Felton Community continues to gather support against proposed coal mine
11th of Aug, 2009
Last weekend the people of Felton, 30km south-west of Toowoomba, continued their fight against coal mining in style. With the support of Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce and 300 yellow balloons, released to demonstrate the potential spread of coal dust across the region, their story is starting to gain a profile and looks set to cause the Qld Government considerable angst when the time comes to finally approve the mining application.
A wide cross section of the local community are now speaking out against coal mining in the area, including three churches and agforce.
The story of the Felton Valley typifies the absurdity of coal expansion in Queensland. Felton is not only the home to a healthy local community, but also a highly productive farming area, producing 750,000 lettuces, 65,000 cauliflowers, and 60,000 bunches of celery each week.
But Felton is not an isolated case. As Senator Barnaby Joyce remarked, if the Felton open-cut coal mine goes ahead, it will open the way for further exploitation of local communities in the Darling Downs for coal in areas under Mining Development Leases such as Haystack Plains and Jimbour Plains.
And while coal mining on agricultural land is the pointy edge of the blade, other areas that are not considered 'prime' agricultural land are also suffering from the massive expansion of the coal industry.
See the article and leave a comment at the Queensland Country Life here.
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Photo from Friends of Felton.
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