Comment on “Accordion vs. quantum tectonics: Insights into continental growth processes from the Paleozoic of eastern Gondwana” by Jonathan C. Aitchison, Solomon Buckman Gondwana Research, Volume 22, Issue 2, September 2012, Pages 674–680

In regard to the tectonic history of the Lachlan Fold Belt, Aitchison and Buckman (2012) argued that “numerous aspects of the observed geology appear to be incompatible with the existing model” and that an “alternative model envisages arc–continent collision events (quantum tectonics) as a primary means of large-scale continental growth”. My purpose is to challenge these arguments and to question their interpretation that rapid continental growth in the Lachlan Fold Belt has been achieved by thrusting of an island arc over a passive margin.