The Queensland Land Court has upheld the Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation’s (DESI) approval of Whitehaven Coal’s planned A$1 billion Winchester South coking coal mine.
Winchester South’s direct and downstream emissions will cause 0.0003°C of global warming but cannot be tied to Queensland-specific environmental harms, the Court found in a 30 October ruling. It did not attach any downstream emission-reduction conditions to the project’s environmental approval.
Whitehaven Coal is also well placed to minimise the mine’s impact on local plants and wildlife, the Court said. “It matters that the [project] site is not pristine … [and] is surrounded by large operating coal mines,” it added.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Mackay Conservation Group (MCG), which challenged DESI’s Winchester South approval, are considering their response to the Land Court’s ruling, the two groups said.
Whitehaven Coal plans to annually produce 15 million tonnes of unprocessed coal at Winchester South for 28 years, according to an Environmental Impact Statement. But it has not announced a development timeline for the mine.
“The timing of [all] development plans … will reflect competing opportunities for capital and market conditions,” the company told investors in a quarterly report on 23 October.
Whitehaven Coal also needs to secure Federal Government approval for Winchester South. The project is progressing through the Government’s environmental approval process, the company said.
The Land Court’s Winchester South decision comes months after the Queensland Government proposed legislation to limit legal challenges to mining projects.
Groups and people – except for Federally-protected Native Title holders – will need to be within 125 kilometres of projects, or in directly affected communities, to oppose them under the proposed law, the Government said on 15 September.
“[Legal reforms] will put an end to the madness that saw objections from activists [outside the state] automatically referred to the Land Court, leaving projects in limbo for years,” Queensland Mines Minister Dale Last said at the time.
MCG, a Queensland-based environmental group, is located in Mackay, about 200 kilometres from Winchester South.
By Avinash Govind