The Queensland Land Court today recommended that the Wandoan coal mine proceed despite concerns raised by Friends of the Earth about the impacts of burning coal. Friends of the Earth, in a unique challenge to the mine's approval, argued for the outright refusal of the mega coal mine based on climate change impacts.

“The decision to recommend this mine to go ahead is a huge disappointment,” said Friends of the Earth spokesperson Dr Bradley Smith. “We demonstrated to the court and Xstrata that this project will exacerbate climate change, and they're going ahead anyway.”

The science of climate change was not disputed from Friends of the Earth and Xstrata that the mine will contribute to climate change and climate change will cause environmental harm. The court however could not take into consideration the impact from the coal burning emissions and their impacts to the Queensland environment.

"Xstrata did not contest the reality or impacts of climate change. They're planning on building this mine knowing that it will create the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 72 countries combined,” said Dr Smith. “It's unfortunate that our laws allow multi-billion dollar companies like Xstrata to ignore the outcomes of their reckless actions.”

Good news for the landholders of Wandoan. The court decided generally in favour to protect the land and resources of the landholders, including not approving development of the mine within 100m of some houses. It is likely this will see farmland and homes stranded in the middle of the 320 sq km mine.

This recommendation handed down by the land court will go before Campbell Newman's new Environment Minister for the final decision. The Environment Minister is expected to wait for the outcome of any appeal to the Land Appeal Court before making a final decision.

“This will be the first big decision for Campbell Newman's government. We call upon the Premier to act responsibly and to fix these laws to ensure our climate, farmland and Great Barrier Reef are not under threat because of the Queensland coal industry,” said Dr Smith.

The Wandoan coal mega mine covers an area of 32 000 hectares (320 Sq km) of agricultural land. This is larger than Stradbroke Island off the coast of Brisbane and will be almost double the size of Queensland’s current largest coal mine. If established this mine will be the largest in the southern hemisphere.

“Taking on a billion dollar monolith like Xstrata is no mean feat, but it's a fight we had to have and a fight we will continue. We'll do everything we can to stop this mine from going ahead” said Dr Smith. “We will be weighing up our opportunities for appeal with our legal team”.

The full decision can be found below

Media contacts:

Bradley Smith, Friends of the Earth mob 0413 280 006
Derec Davies, Friends of the Earth mob 0421 835 587

A landmark case in Australia’s environmental history will be decided tomorrow, when the Land Court of Queensland hands down its decision on Friends of the Earth's challenge to Xstrata's Wandoan mega coal mine.

Friends of the Earth and 13 local objectors initially lodged their objections in February 2011 to Xstrata's 30 million tonnes per year coal mine.

• When: 2:30pm, Tuesday 27th March
• Where: Court 40, level 8, Brisbane Magistrates Court, corner George St and Turbot St

"If President McDonald rejects this mine, it will create an important precedent whereby coal mining companies must take some responsibility for their enhancement of the greenhouse effect,“ said Friends of the Earth spokesperson Dr. Bradley Smith. "If not rejected, Xstrata will be given the green light to build the biggest mine in the southern hemisphere.”

Friends of the Earth spokesperson Bradley Smith will be available for interviews after the hearing.

For background information on the case, see our Wandoan Media Kit, prepared for the August 2011 hearing.

Media Contacts:
Bradley Smith     0413 280 006
Derec Davies       0421 835 587

Friends of the Earth Brisbane and Voters for a Nuclear Free Queensland invited all the candidates to talk about their nuclear polices in Ashgrove electorate today.

The Greens candidate attended. The LNP have remained tight lipped about their uranium mining policy, while the Labor party in QLD are maintaining a ban on mining, but not exploration for uranium.

That’s one big barrel of radioactive waste!

To find out more about the nuclear polices of the parties check out our leaflet here.

Don’t waste Queensland:  All parties must commit to uranium ban

A giant radioactive waste barrel will be set up in near campaign offices in Ashgrove this Wednesday in a pre-election call to all parties to commit to legislating a ban on uranium mining in this state.

“Queenslanders have a strong and proud history of opposition to uranium mining,” states Friends of the Earth spokesperson RobinTaubenfeld/or other!!.

“We will be visiting Ashgrove this week to signal to both major parties that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that uranium is never again mined in our state.”

“Uranium mining in Australia provides minimal financial benefit, creating less revenue than wine or cheese… at great cost”

“All Australian uranium ends up as either radioactive waste, or nuclear fallout, and every uranium mine is a radioactive waste dump with the potential to contaminate our waterways, endanger wildlife and threaten the health of our communities.”

“We can ensure that Queensland never fuels a Fukushima or poisons the Great Artesian Basin with uranium mining, by legislating a ban on uranium mining now.”

Friends of the Earth has invited the candidates for Ashgrove to present their position on the issues and will be handing out information on all major parties’ positions on uranium mining as part of the action.

For more information: Friends of the Earth Brisbane, Peace Anti-Nuclear and Clean Energy (PACE) Collective: 0411 118 737

Marking the last day of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee visit to Australia protesters descended on Gladstone Harbour and stopped dredging. Mark (Potts) Driscoll chained himself to the harbour dredge Razende Bol and Rotterdam boat, shutting down the controversial development of the Coal Seam Gas LNG port facility on Curtis Island in Gladstone Queensland.

Potts Driscoll and Friends of the Earth have taken this action to remind the voting public of the beauty and environmental values of the Great Barrier Reef. Today signifies the last day of the World Heritage Committee's mission with this symbolic action to bring attention back to Gladstone and the destructive dredging.

