Regional Queenslanders to pay the price of energy policy failure as Bowen Coking Coal fails

The Queensland Government’s failure to plan for a diversified global economy has left regional communities exposed. That is the message from Queensland Conservation Council and Mackay Conservation Group, following news that Bowen Coking Coal’s is entering voluntary administration, putting 500 regional jobs on the line.

Queensland Conservation Council campaigner Charlie Cox said

This closure is a sign of the times, and it’s one both industry and governments should have seen coming. It is a shame that Queensland workers and families have been unnecessarily left behind as the world economy diversifies away from coal.

In response to the climate crisis, the world is moving on from coal towards clean energy and fuels. Denying this reality won’t stop the world from changing and it won’t protect workers, it will just leave our communities unprepared.

Regional Queensland has been the powerhouse of our state for decades. This is a legacy that can continue if governments get the planning right and invest in Queensland’s impressive solar and wind resources.

All levels of government should support new clean export industries getting off the ground to power our communities and economy long into the future.

The real threat to these communities is government inaction and delay, not progressive taxes. Instead of investing in the growing industries of the future, like green hydrogen and clean manufacturing, the State Government has left communities across Central Queensland exposed to the volatility of a declining fossil fuel sector.

Mackay Conservation Group’s Climate Campaigner Imogen Lindenberg said

Coal companies will oversell their benefits to regional communities, but when push comes to shove, those same communities get left in the dust.

Our communities deserve better. We deserve a diverse and secure economy, not to be left to the whim of the fossil fuel industry and the task of rehabilitating the scars they leave behind.

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