The conditions on the approval allow the company to change their management plans, designed to mitigate the environmental impact of the proposed coal mine, by simply notifying the Environment Department. The original approval required ministerial approval for the company to change their plans.
"You have to wonder, was it the Environment Department or Adani who wrote these conditions?" said Greenpeace Reef Campaigner, Shani Tager.
"Minister Hunt's conditions on the approval of the Carmichael mine are the same as handing the company a blank cheque and hoping they'll do the right thing.
"This is the biggest coal mine proposed for Australia, yet there is a complete absence of scrutiny by Minister Hunt, since Adani no longer needs ministerial approval to re-write their plans.
"Instead of 36 strict conditions, we've seen a weakening of requirements in relation to the Carmichael megamine and a loophole big enough for a dragline to fit through," said Ms Tager.
The proposed Carmichael coal mine covers 28,000 hectares in central Queensland, will be responsible for 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and require millions of tonnes of seafloor in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to be dredged.
ENDS