Adani in court today for breaching their ‘special’ pollution licence

New poll reveals Central Queensland voters oppose the Qld government granting special deals to Adani on roads, royalties and water

Mackay Conservation Group released polling today that shows the majority of Central and North Queensland voters want government subsidies for Adani withdrawn. The group delivered a letter to local MP, Julieanne Gilbert, calling on the Queensland Government to cancel what amounts to nearly $500 million in subsidies.

Peter McCallum, Co-ordinator of Mackay Conservation Group said, “It’s disturbing that governments trust Adani to push ahead with a mine at a time when they’re being prosecuted in court for polluting the Great Barrier Reef with coal.

“Last year the Queensland government granted Adani a favour and issued a special licence to allow them to pour coal-laden water into one of the world’s greatest natural assets, the Great Barrier Reef, and Adani failed to even comply with that.

“Today the Mackay Conservation Group is releasing new Reachtel polling in three federal electorates in regional Queensland, conducted on 30 November.

“The polling of voters in Townsville, Rockhampton and Mackay reveals more that 60.0% of respondents strongly oppose the Queensland government giving Adani special deals, which allow the company to avoid paying a reported $370 million in royalties and offers Adani a $100 million publicly-funded road upgrade and a licence to take unlimited water for 60 years.

Media Release

7 November 2018

Photo: Zoe Bay on Hinchinbrook Island - Steven Nowakowski

Mackay Conservation Group has launched a campaign against a Queensland Government plan to allow private tourism development in three of the state’s iconic national parks.

Last month the Tourism Minister, Kate Jones, issued a statement calling for expressions of interest from private tourism operators to build accommodation and conduct private walking tours in Hinchinbrook, Whitsunday Islands and Great Sandy national parks. 

In a document on a government website, private developers are being offered 30 year exclusive leases on current national park land plus a 30 year option. The government will also fast track the assessment process. In the case of Whitsunday Islands national park the government is also offering private developers a $5 million subsidy to assist with accommodation construction.

Mackay Conservation Group has launched a petition, which has collected over 700 signatures, calling on the state government to scrap its plans.

Media Release: Crocodiles less threatening to human life than bees

Conservationists will today call on a Queensland parliamentary committee to reject legislation that would reintroduce mass slaughter of wild crocodiles in the state.

The Queensland Parliament’s Innovation, Tourism Development and Environment Committee will hold public hearings on the Safer Waterways Bill at Mackay today.

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said that crocodiles do pose a threat to human life but the risk has been overblown.

Last year, Bob Katter, a federal MP, claimed that a person was killed by a crocodile every three months in North Queensland.

Conservationists have disputed that claim.

“Since 1985 there have been 11 fatal crocodile attacks in Queensland. That’s about one every three years,” Mr McCallum said.

“By comparison one Australian dies from complications of bee sting every six months.”

“It’s easy to drum up fear, even when the threat is minimal.”

“Mackay Conservation Group will be calling on the committee to reject fearmongering and rely on the clear scientific evidence when making its recommendation on the proposed law.”

From the 1940s to 1970s crocodiles were killed in large numbers, mostly by hunters hoping to cash in on high international prices for crocodile skin.

Saltwater crocodiles were pushed towards extinction in Australia until Queensland reluctantly enacted legislation to ban wild crocodile killing in 1974.

As late as 1988, saltwater crocodiles were listed as endangered.

Since then crocodile numbers have recovered to the point that they are no longer considered vulnerable to extinction.

On average 8 Queenslanders die each year in boating accidents.

MEDIA RELEASE
10 August 2018

Qld govt fails to prosecute Adani for breaking law, polluting Reef waters

Adani tries to block documents showing it knew pollution would occur

Previously secret documents show Adani and the Qld Department of the Environment knew that water, containing high concentrations of coal pollutants, would be released from Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal into Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area waters during Cyclone Debbie, in breach of even the special licence to pollute that was issued to Adani at the time.

Despite a clear breach of Adani’s license to pollute, it is now 16 months since Cyclone Debbie and the Queensland government has as yet failed to launch prosecution proceedings after Adani challenged its $12,190 fine.

In a lengthy process, Adani sought to block Mackay Conservation Group’s right to information request. A backgrounder, with links to the documents and the Information Commissioner’s judgment, can be found here.

Coordinator of the Mackay Conservation Group, Mr Peter McCallum said, “This proves once again that Adani can’t be trusted and sees itself as above the law. Adani mustn’t get off scot-free. The Queensland government must launch a prosecution in the next few weeks otherwise the time will expire.

“Adani has challenged their measly $12,190 fine, despite admitting to intentionally breaching its pollution licence by more than 800 per cent and allegedly submitting an altered laboratory report.

“The company is also in court appealing an order that it examine pollution of the Abbot Point Caley Valley wetlands and consider a new water management strategy, in an attempt to bully the Government into a cheaper, less effective investigation.

“North Queenslanders don’t want a mining company which thumbs its nose at regulation designed to protect our precious environment.

