A group of young Queenslanders are challenging one of billionaire Clive Palmer’s companies in a bid to block a proposed Galilee Basin coal project on the grounds that it is a human rights violation.
The environment group say allowing the project to go ahead would infringe their rights because it will contribute to a global climate crisis.
“The human rights of my generation are threatened by coal mines that drive climate change and cause prolonged droughts, intense heatwaves, more frequent floods and deadlier bushfires,” Youth Verdict co-founder Mel McAuliffe said.
“We deserve a safe future but Clive Palmer’s coal mine puts that at risk.”
@EDOLawyers excited & proud to be the lawyers for @youthverdict in their groundbreaking legal challenge to Clive Palmer’s Galilee Coal Project on human rights grounds.
@ColumbiaClimateYoung climate activists vs Clive Palmer – Hack https://t.co/SrqGjNzUsO
— David Morris (@djmor6) May 13, 2020
Waratah Coal claims to be the largest tenement holder in the Galilee Basin, with over 10,000 square kilometres of tenements, including 15 coal exploration permits, one mineral development licence and two mining lease applications.
Its proposed Galilee Coal Project consists of two open cut mines, four underground long-wall mining operations, coal handling preparation plants and a railway line to the Abbot Point coal port north of Bowen.
It would initially mine 10 million tonnes of coal a year before increasing to 56 million tonnes several years later.
Youth Verdict is joining forces with the Bimblebox Alliance, which has been pursuing legal action in the Queensland Land Court.
The alliance says the mining project is a threat to the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, an almost 8,000 hectare and largely uncleared property that balances sustainable grazing and high conservation.
Breaking news: Young Queenslanders are taking Clive Palmer’s coal mine to court over human rights concerns ✊ We’ll see you in court @CliveFPalmer #YouthVCoal #youthverdict
— Youth Verdict (@youthverdict) May 13, 2020
Objections to the granting of approval for a mining lease and environmental authority applications is being brought by the Environmental Defenders Office.
It says the mining project and its operations would cause significant adverse environmental, social and economic impacts if it was to go ahead.
“Our clients are using the Queensland Human Rights Act, exactly as it was intended to be used, to allow Queenslanders to stand up for their human rights,” Environmental Defenders Office chief executive David Morris said.
“They have the right to a safe and healthy future and to be able to make genuine choices about their lives.
“Climate change limits those choices.”
-with AAP
The post Youth activists to mount legal challenge against Clive Palmer coal project appeared first on The New Daily.
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