India conglomerate Adani’s plans for a controversial new coal mine in Queensland could be derailed after a draft review found its plan to protect an endangered bird is inadequate.
The endangered bird could derail the $17 billion Adani coal mine as a review found its management plan for the southern black-throated finch was not good enough.
AAP Newsafgency reports the Indian miner has reacted with anger after a draft copy of the review, ordered by the state Labor government, was published by News Corp Australia today.
Adani claims the review is biased, “reads like an anti-coal, anti-mining, anti-Adani lobbying brochure” and “even references the work of anti-Adani campaigners”.
AAP reports Adani has said the Queensland government cannot accept any of the recommendations and has questioned if the government is deliberately trying to obstruct the project.
The draft review reportedly said the mine should not proceed until Adani revised its plan to manage the endangered black-throated finch, which lives on its Carmichael mine site.
It also recommends a trigger that would stop mining at the site unless Adani can prove finch numbers have not dropped in the first five years of operation.
Earlier this week Adani launched an advertising blitz, accusing the state government of constantly shifting the goal posts for its mine.
The miner said it wanted “a fair go” and accused the government of ordering the review at the last minute, after 18 months of work, consultations with the environment department, and seven sets of revisions.
“If the Queensland government accepts any part of this report, it means their own Department of Environment’s work over the past 18 months is at best incompetent, and at worst using purposeful delay tactics to slow down the delivery of the Carmichael project and the thousands of jobs it will provide,” an Adani spokesperson told News Corp Australia.
The government said Adani’s project has been vetted free of political interference.
AAP reports on Tuesday, Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow would not say if he believed the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government was trying to white-ant the mine.
“The government’s intentions are really questions for the premier and the deputy premier,” Mr Dow told AAP.
He said it was “concerning” that the premier had not bothered to respond to a letter sent before Christmas, seeking clarity about how much longer it would take to obtain final approvals.
He said letters sent on February 4 to Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, and six other cabinet ministers had also gone unanswered.
