Green activist litigation is lawyers’ picnic

STATEMENT by Queensland Resources Council chief executive, Michael Roche:

GREEN activist lawyers must be having the world’s biggest picnic lately after a slew of recent litigation against resources projects. 

Green activists have lodged two appeals against Adani in the past couple of weeks, the most recent late Friday in an appeal against its mining lease.

That project now has four appeals pending, and one pending decision, all lodged by taxpayer funded green activists. 

The Adani project has been wading through approval and court appeals for 68 months, while GVK Hancock is in its 93rd month, having formally entered the process on 18 September 2008. Both have been held up by a relentless barrage of ‘lawfare’.

GVK Hancock was back in court last week, an appeal against Adani’s environmental authority was lodged late Friday, New Hope will be in the land court from March to July. The list goes on...

The Queensland Government must urgently overhaul the process that enables green activists to disrupt and delay projects, thus stifling jobs and investment for the state. 

Governments both state and federal should be doing all they can to prevent the blatant abuse of the court systems to the detriment of Queensland jobs. 

This month we called on those whose jobs are in the sector, or rely on the sector, to vote in the Federal election for candidates who will support their jobs and the financial security of their families. 

www.qrc.org.au

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