Native title 'will be fixed' for Carmichael coal mine
PM gives an assurance native title 'will be fixed' for Adani
Grafton
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PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told Indian billionaire Gautam Adani that native title problems with his Carmichael coal mine in Queensland "need to be fixed and will be fixed”, at a meeting in Delhi.
Mr Turnbull met with Mr Adani and his senior executives at his hotel in Delhi on the first day of his state visit to India.
Government sources said the two men discussed India's growing need for energy including solar power, in which Mr Adani is a major investor.
Mr Adani told the PM he was beginning to increase activity around the controversial project, reminding Mr Turnbull it would inject large sums of money into the Queensland economy, creating more than 10,000 jobs with 4000 in the first phase.
He also asked that native title issues be resolved, leading to the PM replying that it "needs to be fixed and will be fixed”.
Earlier in the day the PM dodged questions about whether he supported Mr Adani's bid for government money for his railway line.
"As far as the rail link is concerned, if you're asking about the Adani's interest in securing funding from the Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund, that's an independent process - it has to go through that process, through that independent assessment by the board,” the PM said.
The Indian company is seeking a $900 million concessional loan from the government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund to help with construction of a rail line connecting the central Queensland mine and the Abbot Point port.
Interviewed on ABC Radio yesterday, Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said a rail line connecting to Abbot Point could turn Queensland's Galilee Basin into a "cash cow” for Australia.
"It's a great idea, isn't it,” he said. "It's a great investment in getting people out of poverty ... as well as turning on the power for other people in the world.”
The company's Carmichael coal mine project, a $16.5 billion investment, was approved in December but environmental and indigenous groups have vowed to stop the project.
Originally published as Native title 'will be fixed' for Carmichael coal mine
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