The Lock the Gate Alliance has slammed the Queensland government’s extraordinary admission that it will take people’s land, give away coal and override due process to induce coal companies to build the biggest coal mines in the country in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
Lock the Gate President, Drew Hutton, said, ‘It looks like the government’s coal mates are in line to get very special treatment, and the farmers and graziers in their way are going to be utterly shafted. Just why these mines deserve so much money and royal treatment, when landholders are suffering drought, is not clear.’
According to Lock the Gate, the Galilee Basin Development Strategy, released yesterday, admits that opening up the Galilee Basin to coal mining is uneconomic.
Mr Hutton said, ‘It is astounding that they are considering making taxpayers give yet another bonus to the coal industry, given the scale of impact these mines will have on groundwater and biodiversity in the region. They’re talking about taking people’s land off them, in good farming country, to build railways for a couple of Indian coal companies that don’t have enough cash to build the mines themselves.
‘Most alarmingly, the government is proposing to make water from the state reserve available to these coal mines at cheap prices. Everyone knows there’s a glut of coal: it’s water we’re short of in Queensland right now.
‘These mines are going to remove over 1,000 billion litres of groundwater in a semi-arid region currently experiencing drought. Giving state water to the proponents at bargain basement prices adds insult to injury for struggling graziers.’
We are being governed by Vandals. This government is guilty of Ecocide and should be charged with vandalism to the planet.
More disgusting behaviour by corrupt Liberal and National Party members and cronies. When will farmers and rural residents wake up to the fact that the Libs and Nats do not have their best interests at heart and would prefer to bankroll large (often foreign) corporations and steal resources owned by Australians including our children and future generations.
Isn’t this corrupt practice against the best interest of Australian citizens? And in the meantime National Party pollies like Barnaby Joyce go swanning off to India at taxpayers expense to attend an over the top extravagent wedding of an Indian Billionaires child, along with Gina Rineheart who made her billions exporting WA Iron Ore.
They are all laughing at how stupid and docile the average elector is.
As a CONSTITUIONALST I question the validity of the State Government to be able to take land for non public matters. There are High Court of Australia decisions on record that this is not permissibleI