Queensland election: Annastacia Palaszczuk accused of hypocrisy on mining
The Palaszczuk government has been accused of double standards in approving a $1bn coal project while refusing to greenlight an expansion of an existing mine.
The Palaszczuk government has been accused of double standards in approving a $1bn coal project facing a legal challenge while refusing to greenlight an expansion of an existing mine because of court action.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday said Pembroke Resource’s Olive Downs mine, in central Queensland, had been granted a mining lease. The project, situated in the Labor-held seat of Mackay — which according to a recent poll is under threat of falling to the Liberal National Party at the October 31 state election — is facing a court challenge in the state’s Land Court.
Ms Palaszczuk said there was “no legal action” against Olive Downs, set to produce about 15 million tonnes a year of metallurgical coal and employ 1000 people in production, and the project was to “good to go”.
The Land Court registry shows that Sunland Cattle Co, a breeding property with 11,000 head of Wagyu cattle, is challenging the project with an application for a judicial review.
Sunland owner Paul Harris told The Australian it was hypocritical for the government to approve Olive Downs ahead of a court decision while refusing to consider New Hope’s proposed $900m expansion of its Acland coalmine on the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane.
Ms Palaszczuk has been criticised by New Hope and Queensland’s mining unions for refusing to approve the Acland expansion before a challenge to the project is heard in the High Court.
Ahead of the 2017 election, Ms Palaszczuk said her government would wait until a then judicial review was determined in the Land Court before making a decision on the Acland project.
The Land Court gave the greenlight to expansion of the Acland mine, in the safe LNP seat of Condamine, but Ms Palaszczuk reneged on her promise and says no decision will be made until after the High Court decision, possibly next year.
New Hope has spent 13 years trying to get the redevelopment through, arguing that the existing ore body near Oakey is close to exhaustion. Without the stage-three mine, the entire venture will fold.
Last month, the Australian Workers Union and the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union called on the Palaszczuk government to immediately approve expansion of the mine.
Asked on Tuesday why the government would approve Olive Downs but not New Acland, when both were subject to legal action, Ms Palaszczuk said she was not aware of any legal challenge to Olive Downs: “Olive Downs has got all the approvals in place and we’ve given it the tick.”
New Hope chief operating officer Andrew Boyd said the government was treating the two projects differently. “While we are pleased to see resource projects being approved, we do question the double standards of this government,’’ he said. “The Premier has said ad nauseam that New Acland stage three will not be approved while there is court action pending.”
A poll commissioned by New Hope this month of four Labor-held seats said its primary vote had slid by 7 per cent to 36 per cent in Mackay, held on a margin of 8.31.
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