Coalition divided over Adani mine approval

PM says there is “no delay” on Adani coal mine approval, despite MPs raising concerns with him.

Environment Minister Melissa Price in parliament yesterday. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison says there is “no delay” in approving the Adani coal mine, despite Queensland MPs raising concerns with him yesterday about Environment Minister Melissa Price’s handling of the process.

Ms Price received a recommendation from her department on Monday to approve a groundwater manageme­nt plan for the project.

The Australian revealed yesterday that a delegation of Queensland MPs and the Prime Minister met over concerns that Ms Price was refusing to sign off on the plan in the face of intense lobbying by federal Liberal MPs in Victoria.

Mr Morrison says the rubber-stamping by Environment Department officials was for a “sub-approval” and the normal process is being followed.

“There has been no delay. This has one of a large number of approvals. This is a sub approval to a previous approval,” he said.

“It is part of the administrative process that relates to that project and all processes that are required in relation to that approval are being followed.

“I have always said we will pursue our responsibilities in relation to this project fully and we’ll make sure that in providing any of the consents that are required under the act that they’re done properly with the fullest of information.

“We are just following the normal process and the decisions we made in the normal course of business.”

Mr Morrison would not answer question on the concerns Queensland MPs raised with him yesterday.

Coalition divide on Adani

A Coalition split has emerged ahead of next month’s election, with Queensland MPs holding ­urgent talks with Mr Morrison, asking him to sign off on a key federal­ approval for the Adani coalmine or risk losing marginal seats in the battleground state.

The Queensland MPs are concerned that a failure to take action could lead to a final decision being made by a future Labor government.

The talks — held days before the election is expected to be called — highlights a central dilemma for the ­Coalition in terms of managing the threat posed by anti-coal progressiv­es in key inner-city seats in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane­ while also holding its position in regional electorates in Queensland.

This morning, Resources Minister Matt Canavan denied he threatened to quit the ministry over the Adani coal mine, disputing media reports. “These reports are incorrect. I support the Government’s position to progress the Adani Carmichael mine because we support the creation of jobs in regional Queensland,” he said in a statement.

The Australian has also been told by senior Queensland LNP sources that Senator Canavan did not threaten to quit the ministry over delays to the Adani coal mine, contrary to a report on Sky News this morning.

The Coalition has prioritised Queensland by moving its campaign headquarters to Brisbane, with staff expected to begin arriving on the weekend.

Left-wing activist group GetUp, which is targeting marginal seat holders including Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, said the government was right to ­exercise caution about signing off on the Adani plan, arguing it would trigger an “electoral nightmare” for the Coalition.

GetUp climate director Sam Regester said that, if Mr Morrison approved the plan, he would “face electoral carnage”.

“GetUp will throw everything it has behind costing the government every single vote it can,” Mr Regester said. “We’ll make them pay the electoral consequences of putting the interests of a single coal corporation over our future.

“The entire process of this approv­al has been a sham. Water experts have slammed it. The federa­l government simply hasn’t done the research. Adani can’t be trusted with Queensland’s water.”

Department of Environment and Energy officials said yesterday that a recommendation on the plan had been given to Ms Price on Monday. The department had also informed the minister that, if no decision were made before the election was called, caretaker provisio­ns would require the Coalitio­n to consult with Labor befor­e any action could be taken.

Labor’s environment spokesman Tony Burke said: “I’d be surprise­d if the government sought to deal with that approval during the caretaker period.”

The Australian spoke to several Queensland MPs yesterday about the water management approval. The Prime Minister’s office said: “We do not comment on the PM’s schedule.”

Concerns within Coalition ranks over the Adani project risk derailing the government’s attemp­t to regain control of the ­political agenda, including through the $300 billion, 10-year tax cut package in the budget.

Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said yesterday that the company had been working with the federal and state governments to finalise the groundwater ­management plan.

“We have had certainty of process­ and timing from (the) Australia­n government to date and we will continue to work with them to finalise this outstanding management plan so that we can get on with delivering thousands of jobs into north and central Queensland,” Mr Dow said.

He said the plan had been two years in the making and involved the federal Environment Department engaging an independent scientific review of the plan by technical experts from the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.

“All of the recommendations provided by the department to Adani Mining were incorporated into an updated and final version of the management plan. This ­updated and final version of the management plan was submitted to the Department of Environment and Energy a number of weeks ago,” Mr Dow said.

The final draft of the water management plan was submitted to the department on March 15.

The impasse came after mine construction was stalled by Queensland’s Labor government, which commissioned a revie­w of Adani’s plan to protect the endangered black-throated finch at the 11th hour after 18 months of consult­ation between Adani and state bureaucrats. The review, led by Melbourne University ecolo­gist Brendan Wintle, suggested a series of tough new rules.

Adani is negotiating the new rules with the state Environment Department. The federal government has approved the version of the finch plan Dr Wintle rejected.

With Michael McKenna