Submitted by steve.skitmore on Fri 4 Jun 2010 4:21pm Posted in Community group, Friends of the Earth Brisbane, has welcomed news today that mining giant, Xstrata, will suspend operations in Wandoan, but blames the company's poor planning for the failure of the project and not the Resource Super Profits Tax.
The Wandoan Coal Project is a climate killer”, said spokes person for Friends of the Earth Brisbane, Eleanor Smith. “At 30 million tonnes of coal per year, it was to be one of the biggest coal projects in the world and add millions of tonnes to our carbon debt.”
We've been watching this project for a number of years and could see that it was not viable without the inflated coal export prices we saw during the boom. Xstrata are using the Government's Resource Profits Tax as a scapegoat to cover up for their own poor planning” said Ms Smith.
Xstrata have gone into Wandoan and absolutely decimated that community. Landholders have left, leaving schools and local businesses under pressure. A creeping death has taken over the community which was once a vibrant rural hub,” said Ms Smith who visited the community as part of a research tour of coal affected communities in 2008.
Friends of the Earth supports a tax on mining super profits, but believes the proceeds should be used to build a just and sustainable future that doesn't depend on fossil fuel extraction and use.
The Xstrata case shows that we cannot trust these companies with our future. We simply must move towards sustainable industries that have been shown to provide more jobs, and decent jobs at that!” said Ms Smith
Read the Six Degrees report on the impacts of coal on rural communities here.
The Wandoan Coal Project is a climate killer”, said spokes person for Friends of the Earth Brisbane, Eleanor Smith. “At 30 million tonnes of coal per year, it was to be one of the biggest coal projects in the world and add millions of tonnes to our carbon debt.”
We've been watching this project for a number of years and could see that it was not viable without the inflated coal export prices we saw during the boom. Xstrata are using the Government's Resource Profits Tax as a scapegoat to cover up for their own poor planning” said Ms Smith.
Xstrata have gone into Wandoan and absolutely decimated that community. Landholders have left, leaving schools and local businesses under pressure. A creeping death has taken over the community which was once a vibrant rural hub,” said Ms Smith who visited the community as part of a research tour of coal affected communities in 2008.
Friends of the Earth supports a tax on mining super profits, but believes the proceeds should be used to build a just and sustainable future that doesn't depend on fossil fuel extraction and use.
The Xstrata case shows that we cannot trust these companies with our future. We simply must move towards sustainable industries that have been shown to provide more jobs, and decent jobs at that!” said Ms Smith
Read the Six Degrees report on the impacts of coal on rural communities here.
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