Adani plans approved a day after job threat made public
The Morrison Government has been accused of bowing to bullies after it approved one of the final federal hurdles for the Queensland project. The move came just a day after a threat was made to the Environment Minister over the project.
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QUEENSLAND Environment Minister Leeane Enoch has slammed the Federal Government’s approval of the Adani mine as reeking of political interference, while casting further doubt over the project’s future.
“I am very concerned that Barnaby Joyce’s and Matt Canavan’s political campaign reeks of political interference and may have compromised the integrity of the decision making process,” Ms Enoch said in a statement this afternoon.
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“After a month of multiple requests, the Queensland Government received the CSIRO and GeoScience Australia report less than 30 minutes before the Federal Minister’s announcement.
“Adani has also, just today, provided DES with their latest version of the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan (GDEMP).”
Ms Enoch said based on the CSIRO and GeoScience Australia report, her department had indicated there were a number of uncertainties.
“This includes whether the GDEMP definitively identifies the source aquifers of the Doongmabulla Springs Complex, which has always been a requirement for state approval,” she said.
“I also note Minister Price’s statement that the project must meet further stringent conditions of approval from the Commonwealth before it can begin producing coal.”
Her comments come after Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price today approved the Adani groundwater management plan, just a day after one of her colleagues threatened her job over the perceived delay.
It’s despite environmental groups this morning warning they could take court action if Ms Price approved the plan, saying the attempts to “strong arm” her would raise questions over the integrity of the decision.
Environmentalists have slammed the Morrison Government for ‘caving’ to pressure after it approved one of the final federal hurdles for the Queensland project.
Queensland and federal Greens MPs and environmental group Lock the Gate said the decision puts precious water resources at risk, and shows the Federal Government gave in to pressure from Adani.
Senator Larissa Waters said Ms Price had bowed to bullies within her own party, and was risking groundwater resources.
“Shorten’s Labor must come out now and say where they stand on Adani’s climate- wrecking, reef-bleaching & job-destroying mega coal mine,” the Greens MP tweeted.
Michael Berkman, the party’s only state MP and a former public interest environmental lawyer, said the decision was a disgrace.
“Every day for nearly a decade, either Labor or LNP could have announced they don’t support Adani, killing the project almost instantly,” he tweeted.
“Instead, they’ve tried to keep the billionaires happy, and pitted regional (Queenslanders) who need jobs against the environment.”
Environmental lobby group Lock the Gate Alliance said rubber-stamping plans just weeks from the next poll meant the approvals were compromised.
“There has been blatant political interference in relation to this issue over the last week, with LNP threats against the Environment Minister and hurried meetings between the Adani CEO with the Prime Minister,” spokeswoman Carmel Flint said.
They are calling for an investigation into how the approval was granted.
The comments come after Ms Price today released a statement saying she approved the plans, one of the final federal hurdles for the project, after its assessment by the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.
“This decision does not comprise the final approval for this project,” Ms Price said in a statement.
“It must meet further stringent conditions of approval from the Commonwealth before it can begin producing coal.
“The project now requires further approvals from the Queensland Government prior to construction commencing.
“To date, only 16 of 25 environmental plans have been finalised or approved by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments with a further nine to be finalised.
CSIRO and Geoscience completed their initial assessment of the groundwater management plan on February 22, further questions were asked of Adani before the Department of Environment briefed Ms Price on Monday last week.
But it was just yesterday The Courier-Mail revealed LNP Senator James McGrath had written to Ms Price warning that he would publicly call for her resignation if she didn’t treat the Adani project fairly.
Ms Price did not address the threat in the statement.
Minister Simon Birmingham, representing Ms Price in Senate estimates yesterday, Senator McGrath was a backbencher expressing his view as such.
“I would much rather that he did not make such a communication, but we are where we are,” he said.
Adani’s Carmichael Mine still requires further approvals from the Queensland Government before it goes ahead.
Ms Price, who is under pressure from her Victorian colleagues who did not want the groundwater plans approved before the election, said only 16 of 25 environmental plans have been finalised or approved by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments.
She said advice from the Department identified further work which needed to be done, which Adani has accepted.
“This process reflects our commitment to ensuring robust environmental protection while balancing the needs of Australia’s economy,” he said.
This work included:
• A substantial increase of early warning monitoring between the mine and the Doongmabulla Springs using additional deeper bores and an additional bore site to monitor flows
• Tightened corrective action triggers requiring an immediate response to any unexpected groundwater impact
• Commitments to re-run the model addressing all Geoscience Australia and CSIRO concerns within two years of the commencement of coal extraction.
LNP Leader Deb Frecklington today said the only person now standing in the way of the mine was Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“This project just needs a fair go … because we need more jobs for Queensland,” she said.
“This project has been eight years in the making and now it is time to take the shackles off.
“Labor have already stated that if the groundwater management plan is approved by the Federal Government then they will not review it.
“Labor now need to stand behind by promise and I look forward to the announcement that the Labor Party will take the shackles off this project and approve more jobs for Queensland.
“Now it is up to Annastacia Palaszczuk to show some leadership and get on with it.”
Greens Senator Larissa Waters also slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison today, saying it was “low of him” for yesterday calling Adani protesters “un-Australian”.
Speaking out today on the Government’s decision to tick off Adani’s groundwater management plan, Ms Waters said the Prime Minister should not insult the protesters who stormed the stage during his speech just because he does not agree with them.
“I think the Prime Minister is a bit loose in his language, calling people un-Australian when in fact they’re just trying to stand up for values that they care about,” she said.
“There’s no damage to life or property as I understand it and this country has been built on the powerful protest so we think those rights are important and just because the Prime Minister doesn’t agree with them, doesn’t give him the right to just insult them.
“I thought that was pretty low of the Prime Minister.”
— additional reporting by Cloe Read and Sarah Vogler
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