New Acland mine expansion blocked by Queensland government
Queensland’s Environment Department will not grant approvals for the proposed $900 million expansion of the New Acland coalmine.
The long-delayed $900 million expansion of the New Acland coalmine may not go ahead after the Queensland government today refused environmental approval for the project.
More than 700 employees and contractors working at the existing mine, and another 240 new jobs expected to be created with the expansion are now under threat of being lost.
Mine owner New Hope Coal has repeatedly told authorities and the courts that the expansion was needed to keep the mine open as coal reserves in its existing pits are about to be exhausted.
The decision was welcomed by environmentalists and some landholders around the mine, on the Darling Downs, near Toowoomba, who have been fighting the expansion for years.
New Hope is understood to have first sought approval for the expansion more than a decade ago, but has been forced to reduce the size of the project and then faced a serious of legal challenges.
The mine was dealt a blow last May when Queensland’s Land Court delivered a non-binding decision against allowing the expansion because it posed too great a threat to the local water supply and surrounding landholders.
A judicial review was set to be heard next month into the decision, which contradicted environmental approvals of the mine from the state and federal governments.
During the November state election, Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and then Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls indicated they would wait on the judicial review, before making a decision.
But the Department of Environment and Science said it was obligated to make a decision on the environmental authority.
New Hope managing director Shane Stephan said the company would consider its options.
“We are disappointed with this outcome,’’ he said. “As previously advised a judicial review of the Land Court decision is underway.
“The company is committed to securing approval for this project and in doing so being able to provide ongoing employment for the circa 700 jobs reliant on the project.’’
Queensland’s Environment Department will not grant approvals for the proposed $900 million expansion of the New Acland Coal mine.
It is understood the department decided not to grant an environmental authority for the controversial Darling Downs project, necessary for parent company New Hope Coal to seek a mining lease.
“The decision to refuse the application is in line with the recommendation of the Land Court which was handed down in May 2017,” the department said today.
“This followed 99 days of expert and law witness testimony regarding the potential impacts of the project.”
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, New Hope said it was disappointed by the outcome and would consider its options in response. “The company is committed to securing approval for this project and in doing so being able to provide ongoing employment for the approximately 300 employees and 500 contractors currently engaged at the New Acland Coal Mine,” the statement read.
Environmentalists cheered the recommendation by Queensland’s Land Court last May that Mines Minister Anthony Lynham reject the Stage 3 expansion and environmental authority application.
“Today’s decision is not just a win for the Acland farmers, but a win for all farming communities, a win for trust in government and a win for proper legal process in our state,” Environmental Defender’s Office chief executive Jo-Anne Bragg said.
Community group Oakey Coal Action Alliance had been fighting to stop New Hope’s mine from encroaching on agricultural land, arguing it posed too great a risk to water, air quality and farming.
Land Court member Paul Smith found despite its long-term economic value, the expanded mine’s potentially adverse effect on the groundwater for hundreds of years to come was sufficient to warrant its rejection.
New Acland Coal has applied for judicial review of the court’s decision, which could invalidate the department’s decision, the Environmental Defender’s Office said, with a hearing set down for March 19.
Mr Lynham is yet to rule on whether to grant the required mining leases.
AAP