Bligh's $500 million investment is damaging for Queensland

Yesterday's announcement by Anna Bligh is the largest investment in Queensland coal rail to date, however Friends of the Earth Brisbane warns that both the economic and climate impacts could be disastrous for our state. This half a billion dollar handout for coal expansion locks Queensland into economic dependence on coal, and substantially increases greenhouse gas pollution.

By committing a further $500 million of taxpayers money to expanding the Jillian rail yard, the Premier is failing Queensland taxpayers on two fronts: firstly by increasing Queensland's already precarious economic dependence on the coal industry; and secondly by ignoring the extra 70 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution that will be released every year as a result of this expansion.

The only winners from this investment are international coal companies, who will gain a $3bn increase in revenue. We need to see these investments going to sectors that can really create a future for this state, like renewable energy.

Queensland's coal reserves are an immense resource, but with great power comes great responsibility and the government is expanding production with no heed to the consequences of exploiting this dirty fuel.

While we support the government's attempts to address climate change through encouraging energy efficiency at home, the expansion of the coal industry offsets these efforts many times over. If Anna Bligh is to have any credibility on the climate issue she must begin to address coal and slow this massive expansion.