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Most Queenslanders support the coal industry

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World Coal,


A recent poll by JWS Research for the Queensland Resource Council (QRC) has found general support for the state’s resources sector – including its coal mining industry – among Queenslanders.

“With the Queensland coal industry responsible for 8% of all jobs in Queensland and supporting over 11 000 Queensland businesses, QRC-commissioned research has found community sentiment towards the coal sector remains strong,” said Michael Roche, Chief Executive of he QRC.

According to the poll, 42% of the state’s population had a favourable view of metallurgical coal with 28% expressing a neutral view, while 36% were supportive of thermal coal with 33% neutral and only 22% not in favour.

Overall support for the resources sector – which includes the state’s metals mines, as well as its natural gas industry – stood at 72%. But in major provincial towns, where the resources sector is a significant provider of employment, the support rose to 78%.

Such expression of support for the industry comes in contrast to the results of poll commissioned by environmental activist group, 350.org, that claimed the majority of Queenslanders believed coal mining should be phased out in the state and led Queensland Greens Senator, Larissa Waters, to call for a transition away from coal mining to “21st-centurt industries like renewable energy.”

“The key difference is that our research is undertaken annually to gather impartial insights into a wide range of matters that may impact upon the resources sector,” said Roche. “On the other hand, the numbers reported by the Greens […] were produced by a group that has strong ties both to the party and to green activist groups such as Coast and Country.”

“Unfortunately, it has become commonplace for green activists to mislead the public in order to achieve their underlying political or fundraising goals,” Roche concluded.

Queensland is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal, shipping 220 million t in 2015 to countries across Asia, including Japan, South Korea, India, China and Taiwan.

Edited by .

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/12012016/most-queenslanders-support-the-coal-industry-2016-36/

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