The approval of the $1bn watermark Shenhua coal mine in the NSW Liverpool Plains, has raised concerns over threats to other fertile areas, including Queensland’s Lockyer Valley. “It would depend where it is. Some land isn’t that fantastic,” says farm owner Sharon Windolf, who lives and works on Windolf farm in nearby Tenthill. “The presence of a coal mine would certainly be a concern but we would have to wait and see how it was done.”
The Liverpool Plains site has been the subject of intense debate, with Federal Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce publicly opposing the mine before the latest approval. Much of the argument has been over whether the mine will directly affect primary production. Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt insisted the mine would not be on the 'best agricultural land' in media interviews, including on Sky TV, and that the government had no other choice according to the relevant planning laws.
Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones also told media that he is not convinced that the region’s protected status will mean no coal mine could be developed in the area. “I bet the farmers of the Liverpool Plains thought an open cut coal mine in the middle of their prime agricultural land could never happen either, and now it has,” he said in a story on Queensland Country Life.
Authorities have tried to reassure residents of the Lockyer Valley region that any proposed mine would not cause any damage to land used for food production, and that environmental standards would be met. Queensland Farmer Federation CEO Clare Murray also said that her organization is working closely with the government. "QFF is working with the new government to amend the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014 to strengthen community objection rights to mining projects," she said to Queensland Country Life in an interview.” "The removal of the ministerial extinguishment power, and the elimination of the ability for mining leases to be granted over restricted land before consent and compensation has been agreed, will provide greater transparency to the assessment process and is supported by QFF."