The New Climate Wedge: Farmers vs Coal Mining

It's more than the crops that are taking root and unfurling green leaves in Queensland this Spring. From the headwaters of the Murray-Darling on the Darling Downs, farmers' groups are fighting the government sponsored expansion of the coal industry into their food-producing lands, but are adding a twist to their campaigning: a green twist.

This article, written by Six Degrees campaigner was originally published in Chain Reaction #107, November 2009. See the original article here.

Pictures from the Six Degrees "Community Dialogues on Coal: Listening Tour" conducted in 2008. Find out more about the tour here.

Of course, farmers have fought mining developments on their lands in the past, and as NIMBY campaigns that have argued for the protection of local areas and values, the rational response by mining companies, 'if not yours, then someone else's', has generally carried weight with the state government.

However, times are changing.

Increased public demand for real action on climate change has meant that the coal industry's social license in Queensland is slowly eroding, and farmers' groups are tapping into this sentiment by drawing the broader picture around their local campaigns.

Instead of remaining as NIMBY groups, campaigns such as the Friends of Felton on the Darling Downs are now leading the charge towards renewable energy production and rejecting coal proposals on the basis of both food and climate security.

The green in their banners is now taking on a new significance in the context of sustainable development politics and reflecting the developing alliance between farming and environmental groups to work against the Queensland government's plans to massively expand the coal industry.

Friends of Felton first formed in 2007 in opposition to the threat of an application by Ambre Energy to mine coal and build a petrochemical and power producing plant in the midst of their closely settled farming community just south of Toowoomba in south-east Queensland.

At full operation, Ambre's proposal will take over 2,800 hectares of land in the Felton Valley, and produce over 12.8 million tones of coal annually, as large as any coal mine currently in operation in Queensland. As the largest coal producing state in the world's largest coal exporting nation, this is an avenue we can ill afford to take.

However, the Felton coal development is key to the Queensland government's claim that mining and agriculture can co-exist, a claim fervently denied by the local community who have seen for themselves what has happened in farming communities on the Darling Downs that have consented to mining on their land. Nearby Acland has experienced severe social decline and the remaining farmers have seen food production extensively reduced due to failed dust control measures.

It is impossible to see Felton, Toowoomba and Pittsworth co-existing with a coal mine that would require around 2,000 megalitres of water per year for coal washing and dust control alone. Friends of Felton spokesperson Rob McCreath also points out that mining will risk destroying the underground water aquifers, contribute to the decline of the Murray-Darling system and reduce food production in the valley.

In July, agricultural union representatives from Agforce visited Felton and chaired a meeting at which three motions were passed to support Felton's struggle against Ambre Energy. Vice-President Ian Burnett commented on the other precedent that Felton could potentially set for Queensland:

"We will try to stop mining here. I believe it could be the opportunity to set a precedent and say 'no' to coal mining."

Ambre's proposal is the thin edge of the wedge, with massive coal deposits throughout south-east Queensland leading to a doubling of coal exploration licenses distributed in 2008 and scores of applications for new coal developments.

This is a vitally important precedent.

At a national level, the Senate on September 10 resoundingly rejected a motion by Australian Greens leader Bob Brown for a halt to mining exploration and development on farming areas in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland. Probably more than any other state in the nation, the Queensland government is embedded in its rapturous relationship with coal, and it's an addiction that is proving hard to break even in light of overwhelming evidence and recognition that we need to take real action on climate change.

In Queensland, we need to begin transitioning away from coal production now, and stop the mindless ramping up of coal exports that is currently being orchestrated by the Bligh Labor government.

However, like any strong addiction, going 'cold turkey' can often lead to more harm than good.

With coal, in order to avoid the devastating social implications that an ad hoc collapse of the coal industry will entail, we need to start imagining what this transition will look like and through what mechanisms it will occur.

Friends of Felton's campaign stands solidly by this transition, and they recognise along with the climate movement that opposition without alternatives is a fraught endeavour. Resistance must be backed up by a mobilisation towards transformation.

The group has been actively seeking information about sustainable energy initiatives and recently gathered in Cambooya to hear consultant Trevor Berril speak on sustainable energy systems that are needed to transition away from our dependence on coal, and that can co-exist with farming.

Ironically, Friends of Felton has also won funding from the Queensland government's ‘Low Carbon Diet' community grants and has invested in renewable energy in the valley.

Convergent environmental crises have led to converging campaigns in Queensland. While Friends of Felton are linking their work to its broader impacts on climate change, Friends of the Earth Brisbane's coal and climate collective Six Degrees recognises that protecting farming lands is a key step to phasing out coal in Queensland and taking real action on climate change.

Such alliances are key to addressing the greatest challenge of our time: climate change.