2015-11-09
The Australian Greens welcome the Australian Conservation Foundation’s legal challenge against the federal government’s re-approval of Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, launched today.
Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson, said:
“The Turnbull Government has failed in its international responsibility to protect the Great Barrier Reef by approving the Southern Hemisphere’s largest coal mine.
“Not only would the coal from this mine worsen climate change, which is the biggest threat to the Reef, but the additional dredging and shipping for its export would also directly threaten the Reef.
“Greg Hunt acknowledges what a threat global warming is to our Reef and yet he is allowing hundreds of mega tonnes of coal to be shipped out through the Reef, condemning it to coral bleaching and ocean acidification.
“Community rights to enforce government compliance with the law are essential to democracy.
“When the Environment Minister doesn’t properly consider the climate impacts on a World Heritage icon, members of the community should have the right to challenge that decision in the Courts.
“I congratulate the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Environmental Defenders’ Office for upholding this important tenet of democracy, which shamefully the Turnbull Government is still trying to remove, ” Senator Waters said.
Contact – Monique Vandeleur 0419 626 725