Indian mining giant Adani has announced that it is ready to self-fund a scaled-down coalmine and rail project in Queensland鈥檚 Galilee Basin. The company said that construction on the mine would begin next year.
The November 29 announcement came in the midst of a 鈥渇ortnight of heat鈥 over November 19-December 1, in which Stop Adani activists hope to turn up the heat on local MPs before they returned to Canberra for the final sitting days of parliament.
Particular emphasis was placed on targeting Labor MPs in the lead up to the party鈥檚 national conference in Adelaide in December, with activists protesting on November 22 outside the launch of Labor鈥檚 new energy policy, which will be voted on at the conference.聽
While many welcomed the policy鈥檚 emphasis on renewables, the lack of any concrete action to reduce burning fossil fuels was seen as a major flaw.
Challenged over the party鈥檚 position on Adani鈥檚 coalmine and its potential impacts on climate change, party leader Bill Shorten : 鈥淭he actual decision about Adani is not going to affect Australian emissions."
Shorten鈥檚 statement echoes Adani鈥檚 claim that coal exports make no contribution to Australia鈥檚 carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, Queensland鈥檚 coordinator-general approved MacMines AustAsia鈥檚 proposed $6.7 billion China Stone coalmine in the Galilee Basin on November 23.
The planned mine will be 300 kilometres west of Mackay, just to the north of Adani鈥檚 Carmichael mine site, and is set to produce up to 38 million tonnes of coal a year.
According to its environmental impact statement, the mine will provide 3400 ongoing jobs and $188 million a year in royalties for Queensland in its first 25 years of operation.
The China Stone proposal also includes the construction of a new coal-fired power station.
Federal environment minister Melissa Price now has six weeks to make a decision on the mine under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The China Stone Coal project is the sixth Galilee Basin coal project assessed by the coordinator-general office. To date it has approved five coalmines and three rail projects.
However, the strength of the climate change movement has prevented these projects going ahead.
Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive officer Kelly O鈥橲hanassy said the approval of the China Stone project was 鈥渞eckless鈥.
鈥淭he environment groups will not sit by and allow governments and corporations to build these coal mines which will threaten life on Earth because they fuel global warming,鈥 she said.
O鈥橲hanassy said the campaign in the Galilee Basin is continuing to focus on Adani鈥檚 project because it is the only one of the six mine proposals likely to get off the ground.
鈥淎s far as we understand, the China Stone mine does not have financial backing and certainly has many approval[s] to get so it will not be built tomorrow,鈥 she said.