Coalition’s Adani coalmine green light puts heat on Bill Shorten, Qld government
Scott Morrison calls on Bill Shorten to end his mixed messages on the mine, as expert advice prompts a green light from the government.
Scott Morrison says Environment Minister Melissa Price’s approval of the Adani mine is based on the “best environmental science advice” and called on Bill Shorten to say he accepted the advice when he campaigns in anti-coal seats in Victoria.
Ms Price today approved groundwater management plans for the coalmine in the north of the Galilee Basin, clearing one of the final hurdles for the project with just days until an election is called.
She issued a statement today announcing the move, amid intense pressure from Queensland colleagues to give the mine the green light.
The Prime Minister said Mr Shorten needed to make clear where he stood on the issue.
“The environment minister has made a decision as I said that she would based on the best environmental science advice,” Mr Morrison said.
“She has been waiting to receive that advice from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO and they have made recommendations ... and she has made a decision consistent with the science advice provided by those agencies and her own department.
“I note that Mr Shorten is happy to say while he is up in Central Queensland today that he is
happy to abide also by the advice of the scientists ... I wait to see whether he says at the same thing down in Victoria or elsewhere in the country.”
‘Time for a fair go’
Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow has heaped pressure on Queensland’s Labor government to approve Adani’s Carmichael coalmine management plans, saying the federal government had delivered “certainty of process and timing” over 18 months of assessment.
Adani boss Mr Dow welcomed the federal government’s decision.
“In contrast, the Queensland government has continued to shift the goalposts when it comes to finalising the outstanding environmental management plans for the mine and is standing in the way of thousands of jobs for Queenslanders,” Mr Dow said in a statement welcoming the approval.
“It’s time the Queensland government gave us a fair go.”
In addition to the groundwater plan, the Palaszczuk government has delayed approving Adani’s plan to protect the endangered black-throated finch, ordering an extraordinary Melbourne University review that has recommended tough new conservation rules.
Mr Dow claimed the “endorsement” of the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia as evidence the ecosystems dependent on groundwater used by the mine would be protected.
“The plans will ensure we achieve sustainable environmental outcomes and we’re now looking forward to delivering the thousands of jobs our project will create for people in north and central Queensland,” he said.
The Palaszczuk government in February said it would not commission its own groundwater research and would rely on the federal department’s advice from CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.
Liberal National state opposition leader Deb Frecklington called on the Palaszczuk government to “finally give the Carmichael coal project a fair go”.
“My position has always been clear. This project should get a fair go from the State Government because North Queensland is crying out for jobs. In Townsville alone there are 9300 people desperately looking for work,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk cannot change the goalposts on this project again. That would be a devastating blow to the economies of Central and North Queensland.”
‘I have accepted scientific advice’
Ms Price said the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia had assessed the groundwater plans, confirming they met strict scientific requirements.
“Following this independent assessment and the Department of Environment and Energy’s recommendation for approval, I have accepted the scientific advice and therefore approved the groundwater management plans for the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project under Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,” she said.
“This decision does not comprise the final approval for this project.
“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.”
Ms Price said the Adani project had been subject to the most rigorous approval process of any mining project in Australia.
The company committed to a number of additional measures as a result of the process, including a substantial increase in early-warning monitoring and tightening of corrective action triggers requiring an immediate response to unexpected groundwater impacts.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan welcomed the decision.
“Now we need the State Labor government to stop dragging their heels and get on with the job of creating these jobs,” Senator Canavan said.
Scott Morrison was heavily lobbied by Queensland MPs to approve the plan before he called the election, after which Labor would need to be consulted under caretaker conventions.
Frydenberg faces anti-Adani push
Josh Frydenberg is facing an anti-Adani campaign on several fronts in his blue ribbon Victorian seat of Kooyong.
Independent Kooyong candidate and former Clean Energy Finance Corporation chief Oliver Yates said people in the Treasurer’s electorate were “furious” over the mine and he now “owns the decision.”
“Time and time again the government has lied, pushed the interests of its donors in the fossil fuel industry over the interests of the citizens,” he said.
“Josh Frydenberg has continually backed this mine. He stood in parliament and waved around coal.
“And now he owns this decision and we will continue campaigning for political integrity and real action on climate change here in Kooyong, all the way up to the election.”
Where is the mine at now?
*Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price has signed off on an environment plan that puts Adani a step closer to getting started on its Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland.
*She says CSIRO and Geoscience Australia believe the Indian company’s revised plans for the way it manages groundwater resources meet scientific requirements. *Her decision comes weeks out from a federal election and follows reports she was under pressure from colleagues to approve the plans before the poll. *The announcement has sparked fury among environmentalists and the Greens. *They say the government has given in to pressure from Adani, and that Ms Price has bowed to bullies within her own party.
What happens now?
*Nine plans still require either federal or state government approvals. *But two of them need to get the thumbs up from the Queensland government for the massive coal mine to go ahead, while the other seven are dependent on the mine reaching operational milestones.
*One of those is a management plan for groundwater dependent ecosystems that Ms Price says she has now signed off on.
*The other is a plan to manage the impacts of the mine on an endangered bird, the Black-Throated Finch.
Additional reporting: Jared Owens, AAP