THE Greens have named an environmental lawyer as a candidate they hope can knock Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles out of the House.
Michael Berkman has been announced to run for the Greens in the inner-city seat of Mount Coot-tha. It follows the naming of Greens candidate Amy MacMahon last week to challenge Deputy Premier Jackie Trad for the South Brisbane seat.
"I'm really disappointed at the way Steven Miles has discharged his duties as environment minister," Berkman said.
"In particular his failure to properly address the threat that's posed by expanding coal mining in the Galilee Basin."
The state government introduced laws on Thursday requiring mining projects to obtain a water licence to reduce impact on groundwater.
But at the last moment the Palaszczuk government added a last minute amendment to the laws to allow Adani to avoid court challenges to its water licence.
"I thinks it's a really disappointing outcome that Labor is bending over backwards once again to create loopholes for Adani to walk through," Berkman said.
"This is not a new requirement, they have always under the law been required to get a water licence for the impacts on groundwater.
"I think people should be very disappointed that exceptions are being made for this project, which we know is producing coal that cannot be burned, if we hope to achieve the goals that have been set under the Paris agreement."
Berkman is referring to data revealed in Senate estimates showing carbon cuts made by the federal government's Direct Action climate change plan by 2020 would be wiped out by pollution from Adani's Galilee Basin coal mine.
Berkman has made a career of pursuing mines in court and has taken Adani, New Acland and Gina Rinehart's Alpha and Kevin's Corner coal mines to court over numerous environmental complaints.
Federal Attorney General George Brandis last year labelled such cases a 'vigilante litigation', but Berkman refused to accept the characterisation of the cases as such.
The Greens believe the Mount Coot-tha seat is the best chance they have for winning a state seat in the election tipped to be held September or October next year.
Greens member and former Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett said in a statement the seat was a 'genuine three-way contest'.
"We can take nothing for granted in politics, but I think there was a really clear sentiment at the last state election," Berkman said.
"Voters in Mount Coot-tha are desperately concerned about the impact of climate change on the future of the great barrier reef and I think they will be quite rightly disappointed in the the way Steven Miles has handled these issues as the environment minister."
