Farmers warn miners to keep their mitts off

From Queensland Country Life

There’s increased urgency about ramping up the simmering mining versus agriculture debate, with a Queensland state election in the offing.

That’s about to start a debate of national interest – especially in NSW and WA, where the same issue has been simmering, too.

FutureFood Queensland is being formed this week ‘to strike the balance’ between mining and food production capability.

It’s been formed to protect high-value farmland in danger of being swamped by new mining developments.

“We are not an anti-mining group but some prime farmland simply should not be mined,” the venture’s co-chairs farmers Geoff Hewitt and Charlie Wilson said today.

“It defies logic that a farm capable of producing premium food for thousands of years into the future, would be permanently destroyed to allow for 20 years of coal mining.”

Both major parties contending this year’s state election campaign will be targetted by the new lobby group which says it wants to see all political parties introduce “a proper planning” process.

Environmental and Landcare groups from Central Queensland, remain concerned about the impact of “inappropriate” mining in Queensland.

“If they don’t listen to us about food security, we’ll have a humanitarian disaster that puts the Murray Darling crisis in the shade.”

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