PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has urged the state Parliament to reject a proposal by the Greens to ban mining in the Galilee basin.

“This is the Greens’ anti-resources tantrum 2.0,” QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said on Wednesday.

“Much like the similarly flawed Bill before the Senate in the federal Parliament, this proposal is counterproductive and counter to common sense.

“Not only would it fail to have any impact on changing global temperatures - its stated intention – but its anti-resources agenda would also risk the jobs of the 316 000 Queenslanders who work in the industry and leave the Queensland budget in tatters,” Macfarlane said.

Figures from the Office of the Chief Economist’s December update showed that if the six major coal projects in the Galilee basin were to proceed they would create 13 900 construction jobs and 12 803 jobs during operations. 

“While anti-coal activists sneer at these jobs, they are an opportunity that regional Queenslanders are ready to grasp, especially given mining jobs are typically high-skilled and high-paying,” Macfarlane said.

“The global demand for coal is strong, and coal is forecast to remain at about 40% of total power generation in the Asia Pacific by the year 2040 under a scenario modelled by the International Energy Agency.

“If the Greens’ bid to ban coal in Queensland was successful that would simply mean the demand for coal would be met from other countries with lower quality coal, which would in turn lead to higher emissions. Meanwhile, Queenslanders would miss out on the returns from royalty taxes, which pay for teachers, nurses and police. 

“Without royalty taxes from the resources industry, the Queensland Budget would be in the red to the tune of A$4.6-billion.”

Macfarlane said that the Greens' Bill proposes to rip up existing mining leases in the Galilee basin, which would not only trash Queensland’s reputation as a reliable place to invest, but it should send a warning to every industry in Queensland. 

“If the Greens are successful in destroying one lawful, responsible and regulated industry, they’ll simply shift their sights to the next target.”