Two-thirds of those polled in the state seat of Dalrymple think the government should not lend to the Indian mining giant

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Two-thirds of voters in the Queensland region that would host Adani’s Carmichael mine think the miner should not be eligible for commonwealth funding, according a new poll.

The ReachTel poll of 544 voters in the state seat of Dalrymple found 66% were against the idea of “an Indian mining company worth over $12bn being eligible for this taxpayer funding towards their Galilee Basin project”.



Only 13.8% supported the idea that Adani’s rail line to open up the inland Galilee coalfields be eligible for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.

The independent panel has given the North Galilee Rail Project conditional approval for a five-year concessional loan that could be as much as 50% of the $2.2bn project.

However, Environmental Justice Australia and the Australia Institute have both questioned whether Adani would meet loan criteria from the $5bn NAIF, given its statements that funding was “not critical” to the fate of the project.

Those polled were told in automated phone calls: “$5bn has been set aside by the federal government to invest in priority infrastructure across Northern Australia.”

“Do you support or oppose an Indian mining company worth over $12bn being eligible for this taxpayer funding towards their Galilee Basin project?”

Just over 20% were undecided.

The strong opposition to public funding of infrastructure for Adani mirrored the position of the local state MP, Shane Knuth, from Katter’s Australian party (KAP).

Knuth has said his region was “supportive of opening up the Galilee Basin; we want to see jobs and royalties flow into our towns and councils”.

But fellow KAP MP Robbie Katter, whose neighbouring seat of Mount Isa was even more strongly opposed to public funding of Adani in ReachTel polling, flagged his party’s concern about using NAIF to fund the railway.

“We need this huge piece of infrastructure not only to create jobs and assist the Adani mine going ahead, but also to remain in the possession of Australians once it is done,” he said.

“This railway should be a tool for other projects that may open up in the region, not just as a profit maker for Adani.

“Securing government funding for the North Galilee Basin Railway has been a KAP priority from the beginning, so we of course would prefer to see full government investment instead of a Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan.”

Almost 70% of voters in Mt Isa opposed public funding of the Adani railway, with only 12.3% supporting the idea.

Bruce Currie, a farmer from north of Jericho, in the seat of Gregory just south-west of the planned mine site, said: “I just can’t see why Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce would be handing over $1b in our taxes to a foreign billionaire for a private mining venture that will put our water resources at risk.”

“This is a case of Barnaby Joyce, as minister for agriculture and water, pushing for the permanent destruction of water resources, including an important part of the Great Artesian basin, which is the lifeblood of the agricultural industry which he vowed to protect when taking office.

“We will literally be paying Adani to destroy our groundwater – it just doesn’t make any sense. This is a mine that will extract 355bn litres of groundwater.

“We thought that NAIF was finally going to deliver some much needed infrastructure to revitalise agriculture in our region, but instead it seems like they’re going to blow it on a foreign coalmine.”