Stop Adani mine obstruction

It’s good news that Indian mining conglomerate Adani says it will provide funding to finally develop the Carmichael coalmine in central Queensland. Development of the Carmichael mine will be good for Queensland and the national economy, providing much-needed jobs and investment. Coal from the project will fuel electricity for the millions of people in India making the transition from poverty to modernity.

Development of the Carmichael mine and associated rail link has a significance beyond the Adani project. Carmichael is the anchor project that will open up the minerals-rich and highly prospective Galilee Basin. Other big Galilee projects include two mines owned by GVK Hancock and the $6.7 billion China Stone project owned by MacMines. The China Stone project, which has been granted Queensland environmental approval, is located near the Adani project and will benefit from Carmichael infrastructure.

It therefore would be tempting to say that development of Carmichael sends a message to the world that Australia is open for business and that a vocal and mischievous anti-coal campaign waged against Adani had not been allowed to succeed. This would be only partly true. Faced with an international campaign in which green groups lobbied banks and even governments not to provide finance, Adani has been forced to self-fund a much reduced project. Rather than Australia’s biggest proposed coalmine producing 60 million tonnes a year, Carmichael has been scaled back to produce 10 million tonnes a year initially before ramping up to 27.5 million tonnes across the next decade. The rail project has been scaled back to narrow gauge after Queensland’s Labor government pulled support for a federal loan as part of an election deal with conservation groups.

Adani has said it expects to begin development within weeks and to start shipping coal by 2020. Despite having suffered repeated losses in the courts, green groups will not give up. The Australian Conservation Foundation says Adani still has numerous regulatory hurdles, approvals and management plans to clear and that the “Stop Adani movement will fight this proposed mine every step of the way”.

Claims about potential damage to the Great Barrier Reef and the climate change impacts of the Adani mine must be considered in a global context. The Supreme Court in Queensland has considered both issues and ruled in favour of the company. Even so, Australian authorities must be prepared to enforce the strict environmental conditions placed on the Adani project. But all political parties, state and federal, should continue their support for a project that will create an estimated 1500 jobs in the construction and ramp-up stage and open a minerals province that will deliver royalties for decades. Now that Adani says funding is in place and the digging is about to begin, Bill Shorten — having said he supported the Adani project but did not believe it would secure the necessary finance — in particular must declare his hand.