On Sunday October 16 around a thousand protestors staged a dramatic protest to oppose coal and coal seam gas in the Scenic Rim region.

Farmers, tourism operators and other land holders stood side by side on the region's name-sake mountain peaks, in paddocks and in parks to call for the Scenic Rim to be spared from the advances of the mining corporations. Hundreds of banners and creative messages blanketed the area - some protestors made simple sheets with spray painted messages, while others went to greater lengths slashing their words of opposition into paddocks, or laying down to form human signs. One group in kayaks floated a banner on a local dam.

Protest organisers Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic, said they were inspired by the strong response from their community, which three months ago barely knew of the extent of mining exploration permits covering 80% of the region.

"The Scenic Rim is home to more than half of Queensland's National Parks and produces food for Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Agriculture and tourism are our backbone and this is the place people from Brisbane and the Gold coast come to holiday. To mine here defies belief," said Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic spokesman Innes Larkin.

"Our community has seen what coal and coal seam gas has done to other parts of Queensland and we know that's not what we want. We value our underground water supplies, our homelands and our jobs. We're not prepared to risk our sustainable industries for a quick buck from mining. Our protest today is about sending a clear message to government that the Scenic Rim is locked to coal and gas companies".

The Protestors on Peaks event was part of a national day of action against coal and coal seam gas, which saw tens of thousands of people rally across Australia.

Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic says it now plans to lobby the state Government to prohibit mining in its designated 'south-east Queensland Regional Plan' area.

"This country-side, around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has been clearly set-aside by the Queensland Government for agriculture, tourism and rural residential living. Mining does not fit with its vision for a place with such a high population and also of such agricultural and ecological significance. We believe the state government must correct its position and ban coal and coal seam gas here, to protect south-east Queensland now, before it's too late", said Mr Larkin.

"We also believe a moratorium on coal seam gas is essential until more is understood about its impact on underground water supplies and agriculture. The way the proposed Strategic Cropping Land Legislation is framed, it does nothing to stop coal seam gas across most of our region, despite the fact that we're recognised as a high quality food growing area."

For more information about the campaign and Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic go to: http://www.keepthescenicrimscenic.com/

Australian Ethical Investment and Superannuation recently published an interesting article with thought-provoking statistics about the economic impact of the mining boom: http://australianethical.com.au/news/truth-behind-mining-boom