Green groups have condemned environment minister Greg Hunt’s renewed approval of the Carmichael coal mine and rail project for Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
Hunt’s initial approval of the massive coal mine and rail project was rejected by a High Court ruling which found a pair of threatened species – the yakka skink and the ornamental snake – had not been properly considered in the initial assessment by the Department of the Environment.
Hunt announced the renewed approval on October 15.
“The Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project has been approved in accordance with the national environment law subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history,” the minister said.
“In making this decision I have considered additional information provided by Adani and environmental groups …”
If it builds the project, Adani will have to adhere to “rigorous” conditions relating to water resources, animal habitats, threatened species, and groundwater monitoring.
“I have the power to suspend or revoke the approval and strict penalties apply if there is a breach of the strict conditions,” Hunt said.
Despite this, Green groups were outraged by the approval.
Greenpeace called the move “a bad idea on every level”.
“Carmichael would be a complete disaster for the climate and the Great Barrier Reef,” Greenpeace’s Shani Tager said. “The federal government and environment minister should be in the business of protecting the Reef and the climate, not giving mining companies licence to destroy them.”
As well as opposition on environmental grounds, Adani – the Indian group developing Carmichael – is dealing with a growing number of financial institutions who have announced they won’t support the project.
The National Australia Bank recently became the latest such institution to rule-out supporting the mine and rail project.
But Adani’s Australian chief executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj has expressed his confidence in the future of the massive project, telling the Weekend Australian last month the company was determined to forge ahead, having already spent nearly $3 billion on Carmichael.
“This is a viable project for our company: we are not here for charity, we are not here to lose money,” he reportedly said.
“It is critical for us to secure long-term [coal] supplies.
“We are a large infrastructure and energy conglomerate, so providing energy security to India is a very key strategy as part of our business goals.”