Even Alan Jones Is Telling The Government That A Giant Coal Mine On Prime Farmland Is A Dumb Idea
You know something's unpopular when environmentalists and radio shock-jocks agree it's a bad idea.
The proposed Shenhua coal mine in the middle of the Liverpool Plains, Australia’s most fertile and productive agricultural land, has proven to be a bit of a political landmine for the government. Local and national opposition has been so forceful that Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce might even be in danger of losing his seat if former independent MP Tony Windsor decides to come out of retirement and throw his hat back in the ring, which it’s looking like he might do.
Now the government is facing some opposition on that front from an unlikely direction. Radio shock-jock Alan Jones, who’s been pretty vocal in his opposition to things like coal-seam gas mining and open-cut coal mines in the past, has fronted a new TV ad for farmer/conservation group Lock The Gate, urging people to campaign against the mine and oppose new laws that would ban environmental groups from contesting major mining projects in court.
Jones’ political clout is pretty immense — his campaign against then-Queensland Premier Campbell Newman before the last state election in March played a part in getting Newman’s government kicked out after a single term — so Jones putting his mug on TV to criticise the government over something like this is certainly a big deal.
More importantly, though, that familiar grumpy-bulldog voice growling over the soothing, vaguely upbeat elevator music that usually features in progressive campaign ads like this makes for for the loveliest piece of cognitive dissonance you’re likely to encounter today.
Jones is one of the more unorthodox environmental campaigners you’ll see around, but he’s far from the only one cranking out the YouTuve videos in a bid to stop the Shenhua mine.
As comedian and Guardian columnist Jazz Twemlow explains for Land Water Future, the mine’s not going to do a world of good for the Liverpool Plains’ native koala population either.
Incidentally, today is Threatened Species Day, so if you want to help save those chlamydia-infested little bastards head to Land Water Future’s campaign page here, or Lock The Gate’s campaign page here.