“Environment Minister Steven Miles was elected on the promise of protecting the Reef, but just one year later, he’s picked coal over coral. It’s a short-sighted and, frankly, absurd decision,” said Shani Tager, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Reef Campaigner.
“This environmental authority waves through a project that threatens the health of the Great Barrier Reef, which is already suffering from climate change and pollution.
“As Australia’s largest coal mine, Carmichael will add to the global warming that is threatening the Reef. It will mean expanding Abbot Point port, dredging in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and sending more ships through this delicate ecosystem,” she said.
Despite state and federal government support for the mine, the $16 billion Carmichael project has attracted no financial backers in the last six years as investors look elsewhere for returns. The proponent, Adani, does not have the money and 14 international banks have stated they will not fund it.
“With the global coal market plummeting and countries like China, the US and even Vietnam phasing out new coal mines, the Queensland Government should be creating a transition plan for coal workers, not backing a dead-end project like Carmichael.
“The Australian department of environment acknowledges that the Reef provides employment for more than 69,000 people. On the other hand, Adani has been caught overstating the job numbers, royalties and tax from the project in the Land Court of Queensland.
“The mining industry has lost 40,000 jobs since 2012-13, according to BIS Shrapnel’s Mining in Australia 2015-2030 report. It also predicts a further 20,000 jobs to go in the next three years. It’s not a growth industry for employment,” said Ms Tager.
If it ever got to full production, the 28,000ha Carmichael coal mine would put 121 million tonnes of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere each year and ship 60 million tonnes of coal directly through the heart of the Reef. The mine could also wipe out a globally significant population of the endangered black-throated finch.
ENDS