The newly elected Member for Groom said he is heartbroken for the people of Oakey following Wednesday’s high court decision over expansion plans for the New Acland mine at Oakey.
The court ruled that stage 3 will be reassessed in the Queensland land court.
It’s a move that has been welcomed by the Oakey coal action alliance, which has been opposing the project since 2007.
However, Garth Hamilton said the ruling is indecisive, which will hit locals hard.
At the same time, the state opposition has slammed the decision, saying the heart has been ripped out of Oakey and the Darling Downs community.
Resources spokesperson Pat Weir said the premier must go to the community immediately and explain to them what happened and how she intends to support them into the future because families are hurting.
The Mayor of Toowoomba said his region needs certainty about the New Acland coal mine expansion.
“The community of Oakey had something in the order of 200 jobs shed recently since September and if it (mine expansion) were to go ahead in stage 3, there were to be 500 jobs,” said mayor Paul Antonio.
“So you add all that up and then look at the economic impact that’s put on our region, I’m kind of staggered that the state government can’t make a decision.”
On the flipside, Greens MP Michael Berkman has welcomed the court’s decision.
“The Acland stage 3 thermal coal mine is a crazy, destructive climate wrecking process that would trash some of Queensland’s best agricultural land and ruin our precious ground water out there on the Darling Downs,” he said.
