IT’S an explosive development – literally – in the region’s incendiary war between mining companies and environmental fundamentalists.
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If correct, reports protesters invaded Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coalmine site last week and sabotaged a blast area loaded with more than 200 tonnes of TNT is a dangerous and brainless escalation of activism.
By allegedly severing 187 explosive lines, the culprits risked their own lives and the lives of dozens of innocent mine workers.
It comes after a series of audacious stunts at Maules Creek in recent months, including protesters chaining themselves to machinery, an alleged attack on a security vehicle and a fake press release that wiped millions from Whitehaven’s share price.
The antics forced police to effectively put Leard State Forest in lockdown to ensure public safety.
We should admire the Maules Creek protesters’ unwavering conviction to a cause and envy the prism of certainty with which they view the world.
Many have made great personal sacrifices to upend their lives and join the protest movement full-time.
But by immersing themselves so deeply in the issue, by socialising and sleeping only with fellow “green warriors”, those in the camp are missing the shades of grey in the mining debate.
Fact: Coalmining remains the cheapest, most efficient way to produce energy.
Fact: Coalmining supports thousands of jobs in our region, mining royalties help build our nation and coal exports helped Australia avoid a GFC holocaust.
It’s also fact that coalmining is heating the planet, destroying ecosystems and that the federal government should be investing more heavily in renewable energy.
These are the conflicting facts middle Australia must reconcile before making up their minds in the mining debate.
The vision of our politicians stretches only to the next election and there is clearly a political imperative to support the mining sector.
As such, middle Australia holds the key to the protesters’ end goal – to make coalmining extinct.
And hearts and minds of ordinary Aussies are won by sound argument, not mindless stunts.
The most resonant voices in the mining debate aren’t starry-eyed uni students, but farmers, nurses, teachers, grandmothers and business people.
Let’s hope those voices don’t continue to be drowned out by the raucous chants of professional protesters.