‘It will intimidate Fox Resources’: War on coal ramps up

The war against proposed coal mining in the Bundaberg region has ramped up.

Generic Pic - Suzanna/Clarke 15 Dec 1998 Newlands Coal Mine Mining industry qld machinery truck

The war against proposed coal mining in the Bundaberg region has ramped up.

The Lock the Gate Alliance has stationed baseline air monitoring devices at key locations in the region, with plans for more on the horizon.

There has been strong debate around the proposed mines since it was revealed Fox Resources had applied for a mineral development licence (MDL3040) last year.

The proposed mines would be constructed in Avondale and Winfield if the company is successful.

Following numerous community meetings and a petition, Lock the Gate has taken the unprecedented step of installing air quality monitors - a first for any Queensland community group.

Long-time Avondale resident Penny Taylor, who has called the area home for 31 years, said the monitors were to show that the Bundaberg Protectors Group was not afraid of a fight.

"I think it will intimidate Fox Resources because it will show the company how deadly serious we are," she said.

"We are going to have so much data that will prove just how little pollution there is around Avondale.

"The community is absolutely serious and there is no way Fox Resources will get its mine - it is just not going to happen."

The group also hopes to raise money to conduct scientific water sampling.

Gladstone Conservation Council co-ordinator Anna Hitchcock said coal mines were well known for producing harmful particulate matter that impacted people's health.

"The people of Bundaberg and Avondale do not want their health threatened by a coal mine, especially when the data we have seen already shows just how healthy and clean the air is here at the moment," she said.

"As far as I know, this is the first community in Queensland to start doing baseline air quality monitoring before a fossil fuel project has been approved."

Two monitors have been installed so far - in Bundaberg city and at Avondale - and the Bundaberg Protectors Group has plans to install several more.

The air monitors, which are manufactured in the USA, are unique in that their data is available online in a publicly accessible worldwide network.

The monitors take continuous measurements of dust and fine particles which are harmful to human health.

Data from the monitors can be viewed here.

Lock the Gate is not alone in its opposition of proposed coal mining in the region.

Last year, Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey gave his personal view on the mines, saying he was not against mining in the right places but with Bundaberg being a food bowl, it was not write to carry out mining on "prime agricultural land".

In a non-scientific poll on the NewsMail website, 55 per cent of readers said they supported coal mining in the region, while 44 per cent said they did not.

A survey carried out by botanists earlier this year found almost 800 native plants and animals could be at risk from proposed coal mining in the region.

Fox Resources was contacted for comment but a response was not received by deadline.

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