Labor’s Tanya Plibersek BLOCKS a huge coal mine because it was near the Great Barrier Reef – despite surging energy costs and Australia earning billions from exports
- Tanya Plibersek has blocked Clive Palmer’s proposed mine
- The coal mine presented a significant environmental risk
- It was located less than 10km from the Great Barrier Reef
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek has blocked billionaire Clive Palmer’s proposed coal mine in the first ever use of federal environmental laws to reject a coal project.
Ms Plibersek announced her decision to block the proposed Central Queensland coal mine on Wednesday.
She explained that the mine presented a high risk of pollution and environmental damage to the Great Barrier Reef, which is less than 10km from the project.
Mr Palmer’s company, Mineralogy Pty Ltd, had filed an application to build the open-cut coal mine.
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek (pictured) has blocked billionaire Clive Palmer’s proposed Central Queensland coal mine
‘I wanted to let you know after a thorough assessment of all of the information before me, I’ve decided to stick to my decision and I won’t be approving the Central Queensland coal project,’ Ms Plibersek said in her announcement.
‘I decided that the adverse environmental impacts are simply too great.’
‘The mine is an open cut coal mine less than 10 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef and the risk of pollution and irreversible damage to the reef is very real.’
The environment minister explained that Mr Palmer’s mine ‘would have unacceptable impacts on freshwater in the area and potentially on fragile seagrass meadows that feed dugoings and provide breeding grounds for fish just off the coast’.
Ms Plibersek revealed in her address that 9000 public submissions were sent in just 10 business days, 98 per cent of which opposed the mine.
‘I just want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to contact me and share your views,’ she added.
Ms Plibersek had previously rejected Mr Palmer’s bid to build the open-cut coal mine.
The project would include two open-cut pits that would extract up to 10 million tonnes of coal every year.
Ms Plibersek said the open-cut mine presented a signifcant environmental risk to the Great Barrier Reef, which is less than 10 kilometres away from the mine (pictured, a coal mine at Lithgow, NSW)
Billionaire Clive Palmer’s company, Mineralogy Pty Ltd, filed an application to build the Central Queensland coal mine
The proposed mine was scheduled to operate for twenty years and export coal overseas.
While the federal government blocked the application for the project following a thorough assessment, the Queensland state government also recommended the Commonwealth block construction.