Media Release
16 July 2019

Adani demands CSIRO scientists’ names: Mackay Conservation Group raises concerns

The Mackay Conservation Group says Adani should be investigated following revelations that the company requested the identities of CSIRO scientists involved in assessing the mining giant’s groundwater management plan (ABC today, Adani demands names of CSIRO scientists reviewing groundwater plans).

Mackay Conservation Group spokesperson, Michael Kane, says “Adani’s actions are clearly designed to intimidate people who work for some of Australia’s most trusted institutions and organisations, including the CSIRO and Geocsience Australia.

“All Australians should be concerned about international corporations applying undue pressure on our independent regulators, regardless of whether they support Adani’s Carmichael project or not.

“If there was a federal anti-corruption body this would be exactly the kind of conduct it would be responsible for examining.

🚨 A fast-growing number of countries, nations, territories and cities are accepting the science and declaring climate emergencies. 🚨

This includes entire countries of the UK, Canada and Portugal and the nations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The City Councils of London, New York and Auckland have also joined the list.

In Australia, 25 areas have declared climate emergencies including the Australian Capital Territory and the city councils of Sydney, Hobart and Fremantle. 

So what exactly is a climate emergency declaration? And will it mean climate action?

Many of us are keen to reduce our environmental impact and do our best but with limited access to public transport, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, coal and gas dominating energy production and suburban sprawl making us dependent on our cars it can seem hard to significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

There are of course clean energy alternatives like purchasing rooftop solar and battery storage but many people simply can’t afford it, live in unsuitable homes or rent and don’t get a say about how their electricity is sourced.

However, there are affordable options for electricity consumers to switch to renewable energy no matter where you live.

For example. Mackay’s sole energy retailer Ergon Energy customers can source between 10 to 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by participating in Ergon Energy’s ‘Clean Energy Programme’.

Environmental organisations such as Mackay Conservation Group have focused on preventing the Adani mine from being constructed for several years. We have built a movement of two million people around the country who support organisations that are part of the Stop Adani alliance. That leads some people to wonder why we aren’t focussed on the other mines planned for the Galilee Basin and elsewhere.

In 2012 it appeared that the first cab off the rank would be the GVK-Hancock Alpha mine. It attracted a lot of attention from the environmental movement. That project hasn’t gone anywhere, while Adani has been eyeing off opportunities to open its mine with generous support from taxpayers including low-interest loans and special royalties deals.

Because of people like you, we have stopped coal being dug up from the Galilee Basin for 7 years. 

The Stop Adani movement has only been around since early 2017 after Matt Canavan threw $1 billion at the project, and Annastacia Palaszczuk declared the project ‘critical infrastructure’.

People power stopped that loan and forced Australia’s big 4 banks and over 50 financial institutions, insurers and contractors to rule out supporting the project.

There are still many approvals left until Adani can dig up coal. And with your help, we can win.

Join our community to take action on climate change and move Australia beyond coal!

13 June 2019

Queensland Government has ignored science by giving away water to Adani

Mackay Conservation Group has today condemned the Queensland Government’s approval of Adani’s Groundwater plan. The group expressed disappointment that the government had given in to bullying by the billionaire mining company and ignored the science, risking Queensland’s water.

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser Emma Barrett said, “Today’s decision has ignored expert warnings that Adani’s mine could permanently damage Queensland’s groundwater. Leading water scientists tell us that Adani’s modelling is flawed, not fit for purpose and risks drying up the ecologically important Doongmabulla Springs.

The Doongmabulla Springs is home to four endangered plant and animal species including birds, herbs and grasses.

The Mackay Conservation Group has condemned the Queensland Government’s fast-track approval of Adani’s controversial Black Throated Finch management plan that will sign the death warrant for the endangered bird and ignores the company’s poor record in breaching environmental laws.

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser, Michael Kane, said the decision was politically motivated and the approval process had been rushed, manifestly inadequate and compromised.

“With the decision today, Australians now have a front row seat to the real time extinction of the endangered Black Throated Finch due to political expediency and a lack of leadership” he said.

