Lawyers fighting to have Queensland’s land court stop the construction of Australia’s largest coal mine say they have made the touted economic benefits look “ridiculous” beside the risk of environmental damage.
In a closing statement against the Carmichael mine proposed by Indian coal giant Adani, barrister Saul Holt told the court there had been “dramatic changes in the picture of this mine” as a result of legal proceedings brought by conservationists.
Holt said cross-examination of Adani’s own expert witnesses had revealed the company had “grossly overstated the jobs and royalties the mine is expected to generate”.
At the same time, Adani had sought approval while understating key environmental risks, including the impact on the “exceptional ecological values” of the Doongmabulla Springs, and the endangered black-throated finch and the waxy cabbage palm, Holt said.
The court was in a “dramatically better position” than state and government decision makers who had relied on Adani’s information, he said.
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