“The dredging activities in Gladstone are a crime against the environment. The LNG facilities in Gladstone are another part in the destructive Coal Seam Gas industry in Queensland. This industry is destroying our farmland, polluting our water systems, and killing the Great Barrier Reef,” said Friends of the Earth spokesperson Drew Hutton.

March 11 marks one years since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northern Japan. It is one year since the start of the meltdowns at Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant. 

An Australian National day of Action Against Uranium is planned for March 11 to commemorate the commencement of the ongoing Fukushima crisis.

Friends of the earth Australia has also released an important paper by Dr Jim Green outlining the scandals and failures that led to the disaster: "Japan's Nuclear Scandals and the Fukushima Disaster" [here]

On the 125th anniversary of the Australian Workers Union, nuclear boosters are telling delegates at their National Conference this week on the Gold Coast that they should embrace uranium mining and nuclear power.  What they are neglecting to mention is the long history of health and safety risks attendant on the industry, and the worldwide movement away from nuclear technology as the value of uranium continues to nose-dive.

“Our union has always been a major advocate for the removal of Labor’s no-new-mines policy which has held back the development of uranium mining for a number of years,” said Bill Ludwig, AWU National President, as reported ont he AWU website.

“The AWU supports the removal of legislative bans on exploration for uranium in Victoria and NSW and the development of uranium mines in Queensland.

AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes, was also boosting nuclear, telling delegates that nuclear power is emission-free and sustainable.

“We also welcome the increasing realization of the important role which uranium mining and export has in providing sustainable energy security to countries  utilizing nuclear energy to generate electricity… Nuclear energy which is supplied by our uranium is emissions free.”

Both Howes and Ludwig continue to defy the global progress towards denuclearisation and the realisation since Fukushima that nuclear technology is never safe, even in the most technologically advanced nations.

Spokesperson for Friends of the Earth, Kim Stewart says, “insurance companies for many years have recognised that the risks of nuclear power are too great, so they won’t insure the technology or the homes of people who live near them.  As for uranium mining, it earns less export dollars than cheese.  Cheese doesn’t leave thousands of years of contaminating waste, displace indigenous peoples or make weapons with the potenital to kills millions.”

Queensland is planned to becoming an industrial wasteland with 34 coal mines and 40,000 coal seam gas mines, pipelines, railway and port facilities scheduled for development. At 71 years of age June Norman will walk the 500km to showcase the beautiful Australian country and farmland the Wandoan Coal Mine and Queensland CSG industry will destroy.

June Norman, a great grand mother, shared her desire for support for walk along the proposed gas pipeline and coal rail corridor to peacefully highlight the need to create a sustainable future whilst connecting with communities affected by these industries.

“I’ve seen the impacts of the mining industry and I am really concerned, where will my grandchildren source their food and what quality will their water be? This industry needs to be slowed down and managed in a more sustainable manner.” said June.

June Norman has decided to combine her passion for walking and her passion to leaving her grandchildren a sustainable and healthy future.

Today in the Brisbane magistrates court, Magistrate Jim Herlihy gave the green light to environmental protestors in Queensland to take action to protect the environment from coal and coal seam gas development.

“This is a great day for Queensland, and a great outcome for the environment” said Derec Davies from Friends of the Earth.

“Gladstone Harbour is sick, and protest action from the community has been validated today. Federal Environment Minister Burke and Queensland Environment Minister Darling, Fishery Minister Wallace, and the Premier Bligh have been slapped in the face today by the Queensland courts”.

On the 9 Nov 2011 environmental activist Derec Davies boarded and stopped the controversial dredging in Gladstone Harbour. Gaining national media attention and connecting dredging impacts to the Great Barrier Reef and the activities of Queensland's coal and coal seam gas industry.

On the 9 Nov 2011 environmental activist Derec Davies boarded and stopped one of the controversial Gladstone Harbour dredges. Gaining national media attention and connecting the dredging impacts to the Great Barrier Reef and the activities of Queensland's coal seam gas industry.

Mr Davies will appear in the Brisbane magistrates court tomorrow and fight the Gladstone Port Corporation $35,000 damages claim.

Australia's coal and gas bubble has placed unprecedented pressure on the Great Barrier Reef. In November 2011 environmental activist Derec Davies boarded and stopped dredging activities at the site of Queensland's LNG coal seam gas facilities. Arrested by police, Mr Davies is due to appear in the Brisbane magistrates court and will challenge the $35,000 damages claim requested by the State owned Gladstone Ports Corporation.

Derec Davies has been charges under the Transport Operations and Maritime Safety act. The charges carry a total maximum penalty of $74000 or one years imprisonment. The charges are: s184 – Illegally Boarding of or remaining alongside or hovering near a ship, s190(1) – Obstruction of master or crew, s85 – Obstruction of Harbour Master.

With revelations that the Australian Federal Police have spent tax payers money spying on non-violent protesters, Shaun Murray has written a great response from the activist perspective. 

"Anti-coal activists pose a political threat. That's why we're being spied on.

I'd like to know how the government can justify employing a private company to spy on me. As an anti-coal activist, and member of one of three main community groups in Australia campaigning against the coal industry, I was alarmed by revelations in The Saturday Age that the Australian Federal Police has singled us out as a potential threat and is employing a private company to spy on us.

As peaceful community activists, we collectively have no history of or motivation to disrupt energy supply. We pose no threat to society - unlike the coal industry, which wields massive political influence and holds the greatest responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of deaths, extinction of species, and billions of dollars of damage annually that climate change is causing."

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