Bimblebox Nature Refuge

Longreach Leader’s ‘Galilee Basin News’ June 25th 2010

The Longreach Leader’s new publication, the ‘Galilee Basin News’, has provided an invaluable opportunity for the community to engage in dicussion about the imminent new mega-developments in central-west Queensland. The editors are encouraging the exposure of news and views regarding both the positive and negative consequences on the people and land in the Alpha region. If it wasn’t for this paper, this kind of forum simply wouldn’t exist – strange considering the scale of the impact the region will experience over the coming decades. This in itself is probably a reflection of how little power the community has when it comes to these so called ’state significant’ projects.

The first edition of the Galilee Basin News in late June 2010 featured a number of important articles, and we thank the editor for permission to post a couple here. ‘Mines in the making near Alpha‘ displays a map and overview of the four projects currently planned. ‘Environmental concerns over mega coal mines‘ focusses on Bimblebox and the environmental impacts likely for the broader region. (Note that rather than being ‘restored to native vegetation’, Bimblebox actually hosts 95% remnant, that is uncleared, native vegetation).

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Queensland Country Life February 2009

Below is a powerful letter that appeared in the Queensland Country Life in February 2009. Please note the petition is no longer running.

Dear Sir,

Queensland Country Life has given excellent coverage of the all-too-real threat to grazing and farming land from mining interests. As reported, mining holds an absolute right over virtually all other land uses. The more careful, sustainable use of our natural resources is disregarded when confronted by large scale mining.

Too often primary production and conservation are seen as contradictory when in fact, many agricultural and grazing properties are also important conservation areas. Some are covered by perpetual Nature Refuge Agreements, signed between landholders and the state government to “permanently preserve the land’s ecological values”.

As secure as they may seem at the time, these agreements are meaningless in the face of mining interests. The protection of vital habitats and biodiversity in Nature Refuges is apparently only worthwhile if there’s no coal beneath them. When coal is found, the refuges are in effect regarded as mere overburden.

Landowners are encouraged and supported by the Environment Protection Agency [now DERM] to safeguard remnant vegetation. Similarly, recognition and assistance is given for time and money spent controlling feral animals and weeds. But these efforts mean little when a mining company stakes a claim.

It is astonishing that those few privately owned sanctuaries left to support native flora and fauna can be sacrificed for coal, with all we know about species extinction, carbon pollution and fickle global markets. Currently nearly 100 Nature Refuges in Queensland are subject to mineral exploration permits, about half of these for coal.

One refuge in the state’s central-west is the stage for a tragic farce in which the state government acts as cheer squad for the potential destruction of land and native habitats they previously helped protect.

Bimblebox Nature Refuge, 50 km north-west of Alpha, was bought in 2001 with support from the Federal Government for inclusion in the National Reserve System. Preservation of this intact bush land in the Desert Uplands is now combined with long-running research projects by the CSIRO, DPI&F, Birds Australia, the EPA, and Queensland Herbarium. It also serves as a test-case for sustainable cattle grazing.

Last year this Nature Refuge was extensively drilled in preparation for a massive coal project. Without government intervention it could be destroyed within a few years. When the State Government signs Nature Refuge Agreements, perhaps they should stamp them in big bold letters “only valid in the absence of mining interests”. Clearly it is time for the State Government to properly protect Nature Refuges and provide certainty for their owners and guardians.

As a co-owner of Bimblebox Nature Refuge, I have initiated an on-line parliamentary petition in the attempt to ensure protection for this and other refuges. Those interested can visit www.bimblebox.org for more details. Anyone living or registered to vote in Queensland is eligible to sign the petition.

Yours truly,

Paola Cassoni