The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation in the Queensland Government in Australia has approved the environmental authority application for Whitehaven WS Pty Ltd’s Winchester South coal mine.
A spokesperson for the department said: “This project was comprehensively assessed through an environmental impact statement managed by the Coordinator-General, who issued an evaluation report in November 2023, which recommended the project proceed subject to the conditions and recommendations in the report.
“This EA application was publicly notified and five submissions were received by the department – all of which were considered in the assessment process.”
The Queensland Conservation Council condemns the approval of this mine and calls upon Minister, Tanya Plibersek, to refuse its operation.
Dave Copeman, QCC Director, said: “The Queensland Government has put Queenslanders at further risk by approving this dangerous mine.
“Despite the continuous environmental disasters we have witnessed in the past months across Queensland, the Queensland Government’s decision to greenlight this project shows that their approvals process must change. Instead of protecting Queenslanders from the worst impacts of climate change, they are adding fuel to the fire for short-term gains.
“This mega mine could produce more than 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution over its lifetime, or more than three times Queensland’s annual emissions. Winchester South is a greenfield, open cut coal mine in the Bowen Basin, that aims to produce 15 million tonnes of coal a year for nearly 30 years.”