Shoalwater Bay coal terminal unacceptable: conservationists

Conservationists say a plan for a coal terminal at Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland is totally unacceptable. Premier Anna Bligh has announced a proposal for the new port to be linked by a 500-kilometre rail line to a new mine in the Galilee Basin near Alpha. Wildlife Protection Association president Pat O'Brien says Shoalwater Bay is an important conservation area, and it is also needed by the Defence Force for military training. "There will be issues with the Australian Defence Force, that's a strategic area for training, it's a very high conservation value area," he said. "I don't know what's wrong with this Government, they just seem to have gone off their head. "There's no way in the world they're going to get permission to put a coal loading facility in Shoalwater Bay, and it will have huge community opposition." A... [read full story]