Values are mostly molded by opinions of those you associate with, as a scientist I try to be as objective as possible. I strongly believe it is an integral part of our nation's economy and will be for quite some time.

Quick lesson in coking coal and thermal coal, you would not blend it into lower grade thermal coals to beef them up and sell. Coking properties in coking coal are categorically absent in most thermal coals, if you mix coking coal with thermal you sterilise some of the coking properties of the coking coal (there are about 10 important properties of coking coal that vary greatly between different coals).

Roughly half of all coal exported from Australia is coking coal, Australia does have the best coking coal deposits in the world. (except for Mozambique and New Zealand, but they aren't huge producers). Australian thermal coal exports are also generally the best in the world, that is low ash, low moisture, high energy and low trace levels of pollutants.

Now the coal we burn in our own power plants is high ash, much higher than what we can export successfully (as you alluded to). The thing is it made a lot more sense (and still does) to burn our high ash coals here, generally only several kms away from where it is mined, as the energy density is lower, it doesn't make sense to send 25% ash (25% rock that doesn't burn) halfway across the world, but does make sense to put it into a power plant next door. Many mines go through high ash coal incidentally to get to the better quality stuff. Makes sense to burn it. Especially since our power plants have scrubbers and strictly control the particulates coming out of the smoke stacks.

I assume you have never spent time in the Hunter Region or Central Queensland, you would see that it is the fabric holding society together in these places, like it or loathe it.

Some pits should be shut down, some deposits should not be developed, some companies should not be allowed to develop new mines.

We might even agree that the wrong mines are allowed to go ahead, the wrong mines are prevented from being developed and some companies should be put under more stringent conditions of operation.

Drayton closing is a tragedy for the industry and the towns of Singleton and Muswellbrook, it is disgusting they peddled to the lobbying of the ultra rich who were concerned about noise near their tax write off's (horse studs). Reeks of corruption in the NSW government.

I personally don't know much about Adani or the Carmichael project. Abbott point was a ridiculous media beat up however.