The Oakey Coal Action Alliance have fronted in Ipswich today at the annual general meeting of New Hope Coal - the company responsible for the New Acland coal mine.
Farmers and community members from the Darling Downs, together with their supporters in the city, delivered messages to New Hope’s shareholders about the true impact of the business on prime agricultural land and water resources.
Members of the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) attended the AGM to raise their concerns over New Hope’s Stage 3 expansion proposal for the New Acland coal mine, which was rejected outright by the Queensland Land Court in May due to inadequate water modelling and a failure to ensure intergenerational equity.
The company have since applied for a judicial review of the Land Court process that will take place in March 2018.
Aileen Harrison, President of OCAA said, “New Hope’s shareholders need to know the level of risk that the company has taken on in pursuing Stage 3 with such ferocity. They have poured millions of dollars into legal battle after legal battle, and their arguments have been rejected at every turn.
“If New Hope want to continue wasting money trying to get a project up that has been rejected on the basis of irreparable destruction of 1300 hectares of the best agricultural land in Queensland and the local surface and groundwater then that is up to them, but I think their shareholders should have some say in the matter.”
The Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) are calling on the Queensland government to intervene in the project to prevent adverse impacts to the local environment.
The final decision on whether New Acland Stage 3 goes ahead will sit with whichever Party proves successful at the November 25th state election. So far, One Nation are the only Party to commit to rejecting the Stage 3 expansion outright, with Labor and the LNP both committing to accept the outcome of the judicial review in March.
Photos from the event can be accessed here.