Save Bimblebox Nature Refuge
- by: Concerned citizens
- recipient: The Coordinator General C/- EIS Project Manager - Galilee Coal Project Significant Projects Coordination Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
Bimblebox Nature Refuge is 8000 ha in extent and located in central-west Queensland. It is another likely victim of the resource boom as it is in direct line of a proposed open cut coal mine as well as an underground longwall mine earmarked for development by Waratah Coal. The open cut mine will destroy the vegetation and the overlying land subject to underground mining could succumb to substantial subsidence.
How can this happen? - you may ask. Bimblebox Nature Refuge is a protected area in the National Reserve System. It is home to the endangered black-throated finch, the vulnerable squatter pigeon and the near threatened black-chinned honeyeater, to name but a few. It provides crucial habitat in a landscape extensively cleared for grazing. Around $300 000 of tax payer funds assisted in the purchase and it is covered by a perpetual conservation agreement with the Queensland Government.
Unfortunately Nature Refuge status is no protection against mining and the royalties that flow to a cash strapped Government!
The proposed mine is massive. It is planned to mine 1.4 billion tonnes of raw thermal coal to be transported on a new 468km rail line to the expanded Abbot Point coal terminal – further destruction of an already fragmented landscape. The total mine area would cover almost 70 000 ha and about 4500 ha of remnant vegetation would be lost of which almost 4000 ha occurs on Bimblebox Nature Refuge. The EIS indicated that the project will not be viable without the destruction of Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
Government documents, both at Commonwealth and State level, clearly indicate that our biodiversity and associated ecosystem services are in decline and under threat. Yet in the name of progress and development this relatively short term economic resource boom is favoured over long term benefits that maintenance of our ecosystem services and protection of our biodiversity can bring.
Wildlife Queensland will be forwarding a submission expressing our concerns about this threatening proposal. Offsets are not the answer even if they can be found. Wildlife Queensland will be emphasising:
threatening processes to already listed species
further fragmentation of an already dissected landscape
lack of evidence that appropriate offsets even exist
failure to address the cumulative impacts of massive new developments in the region
failure to adequately address the full life cycle of the mine and its 1.4 billion tonnes of coal will have on climate change.
My comments here relate to the overwhelmingly negative impacts that the proposed Galilee Coal Project would have on Bimblebox Nature Refuge.
Impacts of project: The Galilee Coal Project would irreversibly devastate Bimblebox Nature Refuge. The EIS describes how an open cut mine would directly destroy 52% of the property, and that underground mining of the remaining 48% would cause subsidence and impacts on the soil profile and hydrology (Executive Summary, section 3.1.8.2, page 35).
Values of Bimblebox Nature Refuge: With nearly 8000 hectares of remnant woodland, Bimblebox Nature Refuge is one of the largest intact areas of native ecology in Australia’s iconic Desert Uplands bioregion. The conservation values of the property were recognised by both the State and Federal governments when Bimblebox Nature Refuge was established a decade ago. Approximately $286,000 taxpayer dollars went towards the purchase of the property to preserve it from land clearing and over grazing, and with the understanding it would be protected in perpetuity. A vital refuge for a range of threatened and significant species, Bimblebox has also become a valuable study site for agencies like CSIRO, Queensland Herbarium and Birds Australia. Since it also operates as a minimal-impact grazing property, Bimblebox is a highly valued model of ecological land management.
Inadequacy of offset proposal: The offsets proposed by Waratah Coal to compensate for the impact on Bimblebox Nature Refuge are entirely inadequate to redress the loss that would occur. Offsetting is a highly contested approach to dealing with impacts on biodiversity and Waratah Coal has failed to demonstrate the existence of an offset area that is of comparable size and conservation value as Bimblebox Nature Refuge. There is also no guarantee that any such offset would not be subject to mining in the future.
Mining threats to nature refuges: Bimblebox Nature Refuge is the first nature refuge to be threatened by the rapidly expanding coal industry in Queensland. It is imperative that a precedent is not established that would jeopardise these important conservation areas across the state.
I implore you to look beyond expediency and short-term gain and act in the interest of Queensland now and in the future. For all the above reasons, the project should be refused.
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