Brisbane, 29 May: 350.org says the Queensland Government is two-faced if it thinks it can wash its hands of granting mining giant Adani a $1 billion loan whilst simultaneously extending a royalty holiday to coal companies wanting to open up massive new coal reserves.

“While it is positive that Premier Palaszczuk has rejected Queensland government involvement in handing over a billion dollars to a coal company, it is ludicrous for her to propose subsidising coal companies to open up new coal mines, when half the Great Barrier Reef may already have been killed by coal-fuelled climate change, said 350.org #StopAdani campaigner, Isaac Astill.

“The rest of the world is moving rapidly away from coal, yet here is a Government that not only backs a dying industry with public funds, they continue to do so knowing that the coal industry is destroying the largest living structure on earth.

“The burning of fossil fuels is driving global warming which is devastating the Reef. If we are serious about protecting the Reef from further harm and want a future that has any semblance to the one we enjoy now, all coal must stay in the ground.

“If Premier Palaszczuk cares about the Reef and genuine jobs for Queenslanders, she can neither justify subsidising Adani nor any coal development and must withdraw this wasteful and damaging hand-out immediately.”