Re Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd; Queensland Conservation Council Inc v Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Queensland Land and Resources Tribunal, Queensland Land Court, Supreme Court of Queensland - Court of Appeal

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

27/11/2006

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Coal mine

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

The Queensland Conservation Council and other environmental groups wanted a government approval for a new coal mine to be conditional on the mining company offsetting 100% of the emissions from the mining, transport and combustion of coal harvested from the mine. The President of the Tribunal rejected QCC's claims and proposed greenhouse offset conditions, ruling that he was not satisfied, 'that that assumption (relevantly, a demonstrated causal link between this mine's GHG emissions and any discernible harm - let alone any 'serious environmental degradation' - caused by global warming and climate change) has been shown by QCC to be valid.' In his reasoning, the President strongly criticised the findings of the Stern Review and the Fourth Assessment Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, even going so far as to undertake a re-analysis of scientific conclusions on temperature increases over the last half-century. The Tribunal's decision was subsequently appealed to the Queensland Court of Appeal largely on grounds of a failure to ensure procedural fairness. The Court of Appeal agreed that the Tribunal's processes had denied natural justice to the applicant and ordered a re-hearing. However, that re-hearing never took place as the Queensland government intervened to pass special legislation authorising the mines, thereby by-passing the normal approval processes. Queensland Conservation Council's objection to the approval of a new coal mine was dismissed because an amendment to the applicable legislation meant that its objections could not be re-heard.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Re Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd [2007] QLRT 33
Queensland Conservation Council Inc v Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd [2007] QCA 338
Queensland Conservation Council Inc v Xstrata Coal Queensland Pty Ltd [2007] QLC 0128