Ewen’s southern states claim is wildly inaccurate

TO represent the Australian Conservation Foundation as “from the southern states” is wildly inaccurate ( Ewen Jones, Letters, 18/ 1).

ACF is Australia’s national environment organisation and has more than 300,000 active supporters across the country. Approximately 20 per cent of our members and supporters are from rural and regional communities, including many in regional Queensland.

In December ACF’s Townsville sup- porters, along with traditional owners and many other local groups, protested — peacefully and lawfully — in Townsville against the Adani proposal, because of the impact the massive coal mine would have on the local environment, culturally significant places, water, the climate and the Great Barrier Reef. We may do so again.

The right to peaceful protest is a central part of maintaining a thriving democracy.

Mr Jones is right to say that how we manage environmental impacts is “vitally important”.

Many scientists specialising in biodiversity, coral and hydrology, including some from JCU in Townsville, have spoken out against Adani’s proposal because of the threat it presents to species, water and the reef. We would say Queensland can do so much better.

We are advocating for a clean and healthy future for Queensland com- munities. Strong, clean energy policies in Queensland would generate 90,000 new jobs, many of them in regional communities.

That is many tens of thousands more than the 1400 jobs from Adani’s polluting coal mine and would not come at the expense of the 70,000 existing jobs that depend on a healthy Great Barrier Reef. BASHA STASAK,