“What could be more reasonable than a local environmental group using administrative law processes exactly as they’re intended – which is to make sure ministers follow due process when making decisions?” he said. The legal action was undertaken by the Environmental Defender’s Office NSW on behalf of the Mackay Conservation Group.
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Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Senator Brandis described the provisions in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act as “way too widely drawn”.
“We’re just saying if people live 600 kilometres, 1,600 kilometres away from a coal mine or from a development proposal, what right to do they have to prevent that proposal from providing an economic boost to the region”, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.
“We ought to get rid of it”.
The analysis showed of about 5500 projects that went through the approvals system since 2000, only 33 were taken to court by third parties and only six were “legally successful”.
The Greens have accused the Coalition of protecting the interest of mining companies ahead of enforcing the law.
The director of an environmentalist group, Humane Society worldwide, or HSI, Michael Kennedy believes that Brandis has clearly proved that he completely disregards environment and communities which should actually be considered before framing such a law.
Australian Lawyers’ Association Queensland president Rod Hodgson said the planned laws would also be “detrimental to the rights of ordinary citizens to hold government and large-scale projects to account”.
“The Attorney General’s reaction has been predictable”.
“This Government is a strong supporter of coal mining”, he said.
Both Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey repeated the claim the project would offer “10,000 jobs”, despite the environment department’s estimation of only 2475 in construction and 3920 during its 50-year operation.
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It had challenged the approval of the open-cut and underground coal mine on the basis of the amount of greenhouse gases it would create, its impact on vulnerable species and Adani’s “poor environmental record”.
