Reference :- Pembroke Resources have been given the go ahead for a massive new coal mine in Queensland .

Reference :-   The Olive Downs Coal Mine is ready to roll . But what about the koalas , the sugar gliders and various other native creatures that need an ecosystem ? 

Careful research by The Sky Reply has revealed that unlike past mining projects , this one is being managed more responsibly .   Mind you , only a teensy bit more responsibly .  Mining enthusiast and former Federal Minister for Shutting Things Down , Mr Ian MacFarlane has pointed out that the royalties from the coal mine will contribute towards the provision of roads , schools and healthcare in Queensland . 

And indeed that is true , strictly speaking .  Here at The Sky Reply , numbers man  Monte , has looked at the contribution these coal royalties will make to Queensland's public purse .  Taking an optimistic figure of 75 million quid each year for flogging off the coal , we could increase the health care budget by around two percent .  Of course that would leave nothing for roads and schools .   I guess anything is better than nothing . 

Besides the general public , other major stakeholders impacted by the mine include koala bears , sugar gliders and various  owls , reptiles and the like .   Thankfully the generous managers at Pembroke Resources have put aside a cool one million quid to look after these luckless creatures . That figure will be spread over ten years , meaning 100, 000 quid per year .  

The lads at The Sky Reply almost submitted a tender for that 100,000  . Ken junior , Monte and Gabbo thought they could save all those native animals and make themselves a handy profit in the process .

Looking at the population density of endangered fauna , numbers man,  Monte , at first thought that to make a small profit would mean spending 20 quid per koala . But then Ken junior mentioned the sugar gliders , and Gabbo mentioned the owls and goannas , and before they knew it they were down to spending about five bob per creature .   Ken junior reckons that even if they captured  them in old beer cartons and relocated them at the Kooralya Memorial Park , they would still run at a loss .   

I guess that means not relocating every one of them  .  After all, it's is a bit much to ask a mining company that anticipates a paltry turnover of 1.5 billion quid per year to blow out their overheads because the foolish  creatures made a poor lifestyle choice , and established digs  above a coal seam .   Nonetheless , at least some will be saved .  

Won't they ?          Your comrade , Ken