Coal, Gas and The Greens
I went to a meeting the other night. With the state election coming up, the Toowoomba Coal Mine Action Group, Friends of Felton and two other groups invited the candidates for the local area to attend a community meeting on the CSG and mining industry. Almost the entire area around Toowoomba has had an EPC (Exploration Permit for Coal) approved for it, so we're very interested in where the next mine is going to be, considering that we actually have to live here and breathe in whatever is put in the air. And now I'm mad. Really mad. Anyone with half a brain knows how devastating coal mining and CSG is to the health of people. In Jondaryan, there's a huge pile of coal that waits to be transported into the trains to take it to port right next to the highway. People in Jondaryan have to wash their plates, cups and cutlery before they eat from them because they're layered in coal dust. The state government has allowed a 2km buffer zone around coal mining activity. It...