Classified Queensland plan to close down coalmining

Premier doesn’t want you to know about plan that could forever change Queensland’s economy.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: AAP

It is a plan that could forever change Queensland’s economy — possibly putting Australian-first environmental hurdles in the way of new projects, particularly in mining — but until now its existence was a secret.

And the Palaszczuk government wants to keep it that way.

Commissioned last year by the Labor government, Australia’s top environmental lawyers were asked to “explore the issue of climate risk litigation’’ as part of its “Advancing Queensland Priority Action: Protecting the Great Barrier Reef’’ policy.

At the time, the Left-dominated cabinet was talking down the coal industry and putting up 11th-hour roadblocks to Adani’s Carmichael mine that ultimately cost Labor seats in regional Queensland at the May federal election.

An application under state Freedom of Information laws for internal emails canvassing the Adani project by veteran anti-coal activist Tim Seelig — controversially appointed last year as the Department of Environment’s top policy adviser — unearthed the existence of “the proposal for Queensland’’.

The Palaszczuk government is, however, refusing to answer questions or release the document, ­attached to one of the emails, ­arguing that its contents are “commercial in confidence’’.

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Its importance was confirmed by the timing of its delivery to ­departmental heads and in an ­accompanying email in which the proposal’s author, lawyer Sarah Barker, raised the prospect of “overseas scope 3 emissions” being linked to future approvals for projects like Adani.

The proposal was circulated just days after February’s landmark decision by the NSW Land and Environment Court rejecting the proposed Rocky Hill mine, partly on the grounds of the potential climate change impacts from carbon emissions through the burning of its coal.

The possibility of following suit and overhauling Queensland environmental law to consider overseas emissions from a proposed mine’s products was flagged in emails between Ms Barker and senior bureaucrats within the ­Environment Department.

In one email, Ms Barker said the landmark Rocky Hill decision could be used to push the office of Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath to look at changes.

Mr Barker said in an email to Geor­gine Roodenrys, executive director of the Climate Change division, that this might be a lever to pull with the Attorney -General. “It really will force all administrative decision-makers to reconsider what relevant matters they must weigh in determining any application that requires them to have regard to greenhouse gas emissions or environmental impacts. This might be an additional lever to pull with A-G’s now.”

In the email, Ms Barker added the Rocky Hill ruling showed a “completely different approach’’ to the “Queensland minister’s planning decisions in the Carmichael cases (which were then, of course, subject of judicial review)’’. “Different planning frameworks and relevant tests apply (including direct versus indirect) but compare the reasoning on a number of key points: (a) market substitution argument; (b) whether overseas scope 3 from emissions are matters relevant to the planning determination; and (c) the de minimus emissions from a single mine argument.”

A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Leanne Enoch ­refused to answer questions or ­release the document.

A spokesman for the Queensland Resource Council said the existence of the proposal was a surprise and “Queenslanders ­expect government decisions to be made based on consultation, transparency and objectivity’’.

Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said the state government, which delayed Adani’s approvals last year with a series of 11th-hour state reviews was undermining the resource sector: “Labor’s secret plan would destroy Queensland’s economy and leave tens of thousands out of work.”