25 May 2021
Mackay Conservation Group has welcomed news today that the Federal Court has agreed that the Morrison Government made an error of law when it decided not to apply the ‘water trigger’ to the assessment of Adani’s North Galilee Water Scheme (NGWS).
Under Federal regulations, coal projects that extract a significant amount of water are required to submit a rigorous environmental impact statement. This water trigger was not originally applied to Adani’s Water Scheme.
Sunny Hungerford, Campaign Manager at Mackay Conservation Group says:
“Today’s decision is a victory for Queensland’s water and the people and ecosystems that depend on it. In the Government’s rush to approve Adani’s plan to pipe 12.5 Billion litres from the Suttor River each year, they failed to apply proper scrutiny, and failed to properly consider the negative impacts that such a risky water plan could have on surrounding ecosystems, sacred sites, farmers and even towns.
While Queensland’s farmers have battled one of the worst droughts in decades Adani should not be allowed to drain 12.5 billion litres of river water each year just to wash coal and suppress dust at their coal mine.
Adani’s coal project is having devastating impacts on Queensland’s water from sucking up precious groundwater that feed ancient springs and wetlands, failing to manage erosion and polluting waterways with sediment. Today’s court decision proves that additional scrutiny and assessment of Adani’s impacts on water is needed.
This is also a win for people power. Over the last few years, hundreds of concerned Mackay Conservation Group (MCG) supporters have contacted the Federal Environment Minister Susan Ley to ask her to urgently review Adani’s application to extract 12.5 Billion litres of water per year from the Suttor River. Queenslanders know how precious our water is, and expect serious scrutiny of major water consumption.
ENDS
Media contact:
Sunny Hungerford
Ph: 0499 203 431
Photos of Suttor River: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stopadani/albums/72157699861418581
