The only way to truly protect Queensland's precious groundwater for our environment and farming communities is to stop the Adani coal mine from going ahead.
In response to Environment Minister Melissa Price's approval of Adani's groundwater management plan, Christian Slattery, Stop Adani campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), said:
"Australians are right to be deeply sceptical about the process that led to this decision.
"Coal-loving Coalition MPs appear to have strongarmed the Environment Minister into granting Adani access to Queensland's precious groundwater on the eve of the election.
"There remain serious questions about how this contentious proposal to take at least 270 billion litres of precious groundwater was approved at the last minute.
"CSIRO has raised significant concerns about the limitations of Adani's plans, including that it may have lowballed the amount of groundwater drawdown that will occur and the continued uncertainty about the source aquifer of the Doongmabulla Springs.
"The only way to truly protect Queensland's precious groundwater for our environment and farming communities is to stop the Adani coal mine from going ahead.
"If the minister was pressured to rush through this approval before the election, that may open such a decision to legal challenge.
"It is wrong to think Adani now has the green light start digging up coal in the Galilee Basin.
"A number of approvals remain outstanding and the Queensland government is yet to sign-off on Adani's Black-Throated Finch Management Plan and Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan.
"And, importantly, Adani does not have federal approval for the proposed above-ground water infrastructure it requires to support its proposed thirsty coal mine."
Adani hopes to take up to 12.5 billion litres of water - 5000 Olympic-sized swimming pools - from the Suttor River in central Queensland, a river that floods and dries up at different times and on which farmers and wetlands rely.
In an ongoing Federal Court case ACF is challenging the Federal Environment Minister's failure to apply the water trigger to Adani's proposed water pipeline project.
