Xstrata Coal Project - Bad Planning To Blame Not Tax

Community group, Friends of the Earth Brisbane, has welcomed news today that mining giant, Xstrata, will suspend operations in Wandoan, but blames the company's poor planning for the failure of the project and not the Resource Super Profits Tax. 

Spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Brisbane, Eleanor Smith said of the project: 

The Wandoan Coal Project is a climate killer.

At 30 million tonnes of coal per year, it was to be one of the biggest coal projects in the world and add millions of tonnes to our carbon debt.

We've been watching this project for a number of years and could see that it was not viable without the inflated coal export prices we saw during the boom. Xstrata are using the Government's Resource Profits Tax as a scapegoat to cover up for their own poor planning.

 Xstrata have gone into Wandoan and absolutely decimated that community. Landholders have left, leaving schools and local businesses under pressure. A creeping death has taken over the community which was once a vibrant rural hub.

Ms Smith visited the community as part of a research tour of coal affected communities conducted by Six Degrees in late 2008.

Friends of the Earth supports a tax on mining super profits, but believes the proceeds should be used to build a just and sustainable future that doesn't depend on fossil fuel extraction and use. Ms Smith continued: 

The Xstrata case shows that we cannot trust these companies with our future. We simply must move towards sustainable industries that have been shown to provide more jobs, and decent jobs at that.

 Read the Six Degrees report on the impacts of coal on rural communities here.