BREAKING: Adani’s Carmichael coal mine to begin construction within weeks – The Australian
As more than 120 bushfires burn across Queensland, with people describing “20-metre flames fanned by ‘tornado-like’ winds”*, Adani has announced it will proceed with its mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin. Adani will reportedly self-finance its mine, after failing to secure finance from any Australian or international banks.
Australia Institute research shows Adani’s mine will only fuel global warming, contributing to extreme weather events like bushfires, heatwaves and further bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.
Adani’s coal mine must not go ahead. It is a disaster environmentally and it does not stack up economically.
No New Coal Mines – Australia Institute research has debunked the jobs claims of Adani again and again. Coal mining is small employer in Australia. Coal mining employs fewer people in Queensland than arts and recreation. While Adani tells the public it will employ thousands of people, Adani boasts to shareholders its mine will be automated from pit to port. Our research shows the best way to protect coal jobs in existing mines is to stop the construction of new, highly automated coal mines in the Galilee Basin. That’s why the Australia Institute backs former President of Kiribati Anote Tong’s call for a global moratorium on new coal mines.
No fossil fuel subsidies – Australia should not be building new coal mines, nor should governments be subsidising them. The Queensland Government is still offering Adani a secret royalty deal. The Australia Institute has tried to find out what the deal is through FOI requests but they have blocked access to all information about the deal. By deferring royalties, the Government will be lending Adani hundreds of millions of dollars at a discount rate – that’s if they ever do pay it back. No one else in Qld gets this special deal. But Adani can. Worse still, Adani is still under investigation for potential environmental breaches.
It is not too late to stop Adani’s polluting mega coal mine, but now it’s crunch time. Tomorrow, Friday 30 November, tens of thousands of school students are preparing a big school walk out for climate action and you can join them to Stop Adani. The School Strike for Climate Action is organising rallies in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, as well as almost 30 other towns across Australia.
MELBOURNE > 12 noon, 30 November, outside VIC Parliament on Spring Street
SYDNEY > 12 noon, 30 November, Martin Place outside Channel Seven (btwn Elizabeth and Phillip Street)
BRISBANE > 12 noon, 30 November, outside QLD Parliament
ADELAIDE > 11am, 30 November, outside SA Parliament
OTHER TOWNS ACROSS AUSTRALIA > Details here
There are likely to be snap rallies held across Australia next weekend as well.
Australia Institute supporters have backed our fossil fuel research over many years, whether debunking jobs claims or our work exposing the fossil fuel subsidies and the cost to taxpayers, so we will keep you posted as we hear more details. Thank you for your ongoing support for our mining and fossil fuel research, as part of our Climate & Energy program.
– The Australia Institute Team
P.S. You can read some of our key research reports on Adani here:
– In the dark on Adani deal
– The impact of Galilee Basin development on employment in existing coal regions
– FOI: Adani’s helping hand – Australian government rattles the tin in China and South Korea
– Adani’s automated mine risks just transition for coal workers
*People caught up in Queensland bushfires describe 20-metre flames fanned by ‘tornado-like’ winds, ABC
