30 June, we’ll have to make tough decisions on the actions we can take in the coming year.
Besides a modest amount of funding from the State Government, our work relies solely on you. With a State election looming; it’s important we fight to keep, and even strengthen, our environmental laws.
Nowhere other than independent EDOs can supply the skills and legal expertise needed by the community to protect precious nature.
Are you ready to stand-up with us?
Yours sincerely,
Jo-Anne Bragg
CEO/Solicitor
Environmental Defenders Office (Qld) Inc
PS. This really is a time for big decisions. Before 30 June, please choose to support EDO Qld by helping us reach our target of $100,000. As we near the end of the financial year, it’s time to consider your upcoming tax returns: any money wisely gifted now may pay off with a helpful deduction!