Interdependent

Power

The story of the Bentley Blockade and

Metgasco

“ We're not protestors we're protectors. A slight, but massive, paradigm shift”

Bentley Renewables Pledge

Is power something that belongs only to the powerful, those possessing the material resources?

If so, how do those lacking access to traditionally conceptualised ‘power resources’ succeed? Frances Fox Piven argues that traditional theories of power fail to adequately account for the (even mediated) successes of protest movements that lack the material means often associated with power (Piven, 2008 p. 3).

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She instead advances a theory of interdependent power which is “rooted in the social and cooperative relations in which people are enmeshed by virtue of group life” (Piven, 2008, p. 5). Notably, despite the growing power of multinational corporations fostered by globalisation, Piven argues that globalisation is in fact good news for those wishing to exercise interdependent ‘power from below’ (2008, p. 7-8). How do environmental movements exercise this interdependent power when they do not provide a service such as labour to those they are fighting against?

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The Bentley BlockadeSet amongst rolling hills, in idyllic countryside, just such a struggle for power and influence continues, and the ‘underdogs’ have drawn first blood, so to speak. The Bentley Blockade has been in effect since February 2014 in an effort to prevent gas giant Metgasco from drilling and fracking on arable farm land. Metgasco’s exploration licence has been suspended pending community consultation and and ICAC investigation.

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“CROWN LANDS ACT 1989 - SECT 171

Exclusion of minerals, other reservations, exceptions etc”

The first hurdle successful movements must overcome according to Piven, is to break the rules, and the Bentley Blockade ‘protectors’ have certainly met this condition. Section 171 of the Crown Lands Act 1989 (NSW) dictates that the sale, lease or disposal of land “does not include the sale, lease or disposal of any minerals contained in the land” (Crown Lands Act 1989, S171).

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Image 4 -

NSW

Certificate

of Title

where

minerals are

listed as

excluded

So, whilst the farmers and

residents own the land, they do not

own the minerals and as such have

no legal right to prevent Metgasco

from mining or exploring under a

licence.

Image 5 - Metgasco Licence Map: PEL 16 covers Bentley

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Nevertheless, that is just what the

local residents have done, even in

the face of threatened police

action. Note this protesters

reference to staying on private

property because it is “the safety

zone” under the Enclosed Lands

Act. They attempt to comply with

as many rules as they can, whilst

breaking those they must.

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Additionally, the Bentley Blockaders are working toward being ‘off grid’ and sustainable by generating solar power for the camp rather than relying on companies like Metgasco for their power.

The second hurdle, according to Piven

(2008, p. 9) that the protectors have

overcome, is that they have recognised that

Metgasco requires their co-operation

(mainly to get out of the way). In this aspect

the Bentley Blockade has an advantage over

a movement such as a labour movement:

they do not require pay or any other form of

compensation from the corporation they are

disrupting, so their activities are less likely

to result in personal lack of resources.

Image 7 - the beginning of solar for Bentley

Image 8 - solar power fruition

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The third and fourth obstacles identified by Piven (2008, pp. 10-11) that the protectors have overcome are those of coordinating an ongoing disruption, whilst maintaining subsistence activities. The Bentley movement have utilised the internet to mobilise enough protestors on a rotational basis, so there can be an uninterrupted presence on site, whilst individuals are able to also maintain their home, work, and school commitments or alternatively, to live on camp and commute directly to work.

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All from the web address shown in Image 9

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Musicians such as Jon Butler and Xavier Rudd (Image 12), amongst many others ( have added their musical talents to the general air of festivity (Image 13). Whilst the Blockade has only won the first stage so far, they are fully capable of ‘staying the distance’.

The fifth hurdle that the protectors have overcome is that of navigating disruption in social relationships and networks. In fact, it seems that the movement is creating or strengthening social relationships.

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It would seem then, that environmental movements like the Bentley Blockade, whilst having less in the way of labour to withhold in aid of their cause, are still very capable of mobilising interdependent power and using

the internet to great effect.

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References

Benltley Renewable Pledge. (2014). About. https://www.facebook.com/

renewables4bentley/info [Facebook About page]. Retrieved 25 May 2014.

Crown Lands Act 1989, Section 171. Available from http://www.austlii.edu.au. Accessed 25

May 2014

Piven, Frances Fox. 2008. Can Power from Below Change the World? American

Sociological Review, Vol 73, No. 1, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25472511

Accessed 24 August 2011

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