‘Tick and flick’ approval spells disaster, says ACF

Queensland's 'tick-and-flick' approval for Adani’s groundwater plan may spell disaster for the environmentally and culturally significant Doongmabulla Springs, the Australian Conservation Foundation says. “Today’s announcement looks like a plan to monitor the destruction of the springs,” ACF chief executive officer Kelly O’Shanassy said. She said the Palaszczuk Government had put politics ahead of science, Queensland’s water and the climate with its fast-tracked decision on the groundwater management plan. “In effect, the Federal and Queensland governments have said scientists’ concerns don’t matter, while Adani’s plans to drain inland aquifers to service a thirsty coal mine do," she said. The ACF says numerous scientific agencies, including the Independent Expert Scientific Committee, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, have questioned Adani’s groundwater model assumptions that claim to identify the source aquifer of the Doongmabulla Springs Complex (DSC). “The widespread concern about Adani’s coal mine is not going away,” Ms O’Shanassy said. “If all the coal in the Galilee Basin is burnt it would produce 705 million tonnes of climate pollution each year, which is more than 1.3 times Australia’s annual pollution from all sources, including cars, industry, energy and agriculture. “It’s tough to take on powerful companies with deep pockets and the ear of governments, but we will keep speaking up for the climate, Queensland’s water and the public interest.” Coal project 'an instrument of destruction' Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive officer David Ritter described the approval for Adani as “appalling” for people, wildlife and a thriving living planet. “Adani’s Carmichael project is an instrument of destruction and climate disaster that the Australian legal and regulatory system isn’t designed to see for what it is,” he said. “We are in the midst of the climate emergency, the extinction crisis and a water crisis. By giving this groundwater management plan the go-ahead, the system is acting to legitimise the madness.” Meanwhile Bob Brown, who led a recent 'Stop Adani' convoy into Central Queensland, described the Queensland Government’s water approval for the Adani mine as the outcome of a corrupted process. “Independent science shows Gautam Adani’s coal extraction will most likely lead to the death of the Doongmabulla Springs, sacred to the Wangan and Jagalingou people, but here are the powers-that-be giving it a tick. As they gave the impending extinction of the black-throated finch a tick two weeks ago,” he said. https://www.i-q.net.au/main/17622

‘Tick and flick’ approval spells disaster, says ACF

Industry Queensland

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