Adani hit by ‘secret’ review of mine plan

Adani’s proposed mine is hit by further delays as the Queensland government refuses to sign off.

Waterlilies at the aquifer-fed Doongmabulla Springs near the proposed Carmichael mine site.

Adani’s proposed Carmichael coalmine has been hit by further delays, with the Palaszczuk government still refusing to sign off on federal approval for a critical groundwater management plan.

Queensland’s environment department on Friday told Adani it had sent a list of issues to be ­reviewed by the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, the two agencies that independently vetted Adani’s groundwater management plan before it was granted federal approval on April 9.

The request for additional ­information was sent despite the Department of Environment and Science issuing a statement ear­lier this year that the mining giant’s groundwater management plan would not be subject to a state ­review by its officials.

But Adani yesterday said the department was “once again ­engaging in a secretive and non-transparent additional review process”.

The delay comes two weeks after Adani’s black-throated finch management plan was sent back to the drawing board when the department demanded the mining company agree to a number of additional requirements beyond the scope of its approved environmental impact statement.

Adani was scheduled to begin construction on the central Queensland mine before last Christmas but was stalled after the government ordered an unexpected independent review of the finch management plan.

Both the finch management plan and groundwater dependent ecosystem management plan need to be approved by the department before significant operations can begin at the mine site.

In a press release in February, the department said: “Recent media reports have suggested the Queensland government could require its own review of the GDEMP, however this is not the case.”

But Adani yesterday accused the department of undertaking an additional review process.

“Advice provided by DES officials on Friday suggests the ­department now intends to renege on its February commitment to no further reviews and has instead shifted the goalposts once again and requested another round of information and assessment from CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, despite previously ruling this out,” Adani said in a statement.

Adani chief executive Lucas Dow told The Australian that the department had sent a “suite of questions” to CSIRO and Geoscience Australia but would not tell Adani what the questions were.

“We are now facing the prospect of another tortuous and never-ending management plan approval process like the one we have endured for the black-throated finch,” Mr Dow said.

A department spokesman yesterday said Adani’s claims about a government review “are false”.

“The DES confirms its earlier public statements that it will not seek its own independent scientific review of Adani’s GDEMP but will instead rely on the advice given by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia to the commonwealth government,” the spokesman said. “The department has sought updated advice from CSIRO and Geoscience Australia on the latest version of the GDEMP, which is not the version that was ­reviewed by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.

“This includes further clarification around the evidence to support identification of the source aquifer(s) of the Doongmabulla Springs complex.”

The issue has been a focus of the election campaign in Queensland and ALP insiders and former state Labor MPs said the state government’s handling of the project had damaged Bill Shorten’s chances in rural and ­regional areas.

Labor strategists have told The Australian that incumbent Cathy O’Toole will struggle to hold the Townsville seat of Herbert, which she won by 37 votes in 2016.