The court found that Hunt had not properly considered advice about two threatened species – the yakka skink (a lizard that can grow up to 40cm long), and the ornamental snake – when he approved the project last year.
Conservation advice for the Yakka skink – approved by the minister on April 29 last year – identified the main threat to the species as the “continued legacy of past broadscale land clearing and habitat degradation”, with the Brigalow Belt Bioregion particularly modified through agricultural and urban development.
Other threats included inappropriate roadside management, removal of wood debris and rock microhabitat features, ripping of rabbit warrens and predation by feral animals.
The Carmichael mine is now without legal authority to start construction or operate, and Hunt must decide whether or not to approve the mine again, taking into account the conservation advice and any other relevant information.
"Some of the groups have made it absolutely clear in a now-published document that they would litigate every step of the way, every element of the project through every possible means," Hunt told The Australian Financial Review.
"Against that background the departmental advice is it would be prudent to remove any risk or doubt that might emerge and therefore remake the decision on these two additional elements and any other that may be legally relevant.
"I will not pre-empt the substantive decision and I will consider all legally relevant material. But the departmental advice is this is a six to eight-week process."
Hunt’s department said it was not necessary to revisit the entire approval process.
“Without pre-empting a final decision about the project, the department expects that it will take six to eight weeks to prepare its advice ... and for the minister to reconsider his final decision,” a statement from Hunt’s department said.
Adani said yesterday it remained committed to ensuring its mine, rail and port projects in Queensland were developed and operated in accordance with commonwealth and state laws and regulations, including strict environmental conditions.
“Adani acknowledges the federal Environment Minister has consented to remake the July 2014 environmental approval decision for the Carmichael coal mine and rail project after a conservation group’s judicial review application,” the Indian giant said in a statement.
“It is regrettable that a technical legal error from the Federal Environment Department has exposed the approval to an adverse decision. It should be noted the approval did include appropriate conditions to manage the species protection of the yakka skink and ornamental snake.
“However, we have been advised that, because certain documents were not presented by the Department in finalising the approval, it created a technical legal vulnerability that is better to address now.
“Adani will await the minister and his department’s timely reconsideration of its approval application under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
“Adani is confident the conditions imposed on the existing approval are robust and appropriate once the technicality is addressed.”
The Indian giant is in the fifth year of development and approvals, and said yesterday that the need to finalise these approvals and timelines was critical so it, and the community, could realise the benefits associated with its investments to date – including 10,000 jobs and $22 billion in taxes and royalties to be reinvested back into the community.
“For the past six to 12 months, Adani has maintained a level of investment and project timelines based on anticipated approvals timelines and milestones,” the company said.
“As a result of changes to a range of approvals over that time it’s necessary our timelines and budget reflect those changes.”
