Exclusive: Queensland authorities believed penalty – a 20th of the maximum for a single infringement – would serve as a deterrent

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

One of Australia’s most contentious coalmines, New Acland, was caught drilling 27 illegal bores last year and fined $3,152 by the Queensland government, a figure an environment group has labelled “paltry”.

Documents obtained under Queensland freedom of information laws show the state Department of Environment and Science believed the Darling Downs miner had committed a “major” breach of environmental laws.

A formal “decision memo” detailed that the mine had conducted exploration drilling activities – including drilling at 27 sites and prepping 41 more – on land not designated for mining activity.

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“The impact of the offence is major due to the high level of public concern regarding the New Acland coalmine (and the) risk of temporary impact to the environment,” the decision memo stated.

The memo showed the department believed that the $3,152 fine – a 20th of the maximum fine for a single infringement – would serve as a deterrent. The company’s parent New Hope Group made $160m in after-tax profit in the six months to January 2019.

Details of the investigation’s findings and the fine were never made public – by the state or the miner – and have been uncovered in a tranche of documents obtained by the environmental group Lock the Gate.

A Lock the Gate Queensland spokeswoman, Ellie Smith, said: “This latest paltry fine, kept secret by the department, will do nothing to stop New Hope’s irresponsible behaviour.”

New Acland was fined for breaching noise limits at the mine and remains under investigation in relation to allegations it mined outside its approvals.

The documents detail how New Hope Group had increased production at the mine to meet supply contracts, and that as a result blasting and loading operations were being conducted with 200 metres of adjacent landholders.

New Hope is seeking final approvals for its “stage three” expansion of New Acland, a project that has been in administrative and legal limbo for more than a decade. The expansion has fiercely divided locals on the Darling Downs, and is opposed by many landholders.

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In 2017 the Queensland land court appeared to scupper the expansion by ruling that groundwater issues were “insurmountable”, but that decision was overturned last year after judicial review. An appeal remains before the courts.

The miner has added to the urgency to the process, and sought to pressure the Queensland government, by saying it would have to start sacking workers in September if it did not gain outstanding approvals.

During state estimates hearings last week, the Queensland mines minister, Anthony Lynham, said a decision on a water licence would be made by the end of September, but he gave no timeline for the final approval of a mining lease. Lock the Gate argues that should not be granted until all legal processes are completed.

The $3,152 fine for illegal drilling related to exploratory bores within the boundaries of the company’s operational mining leases, but outside the area designated for mining activity in the mine’s plan of operations. The documents show New Acland argued that its plan of operations noted that exploration drilling would occur, and that it was “overly restrictive and pedantic” to be required to identify precise locations.

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The department’s decision memo said the breach of the Environmental Protection Act was “indisputable”.

Smith said the miner’s activities were having a detrimental impact on farmers and local residents. “The people of Oakey and Jondaryan are fed up, and are worried that is the New Acland stage three expansion goes ahead, local businesses will go into terminal decline.”

A farmer from nearby Mount Darry, Desley Spies, said: “New Hope is treating the farmers of our region very poorly, despite the fact we produce food and fibre here on the Darling Downs which Queensland relies on.

“The farming land around Oakey is classed in the top 1.5% in Queensland. It is madness that it should be destroyed for the sake of a temporary coalmine.”

New Hope has been contacted for comment.