“The truth is once Adani bulldozes the tiny finch’s last viable habitat, the birds will literally starve to death in great numbers. This is an extinction that we can stop today. There is still time for the Premier to walk back this process.

Mackay, Queensland. It was clear from the dozens of people who gathered in Mackay over the weekend, to discuss the next steps in the campaign to stop the Adani mine, that locals have a significant appetite for working to prevent enormous coal mines being dug in the Galilee Basin and avert dangerous climate change.

About 40 residents met in East Mackay on Sunday to discuss the next steps in the local Stop Adani campaign following the apparent change in the Queensland Government’s position on assessing the project scientifically.  

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said “People are increasingly worried about climate change given the extreme weather they’ve seen hit Queensland in recent times. They’ve also heard the dire predictions that the world’s leading scientists have been sharing with governments and the public for decades.

Media Release

22 May 2019

Palaszczuk must stick with science in the face of political bullying

The Queensland Premier has announced that the Adani mine assessment process will be fast-tracked and that a timeline for approval of the mine will be made public by Friday.

Peter McCallum, coordinator of Mackay Conservation Group, said “This decision follows intense political pressure from the mining industry and the Murdoch press. It is a kick in the guts for all those Queenslanders who were counting on the Palaszczuk Government to make sound scientific decisions on environmental issues.

“Today the Premier has said that she wants the scientific assessment process cut short. There can be only one reason for that, the pressure put on her government by a highly-orchestrated campaign by the mining industry and the Murdoch press.

Media Release - 20 May 2019

AUSTRALIAN CEO MISREPRESENTS ADANI’S ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD AND OVERLOOKS POOR WORKER PRACTICES

Adani CEO Lucas Dow has made misleading statements today suggesting Adani has been working to the ‘highest environmental standards’ (see text of Morning Bulletin story below) when the record shows they have repeatedly breached Queensland laws, says Mackay Conservation Group today (MCG).

Dow says he can’t understand why the Carmichael coal mine should be held up when it can be delivered “in a manner that is both commercially and environmentally responsible”.

However, Adani’s track record shows a lack of compliance with environmental protections and poor corporate behaviour, including:

• being currently in court for pollution from its Abbot Point port terminal. Adani breached a pollution licence by 800%, discharging coal-polluted water from the coal terminal into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area;
• being under investigation at a state level for alleged unlawful drilling and clearing activities at the proposed mine site; and
• having to pay a $13,000 fine for polluting wetlands.
  
  

MCG spokesperson Michael Kane said, “Adani has shown themselves to be poor corporate citizens who can’t be trusted to do the right thing by Queensland’s environment.

“Adani has a history of breaching Queensland laws even before the project has officially been approved, including being fined for polluting wetlands and discharging coal-pollution into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area,” he said.

“Queensland has laws to protect our water, but Adani clearly doesn’t play by the rules. How can we trust them to look after Queensland’s water?”

“Queenslanders do not appreciate big mining companies risking their precious water resources. Research shows the majority of people in central Queensland are concerned about Adani's impact on ground and river water”.

Mr Kane says it’s disingenuous for Lucas Dow to say he speaks for people in Central Queensland communities reliant on mining, when his record shows he has been responsible for sacking miners and instituting fly in fly out workforces in the recent past.

When Dow was CEO and asset president of BHP Mitsubishi Alliance the company:

• sacked 700 mine workers in the Bowen Basin;
• slashed 230 jobs at Saraji mine in Central Qld;
• had a 100% Fly In Fly out workforce at the Caval Ridge mine, overlooking local employment.
  
  

“If Mr Dow expects us to trade off our environment and iconic places then it is time he answered some hard questions on the promises he is making. How automated will this mine be and how many existing coal jobs in the Bowen Basin will we lose?” Mr Kane said.

“When Dow was in charge at BMA they sacked more mine workers than are predicted to be employed at Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.

“Under Dow, BMA cut jobs at several mine sites across central Queensland and opted for a fly-in, fly-out workforce over local employment.

“It’s no surprise you won’t find Mr Dow talking about the tens of thousands of reef-related tourism and agricultural jobs at risk from Adani’s coal mine,” he said.

Michael Kane is available for interview.

Media contact: 0438 766 230



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