Opinion: Adani mine approval proves Campbell Newman was right

OPINION: The approval of the Adani Carmichael megamine is a game changer - and it means former premier Campbell Newman was right about Queensland.

2 December 2012, Mundra, Gujurat, INDIA: Queensland Premier Campbell Newman inspecting the power plant on a visit to Mundra Port in Gujurat owned and operated by the Adani family. Adani is a key player in a new coal mine set to open in Queensland as part of a massive investment to supply coal to India Picture by Graham Crouch/DFAT

• Adani coal: Jobs in thousands as mine approved
• Adani coal: Solar energy project in Qld
• Adani coal: Megamine’s boost to economy, jobs

THE Adani mining lease approval is by far the biggest boost for the industry and the Queensland economy that this Government has delivered.

There is no doubt the ramifications, both good and bad, will be felt for generations to come.

It won’t mean boots on the ground tomorrow or even this year, but it does give Adani the certainty it has been crying out for and will allow the company to eventually take the project to the banks for the $US4 billion ($5.3 billion) it needs to develop the first stage of the mine, rail and port project.

This is a game changer and it means that former premier Campbell Newman was right: Queensland is in the coal business even though sections of the Palaszczuk Government and the green movement would prefer it wasn’t.

It also shows that mining magnate Lang Hancock’s ­vision of more than 30 years ago was right. The project he dreamt of is next in line.

There are environmental risks and the green movement is right to raise them, but equally there are enormous benefits, not just to the Queensland economy but to India’s.

So far, the court cases and regulatory hurdles have cost Adani $120 million and there are still kinks the company has to iron out.

Mines minister Anthony Lynham and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Mackay with Adani CEO Jeyakumar Janakara to announce the go ahead of the Carmichael Mine by Indian company Adani. Picture: Tim Marsden

There is a court appeal from the Australian Conservation Foundation to the Federal Government’s approval and a native title case. Then there is the prospect that yesterday’s granting of a mining lease will be appealed.

Then there is the market. No one would be courageous enough to lend $4 billion in the current market – where coal prices are woefully low and supply still outstrips demand – but Adani is a strange beast, with powerful political and financial links that were demonstrated when the Government-owned State Bank of India gave in-principle approval to a $1 billion loan for the project.

Adani also does not rely on the market as much as other coal miners because a lot of its coal will be for its own power stations in India. Before all the legal wrangles, Adani had also signed up other energy providers to take the coal.

The decision puts the company back on the track it was blazing 18 months ago, before the legal challenges began. Construction can be pencilled in for 2017, but the company has learnt from the debacle of the past year’s legal issues and will keep its key details under wraps.

The mine, rail and port project is estimated to generate more than 5000 jobs at the peak of construction and more than 4500 jobs at the peak of operations.

This could not come at a more important time for north Queensland.