“Just last week Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said Queensland has some of the strictest environmental measures in world which Adani is subject to.

“It’s now up to Minister Enoch to show Queenslanders that she will enforce these environmental laws and do no more special favours for Adani.

“The secret documents show Adani knew that the concentration of contaminants that flowed into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef was likely to be in the range of 500 to 900mg/L, well above the 100 mg/L allowed by even its temporary license to pollute issued during the storm.

“The port where Adani operates is frequently subject to severe weather. Over the past five decades, 23 tropical cyclones have passed within 100km of the site.

“Considering Adani is seeking approval to increase the amount of coal that goes through its port by 10 million tonnes a year, the Queensland government must require Adani clean up its act and stormproof the terminal to prevent future pollution.

“The public should be confident that the Queensland Government is committed to ensuring Adani causes no more harm to the Great Barrier Reef, our state’s unique wildlife, our precious water or the cultural heritage values of the indigenous community,” Mr McCallum said.

Contact: Peter McCallum 0402 966 560 for comment.

Mackay, Queensland. Mackay Conservation Group has today called on Premier Palaszczuk to rule out giving Adani up to $100 million of taxpayers funds for a road upgrade for its proposed mine, noting that dedicating public funds to the coal project would break her election promise of ‘no state funding for Adani’. (“Qld Government considering funding $100m road for Adani mine, documents show”, ABC today).

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser Maggie McKeown said, “Yet again the Queensland government is actively considering giving Adani handouts to build a mine that the majority of Queenslanders do not want.

“The Queensland Coordinator General recommended Adani be responsible for road upgrades and Adani said it would pay for the upgrade. Why then would the Premier spend public funds on this project?

“Polls show that seven out of ten Queenslanders say Adani should fund its own project rather than expect a taxpayer subsidy. (Stop Adani Alliance, October 2017)

“Queenslanders want public money spent on schools, hospitals and large-scale renewable energy projects. They quite rightly do not support their taxes being used to maximise the profits of a an overseas mining billionaire.

“Adani has received special deals from all levels of government. The  Palaszczuk government has been the biggest offender, offering cut price royalties, a license to take unlimited groundwater for 60 years and a license to pollute at Abbot Point Coal Terminal during Cyclone Debbie.

“Enough is enough. The Premier must today rule out this latest leg up, using taxpayers’ money,” Ms McKeown said.

Contact: Maggie McKeown 0434 837 774

Background
The RTI documents and a briefing paper can be found here.
ACF report, A Fistful of Dollars: Adani’s Preferential Treatment by Federal, State and Local Australian Governments, Oct 2017

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

Media Release

Qld poll shows voter support for Labor’s veto of Adani loan

• Two thirds of voters support Qld govt using its power to veto $1BN loan

• 7 out of 10 voters think Adani should fund own project

Queensland, Australia. A Queensland poll, conducted for the Stop Adani movement just 10 days before Premier Palaszczuk announced her government would veto a $1bn loan in public funds to Adani for its private rail line, shows widespread voter opposition to Adani receiving a taxpayer subsidy and voter support for vetoing the loan.

The Stop Adani campaign today released ReachTEL polling of 1,652 Queensland residents, conducted on 24 October, which found:

• more than 7 out of 10 Queenslanders said Adani should fund its own project rather than expect a taxpayer subsidy

• well over two thirds said the Queensland government should keep its election promise and use its power of veto to rule out any $1 billion dollar taxpayer funded loan to Adani

• more than a third of Queenslanders said if the Queensland Government does not use its power of veto to rule out any loan for Adani, this would likely change their vote.  

For full details see here.

Mackay Conservation Group says a new Queensland Government report confirms Adani’s coal terminal has polluted the nationally significant Caley Valley wetlands during Cyclone Debbie and shows the company cannot be trusted to operate a mine, rail and port operation in Queensland.

A report commissioned by the Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection (DEHP), which relied on samples taken four weeks after the cyclone, has found up to 10 per cent of sediment in the wetlands near Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal was actually coal that the company allowed to leave its site. This follows Adani being fined $12,900 for polluting the Reef coast. Adani is currently challenging the fine in court.

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, who visited the contamination site at the invitation of DEHP to observe the contamination first hand, said “It was clear to me that there was coal everywhere we looked when we visited the site a month after Cyclone Debbie. This report confirms those observations and makes clear that Adani is not fit to operate a massive coal project in Queensland,” Mr McCallum said.

Press release from 5 August 2015

ADANI CARMICHAEL COURT DEFEAT NO MERE TECHNICALITY

Court cases reveal deep flaws in modelling, devastating impacts

Indian coal giant Adani, the mining industry and the Federal Environment Minister are wrong to characterise today’s Federal court decision as a ‘technical glitch’, when it is symptomatic of deep flaws with the Carmichael proposal that have only been revealed through proper court scrutiny, said Ms Ellen Roberts, Coordinator of Mackay Conservation Group.