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Australia's largest coal mine

At the start of the year 14,959 GetUp members made submissions to the government telling them to reject the Carmichael coal mine. Together we pushed back the decision, making the project less feasible.

However big mining corporations haven't given up - they're making another effort to get approval for the Carmichael mega-mine, which would become Australia's largest ever coal mine.

Together we can impact the decision, just like we did all those months ago.

Can you make a submission demanding that this mega-mine be rejected for the sake of our climate and environment?

Global environmental impacts: The mine would have a maximum production capacity of 60 mtpa. This amount of coal, when burnt for electricity generation, would produce 128.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, greater than the 2009 carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion in Sweden, Norway and Denmark combined.

Environmental impacts: The Carmichael project's 40 km long open-cut mine would destroy approximately 10,000 ha of land including most of the Bygana West Nature Refuge (approximately 1,100 ha) – a highly diverse area supporting two endangered regional woodland ecosystems and containing habitat suitable for a variety of animals including koalas.

  • The proposed Carmichael coal mine is the largest proposed for the Galilee Basin, and would be twice the size of Australia's current largest coal mine.
  • The company behind the proposal, Adani Mining, want to mine 60Mt per year of black coal for 60 years, but the impacts of the mine will last for generations.
  • The proponent has made inconsistent statements about the impact of this mine on the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). Their modelling found that the project may cause leakage of up to 2.2 million litres per day from the GAB into the mineworkings. It appears that this impact will be far greater after mining ceases, when the proponent admits there will "a permanent reduction in the availability of recharge to the GAB in this area"
  • When the first Environmental Impact Statement went on exhibition, over 14,000 people made submissions objecting to the mine on the basis of its impact on water, ecology and the global climate and comments were made by 19 government agencies, 16 non-government organisations and 17 landholders in the path of the mine and its proposed rail line, When the 60 million tonnes of coal produced every year by this mine is burnt to make electricity, it will create 143 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – equal to roughly a quarter of Australia's total annual greenhouse pollution.
  • The mine is proposed to utilise a FIFO workforce, peaking at around 3,700 people in an area that is currently sparsely populated. A submission from the Queensland Police Services noted that Clermont Police currently have 5 staff for a population of around 3,000 and that a least three additional police staff will be required to cope with the impact of the mine.
  • Queensland police also submitted that they expect that "there will be upward pressure on housing affordability" and "potential for an increase in rural crime, including illegal hunting, trespass, 4WD damage to properties, theft, and break-ins" and "undesirable activities such as gangs, prostitution and drug use" (see Appendix A Submissions Register 43).
  • Work undertaken since the EIS was publicly exhibited and prompted by public submissions to it has revealed some of the hidden splendour of the region that is under threat if this mine goes ahead. After submissions raised the failure of the first EIS to assess the Waxy cabbage palm, the proponent undertook proper surveys and found an entirely new population of this threatened plant, living along the Carmichael river, that is roughly 10% of the previous estimate of the entire adult population.
  • They also undertook better surveys of the Doongmabulla springs, a Great Artesian Basin discharge spring and endangered ecological community not far upstream of the mine. They found an entirely new species of daisy there, and several endemic and threatened species. These rare and special places should not be put at risk by a huge mine just five kilometres away.

Make a submission

Until Friday 20th December the public can once again make submissions to the government assessment of the Carmichael mega-coal mine in Central Queensland. Your email will also be received by Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, and QLD Premier, Campbell Newman.

At the start of the year we flooded their inboxes and delayed the decision on this mine, together we can have an impact again!

Hit "Add" to insert the talking point into your email

This mine proposes to clear habitat “critical to the survival” of two nationally threatened species and two nationally endangered ecological communities. By any reasonable measure, this is an unacceptable impact, and the mine should be refused.
When the first Environmental Impact Statement went on exhibition, over 14,000 people made submissions objecting to the mine on the basis of its impact on water, ecology and the global climate and comments were made by 19 government agencies, 16 non-government organisations and 17 landholders in the path of the mine and its proposed rail line.
Queensland police also submitted that they expect that “there will be upward pressure on housing affordability” and “potential for an increase in rural crime, including illegal hunting, trespass, 4WD damage to properties, theft, and break-ins” and “undesirable activities such as gangs, prostitution and drug use”
When the 60 million tonnes of coal produced every year by this mine is burnt to make electricity, it will create 143 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – equal to roughly a quarter of Australia’s total annual greenhouse pollution.
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