As the pressure builds towards the federal election candidates are beginning to take their positions and Labor MP Justine Elliot recently came out opposing the controversial Adani Mine.
‘We’ve been asking for this for over two years,’ said Kathryn McConnochie, spokesperson for Stop Adani Byron Shire.
‘This is significant both nationally and locally. Justine has both publicly opposed and spoken out against the mine in parliament.’
Mrs Elliot had been presented with a petition of 3,904 signatures from her constituents opposing the mine just prior to parliament resuming.
Because the petitions were informally worded they couldn’t be presented through the normal channels and needed Mrs Elliot to present them on the floor of parliament as a document.
‘We had been told that if we sent the petitions to the prime minister then they would have no obligation to acknowledge them or respond to them.
‘We had been collecting signatures since July 2017 and we didn’t want them to end up in the bin,’ said Ms McConnochie.
Mrs Elliot was not obliged to present the petitions that her constituents had asked her to present to parliament on their behalf, but on Monday February 18 she not only presented them, she declared her personal opposition to the Adani mine.
‘Personally I’m opposed to the Adani coal mine going ahead and share the community’s concerns about the potential environmental harm that could follow to the Great Barrier Reef and other areas,’ said Mrs Elliot.
Overwhelming support
In the lead up to the federal election, the #StopAdani movement is calling on both major parties to commit to stop the mine.
‘We have had thousands of conversations with people across the region and have found that overwhelmingly our community want this dangerous project stopped,’said Ms McConnochie.
‘It’s time for Labor to stop sitting on the fence and commit to stopping this catastrophic mine that will open up the Galilee Basin, one of the largest coal reserves left on earth.’
‘To protect the climate, our groundwater and the Great Barrier Reef for future generations we must keep Galilee basin coal in the ground,’ Ms McConnochie said.
Crossing the floor
Responding to Echonetdaily’s question on whether Ms Elliot ‘would she cross the floor’ and oppose the Adani coal mine if a future vote to support the came from Labor she responded, ‘I don’t take anything for granted and I don’t pre-empt the outcome of any elections or speculate about any potential motions that may be before any future parliaments.’
Justine Elliot,
Brisbane is just 100 kilometres away, to me this Adani problem is more a State matter, so you could talk to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Total debt to the Queensland government, including government-owned businesses, is forecast and reported to hit $83.51 billion, a lot higher than the prediction so the debt is growing. With any Qld State election and Labor loses office the LNP inherits that huge debt, so the LNP will be in the same economic bind of where is the money coming from to run the State. The debt has to be solved no matter what Party controls government. The higher the debt goes the more interest is paid out and the more money is outgoing that does not serve any purpose.
To me Adani problem is not about coal, it is about money and the Queensland economy. The Government is in a bind because Adani provides so many jobs to Central Queensland, so to stop Adani you then have an unemployment problem as well as economic.
The Adani problem is not about coal, it is about the prevention of the huge debt rising and the prevention of unemployment rising.
Way back in 2009 Anna Bligh came to power for Labor via Peter Beattie and she suffered a landslide against her in 2012 when Queensland had a problem with increasing debt, and she then announced her retirement. Campbell Newman came to power as premier in March 2012 and he went on a binge of austerity that the people did not like.
In the 2010-11 period Anna Bligh announced the privatisation of five government owned corporations:
Queensland Motorways Limited (Operating the Gateway Bridge and Logan Motorway tolling systems)
The Port of Brisbane Authority
Forestry Plantations Queensland
Abbot Point Coal Terminal
Coal-carrying rail lines, currently owned by Queensland Rail (QR Passenger services will remain nationalised).
In 2017, Anna Bligh was appointed CEO of the Australian Banking Association.
Actually Len it is about coal, and the effect the burning and mining of coal has on the environment and the climate . That and land clearing which also destroys the environment and the climate.
As usual Len , I am not really sure what your point is
The State of Qld going broke is not a point and the State has to deal with a company from India to keep the State running is just an inconvenience, oh right.
And the Federal seats in Central Qld can decide the Federal election for the same reasons as for the State election for either side of politics, right.
