Political hopeful has mine on his mind

Kin Kin resident and Greens candidate for the seat of Nicklin Aaron White has joined the fight to stop the mega Adani mine in the Galilee Basin.
Mr White said he has been fighting the Adani coal mine over recent months in a campaign aimed at gauging the Sunshine Coast community’s viewpoint on the controversial proposal.
Armed with an E-petition sponsored by the Clerk of State Parliament, a traditional hand signed paper petition and an obligatory lump of coal, Mr White said he has been impressed by local support for the petition that’s received over 3500 signatures.
The Greens candidate, who is also campaigning to replace retiring Speaker and MP Peter Wellington in the next State election, suggests bipartisan support for Adani could only be explained by the fact both ALP and LNP take influential mining industry donations.
“After hundreds of conversations I’ve had with people, the consistent message is nobody’s happy with politicians’ gifting a billion dollars of taxpayer money to a wealthy Indian mining magnate, who apparently plans to funnel astronomical profits into his tax havens,” he said.
Mr White’s comments come after former Test cricketing legends Ian and Greg Chappell claim the controversial mine could damage sporting ties with India.
The Chappells are among 90 prominent Australians to sign a letter to Adani chairman Gautam Adani, urging him to abandon the company’s plan for the $21 billion mine.
Mr White believes Queenslanders are becoming more aware the mining industry’s false economy has left us in debt after a boom, with a reef in danger and with tourism jobs under threat.
Over a couple of hours at a recent Sunshine Coast University orientation day, Mr White said his petition received over 170 written signatures from students who passionately opposed the Adani mine.
“You only have to look at the current debate around renewable generation technology and storage solutions to realise the $1 billion dollar Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Adani loan would be far better off being invested in secure, renewable energy for Queenslanders,” he said.
“The tens of thousands of jobs that can be created in a renewable energy revolution put the handful of jobs promised by Adani’s fully automated coal mine to shame.”
While Mr White accepts Adani’s political donations and court actions may have given them legal approval, he believes it’s not too late to enforce water legislation and stop Adani infrastructure being subsidised by taxpayers.
The petition closes this Friday 17 March and can be signed on the State Government E-petition website on the link: www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/petitions/e-petition?PetNum=2679