The re-appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Anthony Lynham, has more work to do to give farmers a fair go against coal and gas companies.
“Minister Lynham knows deeply the issues at stake with the Acland Stage Three coal mine proposal. His first order of business should be to accept the Land Court’s recommendation to reject the mine, in order to protect the valuable farmland and water resources of the Darling Downs,” said Lock the Gate Queensland Coordinator, Ellie Smith.
“Another priority for the Minister should be addressing the state’s water laws that allow the likes of Adani to drain aquifers surrounding their mine in perpetuity.
“Minister Lynham should understand from the outset that farmers and communities will keep standing up to protect land and groundwater from impacts that would be felt for generations to come.
“We won’t rest until the Great Artesian Basin, the Fraser Coast, the Darling Downs and our Outback Channel Country are protected from unsustainable and incompatible mining and gas developments,” she said.
Labor’s letter of commitments to the Lock the Gate Alliance is publicly available online here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/5198/attachments/original/1511252328/jackie-trad.pdf?1511252328