The Colton Mine and how it will impact the Burnett

Community member shares her concerns about the impacts of the Colton open cut mine.

Jan and John Porter, Karen Jarling, Rob Gibbs, Pamela Scott-Holland, Professor Peter Dart and filmmaker David Smith are campaigning against the Colton open cut Coal Mine. Picture: Josh Preston

RECENTLY I arranged a community gathering at my local country hall in downtown Glastonbury, not far from Gympie.

Almost 50 people came together to gain a better understanding of where our communities sit in the current energy exploration activities, on Saturday June 16.

Some people attending already knew their properties were covered by exploration permits. Others were new to the area and had no idea of the threats we face.

With speakers from the Lock the Gate Alliance and Farmers for Climate Action, and a local community group, Cooran Earth Rights - Glastonbury locals were able to learn directly from those at the front lines of protecting rural and regional Australia from irreparable damage.

The New Hope Colton open cut coal mine planned for the Maryborough area is a little over an hour from Gympie. The Colton mine has approval to dump untreated waste water directly into the Susan and Mary River systems that lead into the Great Sandy Straits. Just let that sink in for a moment. Our World Heritage Listed Fraser Island will be subjected to the gaping wounds left by open pits, putting at risk more than 4,000 jobs and $1.1 million per day in Fraser Coast tourism.

I can't see a mine in that area employing 4,000 people, can you?

In a shocking example of the extent of the proposed activities, permit 2556 extends right down to Cooran and into the heart of the Noosa UNESCO Biosphere. And that is without even mentioning the 3000 sq kilometres of proposed gasfields in the Maryborough Basin!

Now head a little further out, because that's where most people think these activities take place, in the 'outback' where there aren't many people impacted.

Strangely, you won't have to go too far...

Around Gayndah in the heart and soul of the Queensland citrus industry there is a swath of exploration permits. Ban Ban Springs with it's history reaching back far beyond European settlement, Colston Lakes with that deep rich soil, and the highly productive Binjour Plateau area... all are gridded up ready for work.

I'm not sure a tour of the CSG wells would really fit into the growing HeartLand Festival that draws on the wonderful produce grown in these Burnett communities.

While the unconventional gas industry continues to tell us their operational activities are 'extremely safe,' evidence tells a different story. From shocking images of the Condamine River catching fire, to elevated levels of chemical contaminants in the stunning Kimberley - the legacy of CSG is not something we want to leave our children.

I'm not a particularly well educated person, but I am part of a farming family concerned about our ability to keep growing food, in our case chemical free, grassfed and finished beef, in the manner we are now.

As food producers, heck, as human beings, we need, clean air, clean soil and clean water. As farmers we are already fighting against a changing climate to provide the magnificent food our communities enjoy. These industries are only going to make the tough, tougher.