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Originally published in The Queensland Times on January 25, 2014

Bundaberg is experiencing a flurry of exploratory drilling for coal deposits.

The local mining sector is buzzing, and its investors are trumpeting the region as Queensland’s newest coal centre.  They promise jobs, money, and a shiny white rabbit from under their hard hat!

The Bundaberg community isn’t convinced.  They fear the coal mine expansion will adversely affect the local agriculture industry (the region’s third largest employer).

Coal magnates insist that mining and farming can co-exist peacefully. But is this a trick?

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by Stephen Long in The Politics

Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen, for Australia’s annual gas pantomime, guaranteed to scare the wits out of struggling consumers. Every year it’s the same tired script, where the villain is cast as the hero, and crisis is averted in the nick of time. Hurrah! The heating stayed on for another winter. Standing ovation. Frack that