Digital Journal has been following the attempt by the Indian mining giant to get approval for its $16.5 million Carmichael coal mine north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland since early 2015.
Originally, the plans for the mine were put on hold because of a little bird, the world’s last significant population of the southern Black-throated Finch. However, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) said it had accepted an updated plan that Adani had submitted May 28, which complied with the request by DES to ensure the protection of the endangered species, reports The Guardian.
“Assessment of this plan has been a rigorous process, informed by the best available science,” a DES spokesperson said in a statement reported by The Guardian. “DES has met regularly with Adani to ensure that the plan is robust and is well-placed to deliver the best outcomes for the protection of the black-throated finch.”
Queensland’s government had a self-imposed deadline of May 31 to accept or reject the plan for the endangered species and now is ready to meet the next deadline that it’s imposed upon itself, June 13, for finalizing the groundwater dependent ecosystems management plan.
Adani Mining CEO Lucas Dow welcomed the decision. But conservationists are concerned the plan will not do enough to protect the finch, whose most significant known population lives on the mine site in the Galilee Basin.
“The obliteration of the bird’s stronghold in the Galilee Basin is the same as shooting them,” Former Greens leader and Stop Adani campaigner Bob Brown said in a statement reported by SBS News.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as much as said she was fed up with delays to state approvals, and conceded voters were too after Labor was thumped in regions that want Adani’s jobs. The coordinator-general was ordered to sit down with the company and DES officials and agree on approval deadlines.
Christian Slattery from the ACF contends the approval process was flawed. “This process is the result of Adani and their mates in the mining industry pressuring the State Government, and rather than stand up to these corporate bullies, the Queensland Government has rolled out the red carpet for them,” he said, according to ABC.net.au.
“Frankly, the whole process of approvals for this mine stinks. All of the monitoring and surveying in the world doesn’t avoid the fact that the bird habitat is being destroyed — extinction is forever,” he said.
Once the government approves Adani’s groundwater plan — which already appears to be on its way to getting a green light, Adani will be ready to go with its bulldozers.
Dow said on Friday approval of the finch plan was an “important step” and the company was now “dotting our I’s and crossing our t’s in terms of agreements with contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, local councils and so forth.”
“Obviously, we incorporated a number of requirements the department asked of us,” he said. “Whilst on a number of those we didn’t necessarily believe they were required as part of meeting our conditions and obligations, in the interests of getting the plan concluded and approved we’ve incorporated those and subsequently the department has approved the plan.”
