Tanya Plibersek has defended her expected decision to provisionally block Clive Palmer’s proposed coal mine in Central Queensland and has rubbished both the Greens and the Coalition’s approach to fossil fuel projects.
Ms Plibersek last week announced she intended to block the coal mine – which will be situated only 10 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef – following a ten-day consultation process set to end next week.
Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek has defended her decision to provisionally block Clive Palmer's open cut mine project in Central Queensland. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage “The problem with this project is that it’s so close to the reef that if anything went wrong, the scientific reports that I’ve read show the potential for pollution and damage to the reef is very real.”
“Labor’s been really clear, the Greens are saying there should never be another coal mine, there should never be another gas project in Australia,” she said. “And this is a project that on the basis of all the evidence that’s before me at the moment is too close to the reef and presents a risk to the Great Barrier Reef so I’m not going to wave it through.”
But the Environment Minister said Labor was the only “party of balance” when it came to its approach to climate change and energy.
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