The Australian Greens have called Murray Watt\u2019s decision to approve the extension of a coal mine – the first coal mine of the new Parliament – \u2018business as usual\u2019 for Labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coal mine – Glencore\u2019s Ulan thermal coal mine near Mudgee in NSW – already has existing approvals to mine up to 20 million tonnes of thermal coal each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The extension would extract an extra 18.8 million tonnes, and extend the mine\u2019s life to 2045.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Greens have called approving coal mine extensions a \u2018climate crime\u2019, that would commit Australia to providing the world with decades more coal power, which should be replaced with clean technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To drive down emissions and take the action needed to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees, Labor needs to stop approving coal and gas projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet in the last term alone, Labor approved over 30 new coal and gas projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with this decision on Glencore\u2019s Ulan thermal coal mine, Minister Watt appears ready to continue this climate vandalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to wreaking havoc on the climate, this extension will impact local wildlife as well, clearing up to 37 hectares of native vegetation for the surface area infrastructure, putting threatened species like koalas and swift parrots further at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cApproving coal or gas in this day and age is a climate crime. Yet for Labor, it seems to be business as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLabor must stop gaslighting the public \u2013 opening new coal and gas is the opposite of climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt locks Australia into providing the world with more coal and gas for decades to come, while putting threatened wildlife like our precious koalas at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast week Minister Watt said he was planning to introduce new environmental laws later this year, but that he wouldn\u2019t call them \u2018Nature Positive\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe that\u2019s because they\u2019re going to be Coal and Gas Positive instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australian Greens Environment spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis shows just how badly we need new environment laws. It\u2019s crazy that the Environment Minister can approve a thermal coal mine for twenty years when we know this will make climate change worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile Labor is approving more coal and gas, Australians are already feeling the impacts of the climate crisis, like the toxic algal bloom in South Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLabor needs to make a choice. Are they going to keep approving new coal and gas and do deals with the Liberals to weaken environmental protections, or will they work with the Greens to take climate action and protect nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australian Greens spokesperson for resources, Senator Steph Hodgins-May:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMinister Watt\u2019s first coal mine approval this term shows exactly where Labor\u2019s priorities lie \u2013 they can greenlight new fossil fuel projects, but they still refuse to release the national climate risk assessment we\u2019ve been demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis government is addicted to coal and gas. Over 30 approvals last term, and now more climate bombs on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn the eve of setting 2035 emissions targets, the Albanese Government is locking in new coal projects that will make any target meaningless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is not climate leadership. It\u2019s climate sabotage \u2013 and its future generations, frontline communities and endangered wildlife that will pay the price.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Australian Greens have called Murray Watt\u2019s decision to approve the extension of a coal mine – the first coal mine of the new Parliament – \u2018business as usual\u2019 for Labor. The coal mine – Glencore\u2019s Ulan thermal coal mine near Mudgee in NSW – already has existing approvals to mine up to 20 million … Continue reading “It\u2019s business as usual for Labor, as Watt rubber stamps polluting coal mine extension”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34681,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34680\/revisions\/34681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}