I wish to add to the concerns expressed by Noretta Terry, AE Stannard and others about the possibility that the Queensland and Federal Governments will “prop up” the proposed Adani coal mine in central Queensland by giving Adani billions of dollars.
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Why? And why am I worrying about this? I won’t be eating the dust from this mine.
Is it because I have driven through that rolling country in Queensland? Is it because my great grandfather and his brothers drove cattle and horses through it from the Hunter to the Gulf country in the 1880’s?
Is it because it will end up looking like all the Muswellbrook and Singleton coal mines put together? It would be the largest coal mine in the world- and it could be the largest stranded asset too.
Is it because the mine would sit right on top of the Great Artesian Basin? Hydrologist’s estimates of how water flows deep underground are about as accurate as an economist’s about wealth. And the Queensland Government has given Adani enormous amounts of scarce water-for free - while landowners and councils pay for theirs.
Is it because of the damage to the environment and the Great Barrier Reef - especially the convoys of ships through its reefs and islands?
Is it because people in India, and all our Big Banks are wary of doing business with Mr Adani? He has made some big messes and he banks his billions out of reach, in tax havens. None of those reasons, compelling though they are.
It’s simply common sense. It is common sense that this mine is not a good idea. It has been spelled out over and over again. Something else is in play here.
Can it be – that our Politicians are more interested in promising jobs for votes than they are in taking a really good look at the risks here? Can it be that common sense is no match for political ambition? Sustainable energy is here, with far more jobs - that last.
Joan Wakeford
Tamworth