The petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that the buffer zone of two kilometres between urban areas and coal mines or exploration is not a great enough distance and needs to be increased to a minimum of five kilometres.  This is not only applicable to urban development of 1,000 or more residents but to any township where there is concern amongst residents that existing quality of life will be detrimentally affected.

This request is made due to overwhelming independent expert opinion that five kilometres is the absolute minimum buffer distance to ensure no risk to resident's health from dust and chemical pollution from blasting and mining processes.  The 1,000 residents condition proposed is deemed discriminatory and does not provide any protection for concerned residents.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to increase the buffer zone between urban areas and coal mines or exploration from two kilometres to a minimum of 5 kilometres.