Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, responded with disgust to today's news that mining magnate, Clive Palmer, had made his defamatory comments about him to distract the media from negative stories about the LNP.

"Clive Palmer has simply made any defamation case against him more winnable because his comments were made knowing they were wrong and for mischievous, opportunistic reasons," Mr Hutton said.

The Lock the Gate Alliance today congratulated Queensland Premier Campbell Newman whose government yesterday ruled out approving the Acland and Felton coal mines on the state's Darling Downs and called on him to make science and balanced development the key themes of his term of office.

Lock the Gate president, Drew Hutton, said it was obvious Mr Campbell was going to make quick and decisive changes to the way things worked in Queensland and he was hoping Lock the Gate could work with the new government instead of going to war with it, as they had to do with the previous Labor government.

"Mr Newman has made a good start. The Acland and Felton projects should never get approval because they are on good agricultural land and in closely settled areas. Such places are not suitable for high-impact mining," Mr Hutton said.

Lock the Gate Alliance president, Drew Hutton, congratulated Campbell Newman on his election victory last night and welcomed his statement that he would govern for all Queenslanders.

Mr Hutton said the LNP should learn from the mistakes of the Bligh government which had been rightly punished by the voters.

"Anna Bligh's complete failure to appreciate the traditional nature of Queensland politics and the widespread belief that state assets should not be flogged off because the government can't balance the books led to the almost complete obliteration of the Labor Party in the Queensland Parliament," Mr Hutton said.

The Lock the Gate Alliance welcome the overnight announcement by the Queensland ALP to protect nature refuges from mining, including the Bimblebox refuge near Alpha.

Alliance president, Drew Hutton, said this was a major concession by Labor and he called on the Liberal National Party to match the promise.

"The LNP responded to a questionnaire from Lock the Gate saying it would protect areas of high conservation value from coal mining but it did not specify nature refuges," Mr Hutton said.

 large coal seam gas exploration permit has been granted over a large part of Brisbane's western suburbs.

The permit, known as EPP641 is owned by BNG Pty Ltd which is a subsidiary of the large CSG company, Arrow which is, in turn, owned 50-50 by the multi-national corporations, PetroChina and Shell.

Suburbs of Brisbane covered by the EPP include Moggill, Pullenvale, Karana Downs and Brookfield and the tenement comes within a kilometre or so of the Kenmore shopping centre.