Farm heritage slips down a mine

JOHN Erbacher now has to face the one task he feared most.

After the Land Court of Queensland recommended the State Government approve Xstrata Coal's Mining Lease Application on Tuesday, the Wandoan farmer is now preparing to say goodbye to his family property.

"This is the first time since the decision was made that I have talked to the media," Mr Erbacher said.

"I am just shocked and dismayed at the decision and the little weight they put on the land holders' objections."

Mr Erbacher said all that remained now was for the minister to give the project the final approval.

"Despite the change in government, I don't hold out any hope that the LNP will do anything but give the green light to the project - especially given that Seeney and Newman are so pro-mining."

The Erbachers are now just waiting for the compensation process to commence.

"We have no choice now. We have to move on, start again somewhere else," he said.

It is heartbreaking for Mr Erbacher to contemplate leaving his family farm and setting up his home and operations somewhere else.

"My father drew this property in the returned servicemen's ballot in 1954 and I purchased the second property, which was next door to my father's block, in 1974 off my father's brother who purchased it off a soldier settlement in 1960.

"All the land in the mining lease is from soldier settlement land.

"I am 56 and we grew up here in that culture of the returned servicemen," he said.

"People who had family ties here, but have moved away, are saying that it is really sad that land, this land, which was given to the soldiers after the war, is being taken so lightly and going to be mined."

Mr Erbacher said he hadn't looked at other suitable parcels of land; he was too focused on fighting to keep his property.

"There is no land available around in the Wandoan/Taroom area with all the mining development going on.

"I don't know what we are going to do."

He said he was genuinely concerned about the ability of not only Australia but the world to continue to provide food.

"Nobody is looking at the food security issue. Globally, in 50 years we will be faced with a severe food shortage and here we are destroying prime food producing land for a 30 year windfall. It doesn't make sense."

Environmental group Friends of the Earth and eight landholders, including Mr Erbacher, challenged Xstrata with hopes of preventing the mine go-head because it would impact heavily on climate change.

FoE fought the case on the grounds it would be responsible for 1.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in its lifetime - equal to twice Australia's annual emissions.

Land Court of Queensland ruled in favour of Xstrata stating that climate change on its own was not good enough to justify refusing a mining lease.

FoE spokesperson Dr Bradley Smith said it was unfortunate that our laws allowed multi-billion dollar companies like Xstrata to ignore the outcomes of their reckless actions.

Xstrata Coal Queensland chief operating officer Reinhold Schmidt said the recommendation acknowledged the company's thorough and rigorous environmental assessment and review process.

"Today's recommendation recognises our ongoing commitment to environmental management and our willingness to listen to and accommodate individual landholder needs," Mr Schmidt said.

"We listened to landholders and the community group's objections which ranged from the impacts of mining, greenhouse gas emissions associated with the mining and subsequent burning of the coal, road access to landholder properties, effects on cattle and groundwater impacts."