By SAT News Desk
Melbourne, 9 November 2015: The Adani owned Chermichael Coal megamine approval by the Queensland government has been challenged by the Australian Conservation Foundation. The earlier approval which was struck done by a court was later reapproved last month by the Queensland Environment Minister Greg Hunt. The challenge is a judicial review of the Minister’s approval.
The Carmichael coal mine would be an absolute disaster for the Great Barrier Reef, our climate and the local environment if it proceeds,” said Shani Tager, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Reef Campaigner in a media release.
“They want a 28,000-hectare coal mine which will be responsible for 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and require millions of tonnes of seafloor in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to be dredged.
“If Minister Hunt and the Turnbull Government were serious about protecting the environment, they would have rejected this mine the first and the second time it came across their desks.
“It’s clear that they cannot be relied on to make decisions in the best interests of the community and the environment, so this legal challenge by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACL) is crucial,” said Ms. Tager.
Meanwhile, the Mackay Conservation Group has welcomed the ACF legal action against the mine approval, in a media release.
Mackay Conservation Group acting coordinator, Peter McCallum, said “we welcome the intervention of Australia’s pre-eminent environmental organization in this legal process.”
Queensland treasury officials have called the mine “unbankable” and 14 international banks have said they won’t fund the project, which still needs $16billion to proceed.
– SAT News Service.
