Front Line Action on Coal released this statement on January 30.
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Front Line Action on Coal has hit Whitehaven’s Tarrawonga mine and federal environment minister Tony Burke’s office in Roseland with simultaneous actions, unfurling huge banners that read: “The Burke stops here”.
The banners call on the Federal Environment Minister to reject coal expansions that would decimate the Leard Forest.
“Coal expansion in the Leard Forest would destroy over 5000 hectares of the largest remaining forest in the Liverpool Plains, deplete the water table and emit toxic coal dust,” said spokesperson Emma Brown.
Burke will decide whether to approve the new Maules Creek mine and an expansion of the Boggabri mine within the next two weeks, along with the further expansion of the Tarrawonga mine, which received state approval on January 25.
“If Tony Burke is a fit and proper person to be minister for the environment, he will reject these coal expansions that threaten our health, our climate, our water and our forests.”
The coal expansions would destroy over half of the Leard Forest, which is home to koalas, critically endangered ecological communities of Box-Gum and 34 threatened species of birds, bats and reptiles.
A quarter of the local farming population, who have shown strong opposition for three years, would be dislocated if the mines were to proceed.