CFMEU hopes preferencing Labor last will send message to State Government over New Acland
The CFMEU representative for the New Acland Coal Mine says the union wants to send a strong message to the State Government over its lack of a decision on the future of the project.
QLD Votes
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Votes. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Union rep Michael Hartin spoke at a community event in Oakey attended by hundreds of residents on the weekend.
The gathering was organised by the mine’s owner New Hope to rally support for the mine.
The State Government has said it would not approve an expansion to the mine until a lengthy judicial review was completed.
The matter is before the High Court of Australia, having already spent time in the Land and Supreme Courts in recent years.
It comes several weeks after the CFMEU started campaigning against the Labor Party, particularly in contestable seats like North Toowoomba.
Finding himself in photos with key members of the Liberal National Party, including Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt and Senator Matt Canavan, Mr Hartin said the union was principled in its stance on the controversial issue.
“We’ll stand up for anyone who is willing to back Queensland workers,” he said.
“We’ve got an Australian company mining Australian coal with Australian workers, thus ensuring the approval of this project is a high priority.
“As a union on a local level, we’ve decided to actively campaign against Labor.
“There are 175 workmates I’ve lost due to the inaction of this government to approve New Acland stage three.”
Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio, who also spoke at the rally, said the both sides of politics deserved varying levels of blame for the lack of action on the mine.
“It sends a message and it’s the same message before the Federal Election – we’re not done with coal just yet,” he said.
“13 years to make a decision is too long, and don’t forget the Newman Government was in there too during that period.”
New Hope COO Andrew Boyd called on the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to approve the mine.
“If they support us, we’ll support them, but they’ve ignored us and ignored this community,” he said.