THE Commonwealth Environment Minister’s assessment of Adani’s essential water infrastructure for the controversial Carmichael coal mine is under a legal cloud again today, with the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) filing proceedings in the Federal Court on behalf of its client, the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The Minister, whose original decision was overturned by the Federal Court on different grounds, has yet again determined that the water trigger does not apply to the North Galilee Water Scheme Infrastructure (NGWS). The NGWS provides essential water to the Carmichael coal mine, but the Minister’s determination means its impacts on water resources will not be subject to assessment.

That decision is now the subject of the ACF’s application for judicial review.

Contained in the Federal Government’s key environmental legislation, the water trigger is designed to ensure that actions involving large coal mining and coal seam gas developments, which are likely to have a significant impact on a water resource, undergo a thorough assessment by the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development.

The NGWS will see up to 12.5 billion litres of water pumped from the Suttor River in central Queensland to the Adani mine, where it will be used primarily to wash coal and suppress dust.

“Our client ACF argues that the Environment Minister made an error of law by failing to apply the ‘water trigger’ in Australia’s environmental law to Adani’s North Galilee Water Scheme," EDO CEO David Morris said.

“The Minister has determined that, despite the Carmichael coal mine operation’s reliance on the proposed infrastructure, the NGWS is not a ‘coal mining activity’ and therefore not subject to the water trigger. ACF’s case is that that is a misconstruction of the term ‘coal mining activity’ and the decision must be overturned.

“Legal challenges are never taken lightly by us or our client," Mr Morris said. “In this case the project involves the use of water for coal mining on an enormous scale and it’s vitally important that these impacts be subject to the thorough assessment we say is required by law. There is enormous public interest in this process, evidenced by the more than 7,000 submissions made during the public comment period.”

ACF took similar legal action with EDO in December 2018. During that case it became clear the government had failed to properly consider some of the thousands of public submissions it received. In June 2019 the government acknowledged that error and conceded the case, leaving unaddressed the question of whether it failed to correctly apply the water trigger.

www.edo.org.au

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JANUARY's bushfires marked the beginning of Australia’s international visitor nosedive which has culminated in an effective flat-lining of our export tourism industry with no end in sight.

While many businesses are now coming to terms with the impacts of the COVID-19 prevention initiatives, Australia’s tourism businesses are into their third month of concerning decline.

“Our industry has borne the brunt of two exceptional setbacks and the international visitor numbers for January,  released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today, only provide a glimpse of where our industry is falling from,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.

Mr Shelley said Australia’s International visitor income has soared in recent years, growing from just over $20 billion in 2015 to well over $45bn in 2019. Today’s ABS arrivals data revealed a negligible increase on last year's figures - what appears to be the lowest growth rate for many years.

“With yesterday’s announcement of isolation measures for all new arrivals to Australia, our inbound tourism industry has effectively been shut down," Mr shelley said.

“No international visitors means all travel distributors, and many tourism suppliers, have no business and are unlikely to have any business in the near future.  This comes right on the back of a massive decline in our industry that came as a result of January's bushfires.

“The damage to our inbound tourism sector across Australia will deliver a significant blow to Australia’s economy and, with more than 600,000 people employed in tourism jobs, that will have a dramatic flow on to employment.

“Australia’s tourism industry is falling from a great high - a high that has been a big part of our economic success over the past 10 years.

“We know the government is aware of our predicament and that tourism is not alone in the crisis but what we need to do is ensure the businesses at the heart of our industry can survive the next few months and help Australia get back on its feet," Mr Shelley said.

“Crucial to this will be the government’s support in helping our inbound travel distributors to keep their business afloat, as this will be critical to maintaining Australia’s tourism ecosystem, without which our export tourism markets will struggle to recover.”\

www.tourismdrivesgrowth.com.au

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INDUSTRY superfunds long-term investment outlook means they are well-placed to deal with the decline to Australian and global share markets caused by the coronavirus, according to Industry Super Australia CEO Bernie Dean.

“It is understandable that people are concerned about the impact coronavirus is having on the economy and their super balance, but it is important to remember that super is a long-term game and the market recovers," Mr Dean said.

“A way to lose money in super after a downturn is to make changes that crystallise your losses. People avoid selling their house during a property market slump because they are worried about making a loss, the same principle should be applied to changing your super fund or investment option immediately after a market drop.”

