Gates shut in the gas landsQueensland – Home of the big rubber stamp
Queensland has always struggled to regulate mining and with shaky environmental approval for the state’s biggest mining project, nothing seems to be changing, writes Drew Hutton. The mining industry is a law unto itself.
The highly productive Darling Downs includes areas such as Felton, Haystack, Acland and Wandoan have the best topsoil you are likely to see outside of the Ganges Delta, as well as being more intensively settled. They are set to be sacrificed to what Guy Pearse calls “King Coal” — and the Queensland Government is doing all it can to facilitate this trend.
But while King Coal might be receiving plenty of attention there is another key player in the Queensland mining sector that is subject to less scrutiny: the coal seam gas industry.