This is because the Galilee Basin in western Queensland – and not only Adani's Carmichael coal mine site – contains the habitat and seed types favoured by the endangered finch. The Galilee Basin-wide finch management plan means any mine proposing to operate in the Galilee Basin needs to demonstrate how it can extract coal and protect the endangered species. "The Department of Environment and Science is currently preparing a Black-throated Finch Bio-regional Management Plan for the Galilee Basin, and this will require the involvement of any mine operating in that location," the Department of Environment and Science said in a statement. There are now six mines planning to extract coal from the Galilee Basin in addition to Adani's Carmichael mine, which initially plans to extract 10 million tonnes of coal per year. The mines lining up behind Adani in the Galilee Basin Alpha Coal Project - GVK Hancock; 30 million tonnes per year.

Alpha North Coal Mine Project - Waratah Coal; 56 million tonnes per year.

Galilee Coal Project - Waratah Coal; 40 million tonnes per year.

China Stone Coal Project - MacMines Austasia; 38 million tonnes per year.

Kevin's Corner Project - GVK Hancock; 30 million tonnes per year.

South Galilee Coal Project - AMCI (Alpha); 17 million tonnes per year.

"The Kevin’s Corner and Alpha Coal Projects environmental authorities require the development of Biodiversity Offset Plans to manage and mitigate impacts to State Significant Biodiversity Values, including any impacts to black-throated finch habitat," Queensland's Environment Department said. "Also, environmental authorities have not been issued for the remaining projects listed." Queensland's Environment Department said MacMines Austasia Pty Ltd abandoned its China Stone Mine Project mining lease applications on March 5, 2019, and "as a result, the China Stone project environmental authority application is invalid". "The China Stone project is no longer under consideration by the Department of Environment and Science," the department said. Each of the coal mines now seeking final approval from the Queensland and federal government will need to progress management plans to protect the threatened black-throated finch.

Dr April Reside, from University of Queensland's Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, said "in theory, the bio-regional planning approach was a good thing". "But the fact that they could approve the Adani black-throated finch management plan for the Carmichael mine - which was so badly regarded by experts - doesn't give me much faith that this bio-regional plan is going to be amazing," Dr Reside said. She said she had "lost faith in the process" after independent expert ornithological advice on black-throated finch habitat on the Carmichael mine site was ignored. "But, in theory, we want a bigger picture of what is going on. That lets us protect the really good bits and negotiate the rest. But for anything more specific I'd have to look at the actual bio-regional plan," she said. Ornithologists regard parts of the Carmichael mine site as prime black-throated finch habitat.

Dr Reside questioned the rationale of offering land on MacMines neighbouring China Stone mine as land offsets for black-throated finch habitat cleared on the Carmichael mine. “One of the big controversies of the Adani approval is that some of the offsets that Adani identified as where they are going to offset black-throated finch habitat sat on the China Stone (mine) footprint,” she said. “That is why Adani’s offsets are unlikely to work, because someone else is going to mine them,” she said. The China Stone mine plans to clear 11,000 hectares of its proposed 20,000-hectare site, north of Adani's Carmichael mine site, information in the Coordinator General's November 2018 report show.

In his evaluation of the mine's environmental impact study, Co-ordinator General Barry Broe said the China Stone mine site must be "rehabilitated during the life of the mine". "Further to this, land must be rehabilitated in a way that, after mining, should be of use for grazing and as habitat for significant species ie the black-throated finch." Dr Reside said the black-throated finch was found at each of the mine sites in the Galilee Basin to varying levels, but mostly at the Carmichael site. One of those mines is Waratah Coal’s large Alpha North coal project. “That is almost double the size of the Carmichael mine,” Dr Reside said.