Wide Bay locals are gearing up for another fight, with a destructive coal mine mooted for fertile agricultural land just north of Bundaberg.
Fresh from seeing off gas company Blue Energy, which wanted to frack the Wide Bay, farmers and townspeople alike are joining forces once again to stop this new threat in its tracks.
A community meeting will be held this Saturday November 23 at 3pm, Tegege Hall, 17 Bushs Rd, Avondale, so concerned residents can get more information about the risks the project poses.
Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers Managing Director Bree Grima said, "The Wide Bay Region is the food bowl of Australia, to think this could be jeopardised by a mining company in unconscionable and producers in the region won't give up without a fight."
Lock the Gate spokesperson Vicki Perrin said the coal company, a small outfit called Fox Resources from West Perth, would face massive community opposition if it continued with its plans.
“This mine would threaten our way of life, our water, and the environment that so many hold dear.
“The Mineral Development Licence area covers valuable cane and macadamia growing country, and is on the Kolan River - a vital marine breeding ground for the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
“Since the campaign to stop fracking ramped up the community movement in Wide Bay Burnett has only gone from strength to strength.
“We have an active community ready to defend our land and water from a destructive industry like coal mining in what is an absolutely inappropriate area.
“This is why initiatives like Plan to Grow are so important - we need the Queensland Government to set firm, defined boundaries where mining and gas development simply cannot occur.”
Avondale and Winfield, communities near the proposed mine, were declared coal mine and gasfield free in 2014.
The coal licence - MDL 3040 was applied for on October 8, and would be owned by Fox Resources.
The inferred resource is more than 174 million tons according to Fox's ASX statement.
