PUP veto on approvals ‘will hit Clive Palmer’s mine’

CLIVE Palmer’s deal to abolish the “one-stop shop” for mine approvals will make it harder for his project in the Galilee Basin.

THE Queensland government says the Clive Palmer’s deal with Labor and the Greens to abolish the proposed “one-stop shop” for mining approvals will make it harder for his own coal project in the Galilee Basin to get approval.

The Palmer United Party, in a deal with the other parties to get their agreement for an inquiry into the Queensland government, also agreed to reject federal legislation aimed at streamlining environmental approvals processes for mining projects.

Acting Premier and State Development Minister Jeff Seeney told The Australian the proposal had never been about handing back environmental approvals from the federal government to the states as critics had suggested.

“What it involved was having state and federal officers embedded with each other and working together so that you had parallel processes instead of having one then the other. It actually can strengthen environmental protection,” Mr Seeney said.

“We’ve got a good example of what we’re trying to avoid today with the Abbot Point referral.”

Queensland yesterday formally referred to the federal government the proposal to dump dredge spoil from Abbot Point on to land instead of in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The dredging proponents now have a licence to dump dredge spoil at sea in the marine park and say they want to start dredging next year. Unless Canberra ­approves the land-dump proposal by the end of the year, the spoil will be dumped at sea.

Mr Seeney said the end of the one-stop approvals plan meant Mr Palmer’s proposed mine in the Galilee Basin would more difficult to get approved.

“He’s just let his desire for revenge above all else. It’s going to be far harder for Clive’s own projects to go ahead. It’s amazing that he would agree with it,” he said.

While the streamlining would apply to all states, it had particular resonance in the mining states of Queensland, West Australia, and NSW.

A statement from West Australian Environment Minister Albert Jacob yesterday said the government “supports reducing the need for project proponents to go through two (a state and a federal) assessment and approval process­es, often with unnecessary duplicative requirements”.

NSW Planning Minister Pru Goward said it was disappointing to see a few crossbenchers opposing a sensible measure for their own purposes.

Greens senator Larissa Waters has said the proposed inquiry into the Queensland government also would look at Mr Palmer’s business interests, including the Yabulu nickel refinery near Towns-ville and his Galilee Basin project.

A spokesman for Mr Palmer said he was quite comfortable with these issues being examined.

Additional reporting: Mark Coultan, Debbie Guest