Clive Palmer company argued coal mine made more money per hectare than Great Barrier Reef
A Clive Palmer-backed company argues its cancelled coalmine should go ahead because it is worth much more to the economy.
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The Clive Palmer-backed company behind a cancelled Central Queensland mine argued the project should go ahead because it would contribute 850 times more money per hectare into the economy than the world-heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
The proponent of the Central Queensland Coal Project also alleged in its detailed 116-page response that the independent panel of science experts providing advice to the federal environment department was a “set up designed” to give the minister a gateway to reject the mine.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Wednesday announced she had rejected the project, to be built 130km northwest of Rockhampton and about 10km away from the Great Barrier Reef, as it posed an unacceptable risk to the environment.
This was the first time a coal project had ever been rejected under national environmental laws.
It was a decision months in the making, after the federal government first flagged its intentions in August 2022.
Ms Plibersek published a comprehensive statement of why the project was rejected on Thursday.
The document revealed Mr Palmer’s company, in its submission to the government in August, had argued the mine would operate for 20 years and hire 500 people, push out exports worth $60bn and thus generate $32bn of state and federal royalties over its lifetime.
The company argued the Great Barrier Reef, by comparison generated $6.4bn per year for the economy, so “per hectare” the reef generated $1858 while the mine would pump out $1.6m.
Ultimately it was found the mine would result in “unacceptable” impacts on the environment, including fears affected mine water would cause “irreversible damage” to estuarine and near-shore ecosystems, and the potential for increased sediment to be released into the Great Barrier Reef.
It was also feared the mine’s use of groundwater would reduce baseflow in adjacent creeks including Tooloombah and Deep Creeks, and lead to the “dieback and loss of up to 165 hectares of groundwater dependent vegetation”.
“I have decided not to approve the Central Queensland Coal Project because the risks to the Great Barrier Reef, freshwater creeks and groundwater are too great,” Ms Plibersek said when announcing the decision.
It is anticipated Mr Palmer will address the rejection of the coal project during a press conference on the Gold Coast on Friday.
The mining magnate could appeal the decision in court if he chose to do so.
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