Even though most people in Australia oppose Adani's mine, politicians believe they can cruise to the next federal election without making a commitment to stop it. It's time they started to feel the heat of our campaign so they make clear commitments to Stop Adani and urgently reorganise our energy system to make life safe for everyone. 

Please volunteer to lend a few hours to support our campaign. No matter where you live you can help. 

We'll be in touch soon.

Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Mark Butler, says the Adani coal mine or any new coal mines in the Galilee Basin make no sense. He says that the world is shifting to renewable energy to prevent air pollution, to protect our planet from climate change and to save money. Please sign our petition calling on Bill Shorten to adopt a policy that no new thermal coal mines will be opened in the Galilee Basin under a future ALP government. 

Final documents released July 2018

Redacted documents released October 2017 (Part A)

Redacted documents released October 2017 (Part B)

Why Adani is wrong in saying they did not pollute the Reef and Caley Valley Wetlands during Cyclone Debbie

Posted by Peter McCallum · September 03, 2018 5:32 PM

RTI docs show Adani & Qld govt knew Reef pollution at Abbot Pt likely

Posted by Peter McCallum · August 10, 2018 6:13 AM

new proposal for dredge spoil dumping at Abbot Point

Posted by Ellen Roberts · March 23, 2015 12:02 PM

The Adani coal mine puts at risk water resources that are the lifeblood of Central Queensland. 

Rivers, ancient springs and aquifers that form part of the Great Artesian Basin are all threatened by the dangerous Adani project. But we need this vital water in times of drought.

Don’t stand by and watch Adani rob us of life-giving water. Locals are standing up to protect Qld's water and you can help!

Sign the pledge to the Queensland Premier, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines and Minister for Environment.

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser, Maggie Mckeown, recently made a presentation to Mackay Regional Council about the impacts of climate change on the region. Here's what she said.

Mackay city is a low lying coastal city in an part of the world that is frequently threatened by tropical cyclones. Last year the city dodged a bullet when Cyclone Debbie changed course and did not arrive in Mackay. We know that there was an unprecedented level of preparation for the cyclone but all that would have been completely insufficient had Debbie made landfall in Mackay simultaneous with a 5.8 metre tide. Most of the urban area would have been inundated and potentially significant numbers of casualties. We have seen two very large cyclones in Northern Queensland over the past decade, Yasi and Debbie. Predictions are that cyclones will become larger and more destructive as ocean temperatures rise due to global warming. The cost of dealing with major climate related events is significant both locally and globally. Cyclone Debbie cost insurers $1.56 billion by November. That will undoubtedly lead to increased insurance premiums and increased difficulty in obtaining insurance for those in cyclone prone zones. The cost to the Queensland economy has been estimated at over $2 billion with mining, agriculture and tourism industries were severely disrupted by the cyclone.

The Mackay region is not alone in facing climate induced catastrophes. Right now we are witnessing Cape Town in South Africa, a city with a population of 3.7 million about to run out of water, the first city that magnitude to do so. The water supply failure has been blamed on poor city management but without three years of unprecedented drought the city would not be facing a crisis. Closer to home, Pacific Islanders in places such as Kiribati have seen sea level rise make parts of their island nation uninhabitable. Sixteen percent of the land area of India is dependent on glacial fed Himalayan streams. Those glaciers that maintain stream flows during summer and winter are melting. Initially that means more rapid flows and floods but in the long term it means drought and chronic food and water shortages. All these events and many more are inevitable consequences of a hotter climate which in turn is brought about by human burning of fossil fuels.

Last week we premiered the brand new #StopAdani documentary A Mighty Force. With a combined membership of around two million people, the movement to stop Adani's unbankable mine will continue to grow and shift the politics on coal. 

At the Mackay premiere of the Stop Adani documentary, A Mighty Force, local cane grower Michelle Ready explained to locals why she is so passionate about stopping Adani's mega-mine. 

My name’s Michelle and I’m a farmer’s wife.  I’m not an expert by any means, but I’ve taken time to do the research and have spoken with many, better informed people, including farmers who are at the coal face, so to speak.  The farm we’re on has been in my husband’s family around 60 years, and we wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the groundwater.  It provides all our domestic needs.  On the farming side however, we’re lucky to have limited access to the creek, when the rains fail to come.

But there are farmers who aren’t as lucky as us, whose only reliable source is groundwater from the Galilee Basin, part of the Great Artesian Basin.  Out there, at the Carmichael mine site, groundwater is everything, and it absolutely defies belief that our elected officials have decided to give it away, free and unlimited amounts of it, to a company with the most atrocious history of environmental degradation.

Coal mines require enormous amounts of water.  I remember years ago hearing that wars would be fought over water, and I thought at the time, “no way there’s so much water, what’s the problem”.  I was wrong.  Farmers are the first to feel the effects of drought, and climate change, yet eventually everyone will.  Look at Cape Town. Broken Hill.

Media Release

Adani should start engineering works on its Abbot Point port facility to ensure no repeat incidents of pollution of the Great Barrier Reef coast, not fight a $12,000 fine for a breach the company itself reported to the Queensland Environment Department, says the Mackay Conservation Group (“Adani denies stormwater breach”, Townsville Bulletin, today).

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, who visited Abbot Point with department officials in April to inspect the pollution said, “It’s a bit rich of Adani to claim it has been singled out by the Queensland Government given all the special treatment they have received.

“The Queensland government has granted Adani free, unlimited water, it has amended water laws to stop objections by farmers and granted Adani a secret royalties deal. For Adani to cry ‘poor me’ really beggars belief.

“The reality is that Adani is being given privileged treatment by the Queensland government, a prime example being this puny $12,000 slap on the wrist.

“Adani admitted to the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection that it released more than eight times its licenced concentration of pollution in March.

“Rather than considering challenging the measly $12,000 fine for polluting the Great Barrier Reef coast Adani should begin work immediately to secure its coal terminal from storms and cyclones to avoid repeat pollution of the Reef coast and the Caley Valley Wetlands.

“The Department handed Adani a license to pollute before Cyclone Debbie hit which placed no limit on the volume of polluted water Adani could let flow into the wetlands.

“A day later this license was retrospectively amended to protect Adani from liability for releasing coal polluted water at several other locations including the sea.

“It took over a week for the Department of the Environment to begin even the most basic survey and five months later we still have no report on the pollution of the Caley Valley wetlands.

“I visited the site with Department officials, a good month after the Cyclone, and it was clear there was still coal present in the Caley Valley wetlands. We saw sediments which appear to be laden with coal within the wetlands adjacent to Adani’s storm water system outlet. 

“Adani’s environmental record overseas, and this incident, shows it can’t be trusted to construct a new coal terminal, build a massive coal mine or ship its coal out through the Great Barrier Reef,”  Mr McCallum said.

Mackay Conservation Group exposed aerial photography of Adani’s pollution of the Caley Valley wetlands in April which led to the company admitting to releasing 806mg/L of coal and other pollutants from its port at Abbot Point. 

-ENDS-

For further information or interviews, please contact: Peter McCallum 0402 966 560

Mackay Conservation Group is a volunteer based organisation that was established in 1983 and works to protect Central Queensland’s environment www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au