Local landholders John Larsen and Damien O’Sullivan near the proposed mine site (Photo: KCCG)

June 25, 2016

The Kingaroy Concerned Citizens Group welcomed last week’s ruling that the proposed Kingaroy coal mine will be a “controlled action”.

In its decision, the Federal Department listed three items which influenced the ruling:

  • Listed threatened species and communities
  • Listed migratory species
  • A water resource in relation to a large coal mine.

The KCCG says this is not a surprising outcome.

Spokesman John Dalton said the mine could impact on local groundwater and species of Commonwealth interest, such as the well-known koala population and the black-breasted button quail.

These factors appear to have been sufficient to trigger the environmental safeguards under the Environment Protection And Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, he said.

The implications for the proponent, Moreton Resources, is that it will now have to use both the State and Commonwealth processes to seek approval for the proposed mine.

“KCCG submitted 17 pages of information to the Commonwealth Government in response to the application by Moreton Resources,” Mr Dalton said.

“We felt that the company’s application understated and omitted many important aspects in their application, and we were keen to make sure the reviewing officers were aware of these matters.”

Some of these issues included:

  • The presence of ground water reserves that serve the local community
  • The matter of the company not declaring that it had, as a derivative of Cougar Energy, been subject to court action in an environment court.
  • The presence of a long-standing and sustainable koala population.
  • The likelihood of a black breasted button quail population.
  • The comment by Moreton Resources that the mine’s influence on the town water supply will be “an emotive issue” for the local community.
  • The lack of any reference in maps or text to the presence of the Kingaroy Airport.
  • The lack of significant reference to the presence of many residential areas nearby
  • The solid local opposition to the mine as expressed at a community forum in February.

Mr Dalton said the KCCG was now planning to hold a follow-up forum at the Kingaroy Town Hall in the near future.

The purpose of this forum would be to update the local community on the most recent developments, to inform them of the approval process that is expected to unfold over the next months, and to enlist their support in influencing the outcome of that application.

The KCCG is now undertaking a crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of this proposed forum.

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