AS A born-and-bred farmer, the Katter’s Australia Party NSW Senate candidate says he understands the fight against coal mines on the Liverpool Plains better than most politicians.
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Tom Harris travelled to Breeza yesterday to meet with local groups opposing the proposed Shenhua Watermark mine and BHP Caroona mine.
The fifth generation grazier from Molong said the lack of representation by mainstream parties for rural and remote regions compelled him to put himself up for election under Bob Katter’s banner.
He said prime agriculture land was just too precious to be turned into a coal mine.
“I am a farmer and it was great to feel that lovely rich soil as I met with locals,” Mr Harris said.
“I am a hard-working farmer who knows, unlike many of our politicians, that our food comes from agricultural land – you can’t eat coal from a coal mine.
“I am opposing the Shenhua and BHP coal mines on the grounds of agricultural productivity and the national interest. There are vast tracts of less-productive agricultural land that can be mined for coal.”
He encouraged Caroona Coal Action Group and the Liverpool Plains Youth Group to continue their “courageous stance” against the projects.
“When you see this beautiful country, there is no way you could ever mine it and rehabilitate it without spoiling it forever,” he said.
“We are by no means an anti-mining party. We’re a very pro-mining party, but there is a place for it and the Liverpool Plains is not it.”
Local farmer and Caroona Coal Action Group member John Hamparsum said, while he was impressed with Mr Harris’ “strong conviction and support”, farmers needed to see action from his party if he was elected.
“We’ve had a lot of politicians come here and all of them say we don’t agree with mines on prime agricultural land,” Mr Hamparsum said.
“But we are not seeing any action. We’re hearing a lot of words, but we’re getting no action. Farmers are absolutely sick of words.”
Mr Harris said Mr Katter was the only federal politician that had issued a clear trumpet call for keeping prime agricultural land in food production.
“Unfortunately, the Australian Electoral Commission has, just by coincidence, re-zoned the prime agricultural land around Caroona and Breeza from the electorate of New England to Parkes electorate,” Mr Harris said.
“This lets Deputy Prime Minister [and New England MP] Barnaby Joyce off the hook for taking a principled stance on the vital issues of Australia’s prime agricultural land in the Liverpool Plains area.”