Len, lets talk about those jobs. It was in 2015 in a QLD Court that Adani said 1464 jobs would be created. Since then the mini-Adani / scaled own version of the original megamine has been announced so that would be fewer jobs. With more and automation of industrial practices Adani will create even fewer jobs. About this debt issue, just how much do you think Adani is going to contribute to debt reduction from the Cayman Islands?
Good for Justine!
We know the majority of Australians want urgent action on climate change and that they are opposed to the Adani mine. Additionally the appalling environmental record of Adani is well documented in India – and there is already environmental damage incurred by Adani in the Galilee Basin region. The mine also would also have free access to such enormous amounts of water that it may threaten our Great Artesian basin water supply.
Labour needs to follow Justine Elliott’s brave lead and stop this mine.
the only time you ever hear from Ms Elliott is in the months leading to an election, after that she goes back to her well paid hibernation, ask yourself what this woman has ever done for our electorate before casting a vote for here.
And no, Adani will not provide mass employment. The number of jobs they propose constantly falls iniitially 10,000 then 5,000 now about 2,000. They promise Share holders a fully Auromate mine!
There are far more jobs threatened by the mine in hospitality, tourism and renewable energy.
The outrageous free access to vast volumes of water that Adani wants also threatens agriculture and the pastoral industry.
Adanis coal mine is a jobs and revenue disaster.
It’s ALL COAL, Len. Tourism is great for Qld & the jobs there
outnumber coal any day. But – back-to-the-future… the rest
of Oz. I won’t sell out the Basin, Reef, this Country or its
people. NZ is finding this polly push game unspeakably sad.
How about we listen to what’s happening across ‘the ditch’
& learn a thing or three.
Not sure what Len is on about. The Adani problem IS about coal and its disgusting and ongoing impacts on the environment.
To suggest that not having the 1400 jobs adani can possibly provide will lead to mass unemployment (notwithstanding the GBR jobs and renewable jobs destroyed by the continuance of CFP) is reckless and uninformed.
Here is a couple of inconvenient facts for people like Len.
After many years of what was then called a “once in a lifetime mining boom”, the Beattie/Bligh Labor government left Queenslanders in $60 Billion worth of debt. The Campy Newman LNP government got in, lasted only three years and took the debt to $80 Billion! The whole argument that coal and gas mining provides State royalties is a black hoax.
Then there is the small matter of the end of life on Earth (including homo sapiens, Len) that is looming unless we get to zero nett greenhouse gas emissions REAL SOON.
No Adani, no new or expanding coalmines, no more gas extracting OR no more us. Understand?
All true ee enough, except, if it came down to a federal decision away from a Labor stance, Elliott can’t cross the floor, it’s not permitted in the Labor constitution. And all we’ve had from Elliott in this electorate for six years now is continual full page ads in the local papers, one or three every week. She is oppposed to the site of the new hospital just because her opposition isn’t, and when even her supporters just want the thing built, the site irrelevant.
The Stop Adani group are misinforming people on the mine. I live in North QLD where this will be impacted. We need the jobs. We have applied for the jobs and begun the process but they can’t proceed until it is all approved. Justine Elliot needs to mind her own business and sort out issues in her own area and state. The Premier of QLD only approves what benefits her and keeps her in the Premier position, she has passed a few laws which have not benefited the state. She has crewed over the farmers with the land clearing laws – which meant farmers couldn’t back burn or build proper fire breaks which was the main reason the bushfires in QLD not that long ago were so bad. How many of you that are apposed to this mine have actually seen a coal mine, because I know that if you haven’t seen one, you wouldn’t be able to identify an underground coal mine. Most of them have farms above them. How many of you apposing the mine have computers, cars, and benefit from mining? How many of you would be so outspoken if you had to actually sit down and listen to the truth rather than hiding behind a keyboard? This group of misinformed people in the STOP Adani group are so misguided they actually picketed a business up here not that long ago, a small business and blocked employees from working all day because they wanted them to stop working for Adani – the bloody idiots got it wrong and the business lost a days work, employees lost a day of pay because these idiots got it wrong and picketed a business that wasn’t working for Adani. Look up the facts about the water usage. Mining is under strict rules and regulations and is so heavily monitored, they are heavily fined and prosecuted if they are in the wrong. You are being told what to think and because you don’t understand it just trust what you are told. I have worked on Coal mines. It is mining that is keeping the QLD government out of financial trouble.