The impact COVID-19 will have on global economies is still largely unknown, and it is not clear how long the market volatility will last, he said.

But due to the diversity of assets in super funds’ portfolios the losses are likely to be far more muted than the headline-grabbing share market plunges seen on the evening news.

No one can predict the future, but as with previous downturns the market will rebound and because super is a long-term investment the short-term market dips are smoothed out overtime, he said.

Mr Dean said funds would continue their important role in the Australian economy investing in infrastructure, property and shares which provides stability to the local financial market.

"When it comes to super often the best course of action, is no action. Individuals can crystallise their losses missing out on the rebound if they switch their super to cash or other defensive assets after a downturn," Mr Dean said.

"At the last major market decline – during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) – savers who moved their money from an average balanced industry fund into cash were $4,000 worse off after three months, $13,800 after a year, $34,800 worse off after five years and after seven years would have lost a whopping $46,000 of potential retirement savings.

"Industry SuperFunds are particularly well-equipped to deal with short-term shocks to world equity markets because of their investments in infrastructure, property, cash, and other unlisted assets."

After the GFC most super funds recovered quicker than global stock markets, and the diversified asset base means funds are once again able to bounce back from this market drop.

"If members think about their investment in the long-term what has happened this week will not make much difference to super balances in the 20 years or longer when they start to think about retiring," Mr Dean said. 

"Those planning to access their super soon may not have time to ride out the market volatility and should seek advice on how to limit any losses."

www.industrysuper.com

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AS PART of a Federal Parliament inquiry into economic engagement with Traditional Owners, Members of Parliament are travelling to Western Australia next week.

The Northern Australia Committee is holding public hearings in Broome, Karratha, Newman, Port Hedland and Perth, and will hear evidence from Land Councils, Native Title holders, Indigenous business leaders, mining companies and other stakeholders.

Committee Chair Warren Entsch said, "The northern Australia policy that we have will not succeed unless we bring the Indigenous population with us on this journey of economic empowerment.

"We've realised, as part of this Committee, that the one area where we are failing absolutely is in bringing the major landholders, our Indigenous population, with us on this journey," Mr Entsch said.

In its submission, the Kimberley Land Council stated, "The economic development in Northern Australia must place Indigenous people at its centre rather than on the periphery waiting for 'trickle down' benefits."

"Past experience proves that, when engaged by government and industry in good faith, Traditional Owners are empowered to identify commercial opportunities which use resources sustainably, thus protecting Indigenous-held core values of country and culture whilst building strong communities and capability."

The Government of Western Australia statment read: "An impediment to economic development opportunities for Traditional Owners is tenure options that allow for divestment and resulting economic development opportunities, without extinguishing native title.

"Appropriate tenure can be an enabler of new opportunities, but many communities hesitate to agree to native title being extinguished to enable the granting of new tenure."

he WA Government‘is exploring innovative ways of minimising the impact of tenure reform on the exercise of native title rights and interests, while enabling economic development opportunities.

The Committee will hold public hearings in Broome, Karratha, Newman, Port Hedland and Perth. Programs are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Monday, 16 March 2020
Time: 8:30am to 2pm
Location: Broome Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Level 1, Unit 7 Woody’s Arcade, 15-17 Dampier Terrace’ Broome
Witnesses include: Kimberley Land Council, True Kimberley Tours, Nyamba Buru Yawuru, Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation, NAAKPA, KALACC, Kimberley Development Commission.

Date: Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Time: 9am to 12pm
Location: Council Chambers Karratha, Lot 1083 Welcome Road, Karratha
Witnesses include: Yara Pilbara, Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, Pilbara Development Commission, Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation.

Date: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Time: 8:30am to 9:30am
Location: Newman House, 15 Iron Ore Pde, Newman
Witnesses include: Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa.

Date: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Time: 2pm to 3pm
Location: WEB Business Hub – Collaboration Space, 18 Edgar Street, Port Hedland
Witnesses include: IBN.

Date: Thursday, 19 March 2020
Time: 9am to 5pm
Location: Committee Room One, Legislative Council Committee Offices, 18-32 Parliament Place, Perth
Witnesses include: Government of Western Australia, Rio Tinto, Gumula Enterprises Pty Ltd, Vimy Resources Limited, Sheffield Resources Limited, Roy Hill, Desert Support Services, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Regional Implementation Committee, Western Desert Land Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC.

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including expanded terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website

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