“The world has gone mad.”
The man who once threatened to murder Johnny Depp’s dogs, aka Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, has declared the world has finally gone completely bonkers. And you know what? I’m inclined to agree with him.
Yes, Joyce thinks his own government has gone TOO FAR, by approving the Shenhua Watermark coal mine in his NSW electorate.
At 4084 hectares, the mine will be bigger than the evil controversial Maules Creek mine, which is currently the largest under construction in Australia.
It will actually be BIGGER than the City of Sydney (And the City of Melbourne).
Can’t picture it? One Twitter user has created this handy graphic to help you:
Joyce is apparently furious with Environment Minister Greg Hunt for approving the $1.2 billion project and said he has done everything in his power to stop the mine.
“I’ve never supported the Shenhua mine,” he posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“I think it is ridiculous that you would have a major mine in the midst of Australia’s best agricultural land.
“I think the world has gone mad when apparently you cannot build a house at Moore Creek because of White Box grassy woodlands but you can build a super mine in the middle of the Breeza plains.”
The mine won’t be in Melbourne or Sydney, it will be located smack bang in the middle of some of Australia’s most productive farmland sucking up to 10 million tonnes of coal from the earth every year, for, potentially, the next THIRTY YEARS.
Remember when Treasurer Joe Hockey said wind farms were an “utterly offensive” blight on the landscape? THIS IS WHAT A FUCKING COAL MINE LOOKS LIKE:
Greg Hunt has sought to reassure concerned members of the public, claiming that Shenua — the Chinese mining company licensed for the project — will be subject to “18 of the strictest conditions in Australian history”, thus protecting water supplies to the, at present, highly fertile black soil plains the area is famous for.
Worst. Environment. Minister. Ever.
The Greens have accused Barnaby Joyce of failing his constituents as the member for New England (not to mention as MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE), with NSW MP and mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham labelling him “fucking useless” on Twitter.
Ouch.
Former independent MP Tony Windsor has also weighed in on the issue, accusing him of feigning outrage. He also said that he may re-enter politics to fight the project and Joyce for his seat (which he held during the Gillard minority government).
Tasmanian Senator Jaqui Lambie has thrown down the gauntlet as well and challenged the current minister to a debate on Q&A (Lol Jacqui, Coalition members don’t appear on Q&A!) and called for his resignation in this INTENSE, if low-budget, video message (post continues after video):
Sure, she may not know which camera to look at, but she is REALLY MAD OKAY?!
And she makes a good point. If our Government can show such a blatant disregard for the environment and future generations in NSW, they could well do the same anywhere in Australia — and they are.
They will continue to do so too, at least for as long as Tony “coal is good for humanity” Abbott in charge and his key advisor thinks that climate change is a UN concocted conspiracy.
The world HAS gone mad, Barnaby.
And we’re all fucked, basically.
Meanwhile – if you want to keep Victoria coal seam gas free – there’s possibly, maybe still time to have your concerns heard. Sign this petition before July 10.
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Top Comments
As a recently graduated mining engineer, this whole thing makes me wonder:
IF YOU ARE SO OUTRAGED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT WHY DO YOU LET UNIVERSITIES OFFER MINING ENGINEERING DEGREES?
I have spent 4 of the best years of my life in the hope of a secure job and a secure future for myself. I was 17, and now look at me, 21 and graduated into a future of joblessness. I will just be on the dole for the rest of my life, with a $40,000 debt on my head with no future prospects and no one but myself to blame. This is so great. I do think that climate change is an issue and it needs to be acted upon, and I do think renewable is the way. But what about me and my graduating class and the hundreds of others to come in the next five years? Why are universities allowed to get away with this? It's all well and good to want to protect the environment but there needs to be a better way to tackle this as a society. Not to mention the constant devil comparisons I get on the regular.
Did you seriously graduate as a mining engineer with no concept of why mining is needed and WILL continue indefinitely?. You do know that renewables have absolutely no capacity to provide stable base load right?, that wind farms can't operate when there is no wind OR to much wind and solar is not effective at night or when overcast, at those time they are dependant on the grid for power, that they themselves are dependant on mining for their construction. As for the devil comparisons, maybe you should point out how many things those people use every day that are the product of mining, you could start with the toilet and ask if they would prefer a squatting over a long drop!
1) Uni's are a business, they don't force anyone to enroll in their courses.
2) This article has missed the point. It's really not about the environment, the issue is the proposed mining site is on prime agricultural land, hence this will affect NSW farmers financially for obvious reasons.
It's no surprise the Government has announced this while Alan Jones is out of the country. It'll be headlines news for a while yet.
Are you serious? What about me? This is a massive mine owned by the chinese in one of the most fertile and productive areas in Australia. It will have a huge impact on the environment and matter what they say no way this land and local water supplies can be restored once the mine has closed down. If you are worried about your job prospects in the future maybe you should have studied something else.
This comment is fascinating...
A 4000 hectare mine is being built on prime agricultural land, effectively ruining the surrounding land for the use of growing food that would feed tens of thousand of people, if not hundreds of thousands, severely impacting the lives of thousands of people who live nearby and of course the environment...
And that is your comment?
You are young, (my god, I am only 27 and I WISH I was still 21!!) you are educated, you have a TERTIARY DEGREE under you belt, you are obviously intelligent or at least dedicated to be able to finish a four year mining engineering degree.
So there's no graduate mining engineering jobs going right now for you? So what!! Very few people walk out of uni straight into the career they've been studying for; That's life. You get a different job/study something else/travel/keep applying for mining jobs/do whatever you want. That's life. It's not a straight line and it rarely leads you to where you thought it was going to.
Butt from where I'm sitting it looks like you have a great starting pad for a life full of opportunity and success.
What does coal seam gas have to do with the mine? Can we have another article about coal seam gas that doesn't confuse the two issues as they are very different? It is an interesting topic with a variety of views, and its one that many communities feel very deeply about.
Do you mean to say this is a coal seam mine, not an open cut coal mine like those shown in the pictures? (For those who don't know, there is a huge difference)
I'm neither for or against the proposal and would have to read more about it. Still, it would be nice if actual facts were given though.