Australia rejects new coal mine on environmental grounds

‘The risk of pollution and irreversible damage to the reef is very real,’ says Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Australia has for the first time rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law.

The Australian government is under pressure to curb climate change by blocking all new coal and gas extraction projects. Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of both fossil fuels, which are major sources of the nation's wealth. But Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Thursday, February 9, 2023, she would decide individual projects on their merits.

“I will make each decision that comes before me on a case-by-case basis according to the law and according to the science that is available,” Ms. Plibersek told Parliament.

On Wednesday, she announced her decision to prevent the Central Queensland Coal Project from being excavated northwest of the Queensland state town of Rockhampton and less than 10 km from the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast Australian coast.

The project would have had unacceptable impacts on fresh water in the area and potentially on fragile seagrass meadows that feed dugongs and provide fish breeding grounds, she said.

The open-pit mine has an estimated excavation capacity of 10 million metric tons (11 million US tons) of coal annually for 25 years.

Ms. Plibersek said the risk of “pollution and irreversible damage to the reef is very real.”