Coal companies apply to join judicial review application commenced by Aurizon Network against the QCA

Today ten coal producers – among them Australia’s largest coal producers – have filed an application to join the judicial review application commenced by Aurizon Network against the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The coal producers who have applied to join the judicial review application are:

• AngloAmerican
• BHP Mitsubishi Alliance and BHP Mitsui Coal
• Coronado
• Glencore
• Idemitsu
• Jellinbah Mining and Lake Vermont Resources
• Peabody and
• Yancoal.

Aurizon Network commenced the judicial review application on 30 April 2018.

Aurizon Network stated at the time it commenced the application:

“Aurizon Network has today applied to the Supreme Court of Queensland for the Judicial Review of the Queensland Competition Authority’s (QCA) Draft Decision on the 2017 Draft Access Undertaking (UT5) for Aurizon’s Central Queensland Coal Network (CQCN) on the basis of apprehended bias. This application results from the QCA Chairman, Professor Roy Green also being the Chairman of the Port of Newcastle in NSW, part of the Hunter Valley coal supply chain. Aurizon Network is seeking Judicial Review of the Draft Decision on the basis that it was affected by legal error because the Queensland Competition Authority did not afford procedural fairness to Aurizon Network due to Professor Green’s conflict of interest and the apprehension of bias.”

The coal producers have an interest in the application by virtue of their interests in, among other things, the process giving rise to the QCA’s draft Decision and the outcome of the QCA’s final decision on UT5.

It is not yet known when the coal producers’ application will be heard by the Court.