February 22, 2018
The Kingaroy Concerned Citizens Group will be holding a public meeting next week to look at a proposal by Moreton Resources to resume large sections of the South Burnett Rail Trail.
Moreton Resources has lodged documents with the Coordinator General as part of the company’s work to prepare an Environment Impact Statement for their proposed Kingaroy coal mine.
The documents show the company believes a railway line from Kingaroy to Theebine is the best means of transporting coal to a port.
The route would follow the South Burnett Rail Trail, with deviations around major South Burnett towns.
“Affected communities need to fully understand proposals like this so they can comment on them during the consultation phase of the mine application process,” KCCG president Gary Tessman said.
“The KCCG will present some basic information about the proposed route and its potential impacts at the meeting.
“We will also seek input from landowners and community representatives along this proposed route to better inform an EIS response from the people attending.”
Issues that will be covered at the meeting include:
- dust
- noise
- land resumptions
- disruption to business
- land valuation effects
Community members who wish to respond to the proposed rail route will be able to do so by completing a KCCG EIS Impact Statement.
“These responses from affected people, businesses and organisations will be included in the EIS response coordinated by KCCG,” Gary said.
“This coordinated response will add weight to everyone affected by the proposed mine and coal rail line.
“It will help provide a consistent voice to express our concerns and have them considered by the Queensland Government when the decision about the mine is being assessed.”
The meeting will be held at Wondai Town Hall on Thursday, March 1 at 7:00pm.
So jobs in and around the community and region aren’t important we’d rather listen to all these people crap on and continuously whinge
Geoff, the problem is that mines are becoming automated, the number of jobs involved is miniscule compared to the impact on the lives of our residents, particularly for those who will be forced to move through land resumptions. We need labour-intensive industries – as I have said before a large-scale aged care facility or detention centre would be ideal for the South Burnett. Maybe the old Meat Works site in Murgon?