The proposed Carmichael coal mine project is again squarely in the sites of environmental activists, with the Mackay Conservation Group mounting a legal challenge against the project’s approval granted by federal environment minister, Greg Hunt.
Working through the New South Wales Environmental Defenders Office, the group will argue that Minister Hunt did not take into consideration what impact the burning of coal produced at the mine would have on global warming.
The challenge asserts that the greenhouse gas emissions produced from coal-fired power stations fed by Carmichael would cause irreversible damage to the Great Barrier Reef, and that this was not addressed by the Minister’s office.
Indian mining company, Adani, are the proponents of the $16.5 Carmichael coal mine and rail project, planned to the built north west of Clermont in the Galilee Basin of Central Queensland. The project was approved in July of last year.
In a statement, Adani hit back at the Group saying that the approvals process had been very thorough and detailed.
“There were multiple opportunities throughout the assessment process for all parties, including Mackay Conservation Group, to make submissions which were subsequently considered prior to the approval decision on this project,” the statement said.
“This legal challenge initiated by the Mackay Conservation Group, and funded by Getup, is an act designed to frustrate progress on an approved project, and reflects dissatisfaction with the Minister’s decision, rather than a genuine concern in regards to the assessment process.”
“It makes crystal clear that this is not an action dealing with the merits of a process that saw the strictest environmental conditions imposed in Australian history- rather, it is a highly politicised action by professional activists determined to put to an end the coal industry in Queensland and the jobs it delivers to our state.”
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