State knocks back Palmer’s Galilee coal project

Queensland's Department of Environment and Science has refused the environmental authority application for Waratah Coal's Galilee coal project. The decision is in line with a Land Court recommendation in November to refuse the environmental authority and mining lease applications for the project, located north of Alpha. It came after the Environmental Defenders Office argued the case on behalf of Youth Verdict and The Bimblebox Alliance that coal from the mine would impact the human rights of First Nations Peoples by contributing to dangerous climate change. They also argued the mine would destroy the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, which sits on top of the proposed mine site on Wangan and Jagalingou Country. Waratah Coal, a subsidiary of Clive Palmer's Mineralogy, reactivated the mining lease application for its 40Mtpa Galilee Coal Project in 2019. The proposal comprises four underground coal mines, two open-cut coal mines and a 453km railway line in Central Queensland. The company has indicated it is reviewing the DES decision. While there are no appeal rights under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 for such a decision, dissatisfied parties can apply to the Supreme Court of Queensland for judicial review. Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator Ellen Roberts said, “All across Queensland, mooted coal projects are being scrapped or rejected. “But the battle is not yet won. Coal companies like Whitehaven and New Hope refuse to read the writing on the wall and are pushing dangerous, extreme weather causing coal projects in Queensland. “We urge these companies to abandon coal and pivot to more sustainable renewable energy alternatives, and for the Queensland Palaszczuk Government to likewise reject environmental authorities for new coal projects." The knockback for the Galilee coal project comes after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek rejected another Clive Palmer-lead project, the Central Queensland Coal Project, in February. She said that coal mine - 130km north-west of Rockhampton in the Styx Basin - was proposed to operate less than 10km from the Great Barrier Reef and the risk of pollution and irreversible damage to the reef was very real. “The project would have had unacceptable impacts on freshwater in the area and potentially on fragile seagrass meadows that feed dugongs and provide breeding grounds for fish just off the coast,” she said. In the case of the Galilee project, Land Court president Fleur Kingham recommended the mining lease and environmental approval should be refused on environmental, climate and human rights grounds. “While there would be substantial economic benefit if the application is approved, other factors must be considered,” she said. “The impact on Bimblebox, the contribution of combustion emissions to climate change and the limitations on human rights cannot be reduced to a common quantitative unit of measurement, such as money.”

State knocks back Palmer’s Galilee coal project

Industry Queensland

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