Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland (EnvA) says the federal assessment of Anglo American’s proposed Moranbah North and Grosvenor mines rail and pipeline re-alignment has failed to properly consider public concerns, raising serious questions about the integrity of the environmental approval process.
EnvA responded to the release of the final Preliminary Documentation for the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), saying none of the issues raised in its earlier submission appear to have been addressed.
EnvA Director, Dr Coral Rowson said:
“This project was declared a controlled action because of its impacts on threatened species, yet the final documentation shows no evidence that public submissions were reviewed or even considered.
“The EPBC process requires proponents to consider public comments and explain how they’ve been addressed. That simply hasn’t happened here.”
EnvA lodged a detailed submission on the draft Preliminary Documentation when it was released for public comment in September 2025, raising concerns about impacts on koalas, greater gliders, squatter pigeons and cumulative environmental harm in an already heavily industrialised coal region without suitable offsets to compensate for the harm.
Despite this, the final documentation states the project is of “limited public interest” and indicates the proponent does not intend to undertake any consultation beyond minimum state planning requirements.
“For a community group run largely by volunteers, it is incredibly frustrating to see our time and expertise completely disregarded,” said Dr Rowston.
“Public consultation is not a box-ticking exercise. It is a fundamental requirement under national environmental law.”
EnvA is now calling on the federal environment department to either refuse the project or require Anglo American to revise its assessment documentation to properly address public submissions before any final recommendation is made.
“Decisions made under the EPBC Act must be based on rigorous assessment and genuine public participation.
“When community voices are ignored, confidence in the entire approvals system is undermined.”
EnvA - CQ 