CANBERRA, Australia—Australia has for the first time rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law.
On Wednesday, she announced her decision to prevent the Central Queensland Coal Project from being excavated northwest of the Queensland state town of Rockhampton and less than 10 kilometers from the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast Australian coast. The mine was proposed by mining magnate Clive Palmer, who founded and finances the minor conservative United Australia Party.
While warming oceans was the greatest threat to the network of more than 2,500 reefs covering 348,000 square kilometers , water quality and runoff from the Queensland coast were also risks. Labor has relied on the minor Greens party’s 12 senators to get legislation through the upper chamber.