Mitchell Enviro Industrial Estate
A great example of direct action on the environment
I recently visited, accompanied by Shadow Minister for Regional Development Infrastructure and Water, the Mitchell Enviro Industrial Estate. The estate is the world’s first carbon-neutral industrial estate, located on the northern Gold Coast on the corner of Quinns Hill East and Stapylton-Jacobs Well Roads.
Mitchell Enviro Industrial Estate is the only one of its kind in Australia. Boasting a carbon neutral footprint, the estate is the first and only industrial property in Australia to be granted as an authorised EnviroDevelopment by the Urban Development Institute of Australia with a 6 Leaf Certification. The ten acre ‘eco-estate’ is located in the Yatala Industrial Precinct.
Various technologies and processes have been carefully considered and then implemented on Mitchell Enviro Industrial Estate to assist it in being self-sustainable.
The $18 million project was the first industrial subdivision in Australia to exclusively use in-house
water and sewage systems. It has no connection to Gold Coast City Council water and sewage infrastructure. All street lighting, water pumps and filtering systems are driven by grid-connected solar power. 
The estate is a great example of what innovative and motivated people can do to reduce our carbon emissions without hurting our lifestyles through Mr Rudd’s great big new tax on everything.
Supporting new technologies, and ambitious projects like the Mitchell Industrial Estate are the way forward as we move to a society more focused on reducing our impact on the environment than ever before.
Stuart Robert and Senator Joyce discuss Mitchell Industrial Estate
at the estate with founder Bruce Mitchell
Australia’s approach to reducing carbon emissions shouldn’t be about punishing people and organisations that help us live our daily lives. This approach can only lead to financial punishment of you and I as we consume the goods and services supplied by these organisations. Excessively taxing the producers of what we use everyday will only drive up prices.
Encouragement and innovation must be key to our approach as anything less is going to be unpalatable to Australian individuals and families and therefore won’t receive the support schemes like these need to survive and be effective.
It’s important that we all do our bit to reduce our energy consumption as every little bit counts, but the real progress is going to made where the big emitters are – industry. If we put a program in place that can reduce the impact industry has on the environment without hurting consumers at the shop, or the petrol bowser or in their electricity bills then we’ve made a big step forward in fulfilling our obligation to protect the planet.
I prefer direct action in protecting the environment, not a big new tax on everything proposed by Mr Rudd with this ETS.
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