Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to stress the importance of agriculture in this current mining boom. Firstly, let me make it clear that I am certainly not opposed to the mining of coal and I am well aware of the many areas in Queensland which have benefited from the state’s huge coal reserves. However, my concern is that during this time of rapid expansion in the mining industry we sometimes forget that we are sacrificing high-quality agricultural land, much of which has been farmed since our pioneering days, often by generations of the same family.

We must ask ourselves how much prime agricultural land we as a nation are prepared to surrender to mining operations. How much of the Darling Downs in my own electorate of Maranoa will be sacrificed to the Surat coal basin? For the first time in almost a decade, farmers across the Darling Downs are enjoying record summer grain crops. Lights are blazing in paddocks throughout the night as they harvest their crops. As the lines of trucks patiently wait to take the grain away, we are reminded how important our primary industries are to our national food source.

A particular area of the Darling Downs, the agriculturally rich Felton Valley, is the proposed site for a mine and a hybrid energy project. The Friends of Felton, a community group which was formed in response to the proposed action, are fighting for their town, community and lifestyle to be able to continue. The Felton Valley is home to a diverse range of crops, rich black alluvial soils and a reliable annual rainfall. The skies of the valley are clear and unpolluted, as evidenced by the University of Southern Queensland’s decision to base its observatory there. In fact, the observatory was recently installed with a NASA funded telescope, which allows NASA and other American research institutions to see objects in space which are unable to be seen from the USA due to the excessive light and air pollution. I believe the emergence of the Friends of Felton group is just the beginning and we will see many more similar community groups created in response to the ever-increasing mining operations across Australia.

We may never be able to halt the juggernaut that is the mining boom, but as a nation and as a parliament we must ensure the right balance is struck between the resource industries and the original pioneering industries of Australia. It is important that we protect our food sources, and I think it is high time that we had a debate about getting the balance right between mining resources that are under the ground and keeping our prime agricultural land. We know the agricultural land will be there forever, but the resources that are mined are gone forever. Let us make sure that we in this nation get it right.