High Court decision on Oakey Coal Action Alliance’s appeal over Acland

The miner behind the proposed New Acland mine wants a meeting with Annastacia Palaszczuk after the High Court ordered a new hearing for the long-running saga.

The fate of the controversial New Acland mine has been sent back to the Land Court for a rehearing, despite the saga having lasted almost 14 years.

The High Court today unanimously ruled that the future of the site’s stage three expansion go back to the Land Court for reconsideration, despite what one judge referred to as “the unfortunate history of this appeal”.

It is a victory for the Oakey Coal Action Alliance, which was seeking that outcome.

It means there will be another lengthy hearing before the Land Court, with the initial hearing held five years ago.

The first hearing lasted 100 sitting days spread over more than a year in what Justice James Edelman referred to in today’s judgement as “the longest hearing in the history of that court”.

Oakey Coal Action Alliance president Aileen Harrison. File picture

The judgment was made on the basis that previous appeals had been impacted by the apprehension of bias from an earlier judgement.

While New Acland Coal argued that Oakey Coal Action Alliance had “had its day in court”, Justice Edelman said it was not the case.

“It cannot be said that Oakey Coal Action has ‘had its day in court’ or had lost all of its grounds before an independent and impartial tribunal,” he said.

OCAA president Aileen Harrison said the judgment was a relief.

“We hope that we can win from here on in and get the mine stopped, so we can save our water and land, and leave it for future generations.”

New Acland will be required to pay Oakey Coal Action Alliance’s costs in the High Court.

New Hope Group, behind the New Acland mine, are seeking an “urgent” meeting with the Palaszczuk Government regarding approvals and a “roadmap” to getting the long-delayed project up and running.

It follows the High Court decision today to send the case back to the Land Court for reconsideration, despite years of hearings.

New Hope CEO Reinhold Schmidt said the government departments had all the information they needed to brief the relevant ministers on any outstanding approvals.

“What we need from the Government is a roadmap for how we get the project up and running because more delays equates to more job losses,” he said.

“It’s no secret that the state needs these jobs and the Government must make a quick decision on the future of the project so we can have some certainty.”

He said the project’s approval would generate 450 jobs and $7 billion for the economy.

“In the current environment, job creating projects like New Acland Stage 3 are vital for the State’s recovery,” Mr Schmidt said.

Originally published as High Court decision on Oakey Coal Action Alliance’s appeal over Acland