Two and a half inches of rain has given fresh life to Bimblebox Nature Refuge, with birds, insects and reptiles more active than ever. The rain has also allowed for the next stage of Queensland Herbarium research at Bimblebox on the use of fire as an important land-management tool (integral to Australian ecology), and the effects on native flora.

Despite the thriving biodiversity and cutting-edge research on Bimblebox, unfortunately there is still no security from Waratah’s proposed coal mine. Earlier this week Premier Anna Bligh visited the region and spoke in glowing terms about the fossil fuel developments near Alpha which will supply jobs to the district and revenue for the state government. What is omitted in all government rhetoric are the substantial negative impacts from coal mining, ranging from the loss of employees from the local agricultural industry to the environmental impacts from the coal mine itself, through to the port where it will be shipped and of course the end climate impact when the coal is burnt for energy production.

It is extremely premature of Anna Bligh to announce her support for these projects when there has not been any regional assessment of the cumulative impacts of the proposed mines, and none of the Environmental Impact Assessments for the individual projects have been completed. How can there be any credible outcome when there is such strong government support for the projects?