LNP puts mining profits before community health with uncovered coal
The Queensland Greens say the LNP puts mining profits before community health with its refusal to demand covered coal wagons and port stockpiles.
The Queensland Greens’ Senate candidate, Adam Stone said coal dust blowing into communities from the Port of Brisbane and from trains travelling through our suburbs were a serious health threat.
“This issue is months old,” Mr Stone said. “One of our candidates, Joanne Bragg, helped households living along the railway line lodge a formal complaint with the State Government back in March.
“Yet all that has been done so far is an extremely limited study of particulate emissions in a single suburb that was roundly criticised by experts, with no concrete action to limit the community’s exposure to this harmful dust.
“That suggests the Government is more interested in saving the mining companies the expense of covering their coal than safeguarding the community’s health.”
Geoff Ebbs, the Greens’ candidate in the federal seat of Griffith, says households in his area are particularly badly affected.
“People from Coorparoo, Buranda, Woolloongabba and Annerley complained about the impacts coal wagons were having on their lives early this year and nothing has improved.
“That might be defensible if we were dealing with some complex problem, but covering wagons to prevent dust from escaping hardly requires any scientific breakthroughs.
“It only requires the Government to listen to the community and take a precautionary approach to protecting their health.”