Two protesters from Front Line Action on Coal are currently blocking Aurizon’s coal railway near Bowen, calling on the Queensland Government to rule out funding for Aurizon.
They have prevented any coal trains getting to Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal by locking their arms inside a steel barrel filled with concrete on the train tracks since 7:15am today.
The Queensland Labor government is currently considering rail operator Aurizon’s bid for a NAIF loan, which would open the floodgates for new coalmines in the Galilee Basin.
Lilli Barto, a physics student, is currently locked onto the concrete barrel near Mt Buckley Rd, 20 minutes south-west of Bowen.
‘State Labor said during the election campaign that they would veto ‘any NAIF loan’ that would enable Adani’s dirty coal project,’ she said.
‘Funding Aurizon would be a back-door route to allow Adani to build the biggest coal mine in the southern hemisphere.’
Natan Shlomo, a youth worker, is also attached to the barrel on the railway.
‘Coal is fuelling catastrophic climate change. We stand against the damage this would cause in the Galilee basin,’ he said.
‘If Labor continue to turn a blind eye to the devastating cost of coal mining – they are complicit.’
This comes as part of an ongoing campaign against the controversial Adani Carmichael mine, following on from last week when activists stopped a coal train heading for Adani’s coal port. The group is committed to sustained action against the Adani project.
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