The Federal and Queensland Governments are in open conflict over the environmental approval process for the Alpha Coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, with the Federal Minister Tony Burke describing the Queensland Government's behaviour as 'shambolic'  and refusing to approve the mine because of 'dud information' provided in its environmental assessment.

 

Following the release of the Queensland Coordinator-General’s report last Tuesday, the Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney issued a statement calling for the Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, to make a decision within 30 days as required by the EPBC Act.

 

The Queensland Coordinator-General gave conditional approval to the $6.4 billion Alpha Coal project and imposed 128 conditions on the mine proponents GVK-Hancock Coal.

 

Responding to Mr Seeney’s  statement, Mr Burke said he was shocked by the demand, and claimed the Queensland Government had failed to make a thorough assessment.

 

“Up until that media statement, I had understood that the Queensland Government was still considering reopening the Queensland Coordinator General’s process to avoid a duplicate process for the environmental assessment of the Alpha project,” Mr Burke said.

 

“In his media statement the Deputy Premier appears to have reneged on that and is now demanding that I deal with the report in its current, incomplete form and make my decision within 30 business days despite those deficiencies.

 

“Make no mistake, if I were to deal with a report which does not fully address the environmental issues which I have a legal obligation to consider, then there are serious repercussions for the soundness of the decision which follows.”

 

Mr Burke warned that Queensland’s failure to provide a complete assessment would could delays to the approval process.

 

“Because the Queensland government has not provided a sound assessment, I will be required to obtain the information that Queensland has failed to provide.  This will result in unnecessary and costly delays for the project” he said.

 

“If Queensland had made clear to the Commonwealth some months ago, when the new government came to office, that they did not intend to have a streamlined process for environmental assessments, then the Commonwealth would have dealt directly with the proponent and this work would have commenced some months ago.”

 

Mr Burke accused Mr Seeney of playing political games,  and called for a single assessment process to the satisfaction of both jurisdictions.

 

“The streamlining of environmental approvals is an important policy objective, but a childish game which creates a duplicated process so the Queensland Government can point to it and say how bad it is, is a crude and offensive way to treat a major job creating project.”

 

Mr Seeney responded to Mr Burke’s demand for the approval process to be reopened with a short statement.

 

“I am advised the Coordinator General is dealing with the matters raised by the Commonwealth and he has committed to work with the proponent and the Commonwealth to address those matters in a way which allows all parties to meet the requirements of the bilateral agreement. This will avoid the need for a separate Commonwealth assessment.”

 

Mr Seeney later retracted his undertaking and stated the Queensland Government would not work with a streamlined process and repeated his demand for a response within 30 days, which Mr Burke has refused.

A leaked email released by Greenpeace from a staff member of the Queensland Coordinator-General Barry Roe to the Federal Environment Department,  which stated that the coal mine proponents ‘came in with 22 experts to 'discuss' the proposed conditions, 48 hours before the report was supposed to be finished”, has led to claims that the approval process was neither rigorous nor independent.