A win for our climate, communities and nature refuges. Waratah Coal is refused!

The Queensland Environment Department’s refusal of an environmental authority for Clive Palmer’s massive Galilee Coal Project is the latest sign that greenfield coal mines have no future in the sunshine state.

Waratah Coal’s Galilee Coal Project would have been the biggest thermal coal mine in Australia.  It would have covered approximately 14,600 ha of land and result in the clearing of nearly 5,000 ha of remnant vegetation – the home of listed threatened species and vegetation communities.  At least 7 km of three locally significant creeks and seven grazing properties would have been directly impacted.  Of particular concern were the likely significant impacts on the very special Bimblebox Nature Refuge.

The Galilee Coal Project proposed to extract up to 40 million tonnes of coal from the Galilee Basin each year over the next 25 years. This would have produced an extraordinary 1.58 billion tonnes of carbon emissions and would make meeting Queensland and Australia’s emission reduction targets very challenging without placing extra imposts on other industries which will have an important role into the future.

The decision comes after the Queensland Land Court recommended the mine be refused in response to a challenge by Youth Verdict and the Bimblebox Alliance.  

As part of the hearing, the court travelled to Erub (Darnley) Island and Poruma (Coconut) Island in the Torres Strait to hear first-hand how climate change is negatively impacting communities and eroding their ability to practise culture, now legally protected by cultural and human rights under the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019.

Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland director Dr Coral Rowston said, “Praise really must go to the Bimblebox Alliance, Youth Verdict, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who challenged this clearly unacceptable coal mine proposal.

“If it had been allowed to proceed, it would have mined beneath the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, drained groundwater relied on by both farmers and the environment in the region, and supercharged catastrophic climate change.

“With the Department of Environment and Science’s decision to refuse the necessary Environmental Authority, another precious part of Central Queensland is saved from the coal mining lobby and preserved for future generations to enjoy,” said Dr Rowston.

EnvA’s previous media release following the Land Court Decision is here.