This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Queensland government has placed a three-week deadline on the final environmental approvals for the controversial Adani Carmichael coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.

The assessment and management plan for the endangered black-throated finch is due next week, on 31 May, and a decision on the groundwater management plan is due on 13 June.

Late on Friday, the Queensland government published additional deadlines relating to Adani’s rail infrastructure and a royalties agreement, after these were also agreed in talks between the company and the state’s coordinator general.

Those deadlines include having land use approvals in place by 28 May that would allow Adani to start preparatory works for its rail line. They set a target date of 31 July for Adani to be granted a licence to build and operate the line.

The document sets a deadline of the end of June for the Queensland government and Adani to settle on a pathway toward finalising a royalties agreement, which is still outstanding.

Announcing the timeframe for the environmental approvals on Friday, Annastacia Palaszczuk said the dates had been set by the Queensland coordinator general, following a meeting with Adani’s Australian chief executive, Lucas Dow, and officials from the state environment department on Thursday.

CFMEU warns Adani coalmine 'risks selling out local jobs' and threatens water Read more

The groundwater plan will still require sign-off from the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, both of which are expected to meet the new deadline.

“I know initially people thought this was [going to take] months. What I’m announcing today, it’s in a matter of weeks,” Palaszczuk said.

She said the tight timeframe was “good news”.

“This is a breakthrough and I do want to thank all the parties for sitting down in good faith, in the interests of Queenslanders, to resolve these issues for decision making,” she said.

The proposed mine would be built on one of the best remaining habitats for the black-throated finch, which is facing extinction.

The details of the finch plan have not been announced but the Australian has reported that Queensland environment department officials may have given way on a key sticking point around population monitoring.

The environment department said earlier this month that it had asked Adani to gather more information about the finch population to allow for effective management and monitoring, as well as a commitment that it would only allow limited cattle grazing in a conservation area set aside as finch habitat. The survey requirement could have delayed the approval indefinitely.

At the time, it appeared the finch plan would indefinitely delay the approvals process.

Palaszczuk intervened in the approvals process to call for a speedy resolution this week, following the surprise federal election result on Saturday that saw huge swings to the Liberal National party in two-party preferred terms throughout Queensland.

The swings have been attributed to anger over the Stop Adani campaign, and at Labor for equivocating on the project.

Galilee Basin mine next to Adani put on hold amid doubts over future of thermal coal Read more

Environment groups have criticised the hastened deadline, saying the environmental issues with the mine and the state of the available evidence has not changed.

“The election result is not a mandate for Premier Palaszczuk to ignore science and environmental laws and fast-track plans that put at risk Queensland’s water,” Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said.



“The delay in Adani’s plans being approved is because they’ve been grossly inadequate.”

Dow said the new deadlines were a “significant step” in the eight-year-long process and said Adani was “looking forward to getting on with it”.

“We’re looking forward to finalising these, and get into construction and providing jobs in rural Queensland, like Rockhampton and Townsville, and this is a significant step forward,” Dow said. “We’re encouraged by the progress today.”

He said the timeline had been set by the independent state government regulator and was “not a knee-jerk reaction” to the federal election.

The Morrison government approved the federal groundwater management plan on the eve of the federal election.

Palaszczuk would not comment earlier on whether Adani would deliver on its promised direct and indirect jobs, but Dow said the positions would not be filled by workers on 457 visas. He said the number of jobs made available would gradually ramp up “once we have our approvals”.

The construction arm of the CFMEU warned this week that the promise of jobs associated with the project, which was a driving force in the election campaign, was a “myth” and called on the Queensland government to seek a guarantee that jobs associated with the project would be given to Queenslanders, not foreign workers.

“That’s a matter for [Adani] to tell the people of Queensland about the jobs,” Palaszczuk said.