Documents show political pressure was put on CSIRO to quickly back Adani's groundwater plans and provide cover for the rushed approval by the Environment Minister just days before the election
In response to reports by the ABC that new documents reveal the Morrison Government pressured CSIRO to sign off on Adani's groundwater plans in just a matter of hours, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Stop Adani Campaigner, Christian Slattery, said:
"This is another sad chapter in this sordid affair. These documents show political pressure was put on CSIRO to quickly back Adani's groundwater plans and provide cover for the rushed approval by the Environment Minister just days before the election.
"The documents also suggest key personnel still had reservations about Adani's groundwater plan despite the Morrison Government claiming CSIRO and Geoscience Australia confirmed the company had met strict scientific requirements. In the same statement the Environment Minister also falsely claimed Adani had accepted in full the recommendations of CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.
"Australians are right to be concerned about the process behind the last-minute Adani groundwater sign off and in turn all other federal environmental approvals issued to the company to dig its massive new coal mine.
"The politicisation of this process will aide Adani to guzzle billions of litres of Queensland's clean water and help produce decades of new climate pollution through burning more coal, if the mine goes ahead.
"Whatever its stripes, the next Australian Government must review the approval of Adani's groundwater plan - and others issued to the company - immediately after the election.
"This sad saga is more evidence we need robust new environment laws, and an independent federal EPA to oversee them, so environmental approvals are no longer subjected to blatant political and corporate interference and instead are made in the interest of protecting nature and our climate."
