A future without Adani

We are led to believe that the economic future of North Queensland is utterly dependent upon the opening of the Adani Mine in the Galilee Basin. Without it, we are told that there will be massive unemployment and a general economic downturn.

Indeed, it is of such enormity that an election in Melbourne for the Seat of Batman in the Federal Parliament will be decided on the issue, even though the electorate and the mine are thousands of kilometres apart.

This nonsense, spread by politicians, free market advocates, climate change deniers and general fear mongers, badly fails the pub test.

The stark fact is that development of the North and the Inland has never been backed by either serious political will or genuine investment, nor has a well researched long term plan of sustainable development for the region ever been prepared, let alone implemented.

The Adani mine was chosen as a quick fix for years of neglect and it was based on series of appalling fabrications.

The Galilee Basin contains only high emission coal of poor quality which is very inferior to the high quality of the nearby Surat Basin, the development of which was shut down by the Newman and Palaszczuk Governments. They were paralysed by fear that voters would work out that, by proceeding with Adani, they were developing the worst coal basin on our continent.

(Governments did the same with the North West Mineral Province of Queensland. They stopped development of the new railway it needs to Townsville fearing that it too would detract from Adani. Actually, Adani became a sick obsession for all politicians of any colour.)

The other minus for the Adani mine is also enormous.

It is located too far from the Port of Bowen to be financially viable and environmentally friendly and its railway will not create any economic value to any other industry in its region, even farming, It will just serve one low quality mine.

If we add to this the fact that it will also consume water needed by our agricultural and grazing industries, then you have a lamentable fraud that has been inflicted on the people of our North.

So, let us all face the fact that the Adani mine will never get up.

And it does not deserve to get up.