Barnett pours water on coal mine
THE State Government has quelled concern a coal mine may be approved for the Midlands.
Resources Minister Guy Barnett yesterday confirmed a grant of up to $50,000 was approved for Perth company Midland Energy under the Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative in March after a review by an assessment panel.
Mr Barnett said the Government “actively encourages mineral exploration”, but it had not granted, or been asked to grant, a mining lease for the land in question at Woodbury and Jericho.
“Midland Energy and associated companies have held relevant exploration licences since they were granted under the former Labor Government in 2008,” he said. “Any proposal for m in ing would be subject to rigorous assessment and must be in the state’s best interests.”
The company has to May next year to complete drilling requirements to receive the grant.
The Wilderness Society campaign manager Tom Allen said he was stunned a new coal mine was being considered, labelling it “ecocidal, immoral and just plain wrong”.
He said Tasmania should be “decarbonising, junking our remaining fossil fuel dependence and going 100 per cent carbon neutral”.
“Fossil fuels need to remain in the ground. There should be no new coal mines in Tasmania and we are confident that the community will help keep it that way,” Mr Allen said. “As an island community, we know our future lies in agriculture, tourism, culture and nature protection, not coal mines and we will fiercely protect our clean, green competitive advantage.”