APPROVAL given to Adani for its crucial plan to protect an endangered bird has stopped short of winning universal support with outraged environmentalists condemning the action.
Courtesy of the approval, Adani needs only a green light for its groundwater management plan to begin construction on the Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.
Adani CEO Lucas Dow is pleased to have jumped the penultimate hurdle, saying the company was "encouraged" that the state government complied with the first leg of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's timeframe.
Soon after the May 18 federal election drubbing for Labor, Ms Palaszczuk ordered high level meetings between Adani, the Department of Environment and Science and Queensland's Coordinator-General to make a determination on management plans for the endangered black-throated finch by May 31 and the groundwater by June 13.
"We are encouraged that the Queensland Government has met the recently-announced timeframe to finalise the plan," Mr Dow said.
"This brings our project a step closer to construction and to delivering much-needed jobs for regional Queenslanders.
"The Black-Throated Finch Management Plan has been the subject of a rigorous approvals process over the past two years. The plan was developed by ecological experts and is backed by the best available science.
"We are pleased that as part of this plan, 33,000 hectares of dedicated conservation land surrounding the mine site will be set aside and expertly managed to ensure an optimal habitat for the finch and other local native species.
"We now look forward to the department meeting the next deadline to finalise the groundwater dependent eco-systems management plan."
Nonetheless, the Mackay Conservation Group has condemned the approval, claiming it will be a "death warrant" for the endangered bird and ignores Adani's environmental record.
MCG community organiser Michael Kane said the decision was politically motivated and the approval process had been rushed, was manifestly inadequate and compromised.
"The truth is once Adani bulldozes the tiny finch's last viable habitat, the birds will literally starve to death in great numbers. This is an extinction that we can stop today. There is still time for the Premier to walk back this process," Mr Kane said.
"The approval has nothing to do with the best available science or the survival of the black-throated finch but is about appeasing an aggressive resource company that has systematically bullied the Queensland government into submission.
"Nothing in the finch management plan presented today by Adani has changed or improved since its last rejection on the second of May.
"The Mackay Conservation Group is urging the public to contact the Premier's office today to express outrage that the Premier has given the green light for Adani to drive the black-throated finch to extinction."
Dr April Reside, who is a member of the black-throated finch recovery team and a researcher with the University of Queensland's Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, is equally concerned.
"The mine is right in the heart of where the biggest flocks of these finches can be found and to disturb the area will be devastating," Dr Reside said.
"It will only add to Australia's woeful record on the extinction of various species."
A spokesman for the Environment Department said Adani met numerous conditions to ensure the preservation of the black-throated finch and its habitat.
"[The Department] is also satisfied that Adani will engage appropriately qualified ecologists to undertake the company's survey and monitoring work in relation to the black-throated finch," the spokesman said.
State Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the approval should have been granted 18 months ago.
"We will welcome jobs for regional Queensland, that is exactly what regional Queensland has been screaming out for," Ms Frecklington said.
"It beggars belief that Annastacia Palaszczuk continually puts obstacles in the way of resource companies in Queensland."
Alan Welburn
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
