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Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc v New Acland Coal Pty Ltd - decision

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Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc v New Acland Coal Pty Ltd - order

judgment

Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc v New Acland Coal Pty Ltd - judgment

Filing Year For Action

The case centers around the granting of the Stage 3 mining project of the New Acland Coal ("NAC"). NAC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New Hope Group, operates a coal mine in Queensland. After expending the mine operation for the first time in 2005, NAC first applied to expand the operation one additional time (the proposed expansion and its amended versions are collectively referred to as "Stage 3 project") in 2007. Steps were taken to prepare for an environmental impact statement ("EIS") under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971, which was necessary for further approvals under the Mineral Resources Act 1989 ("MRA") and Environmental Protection Act 1994 ("EPA"). However, after the Queensland Government announced its renunciation of the project, based on the project's damage to the mine and agricultural land, the EIS process halted in 2012.

NAC reacted by revising the Stage 3 project. The new version proposed a smaller mine output. The new Stage 3 project was re-evaluated and was recommended for approval by the Queensland Coordinator-General in December 2014. However, in 2015, when the revised proposal was publicly advertised for objections under the MRA and EPA, multiple objections were made by surrounding farmers and landowners. Among the active objectors was Oakey Coal Action Alliance ("OCAA"), an incorporated non-profit charity committed to protecting the soils, waters, and the farming families who rely on them. Objections were heard in the Queensland Land Court, leading to Member Smith recommending against the Stage 3 project on May 31, 2017. The refusal was based on reasons relating to noise, groundwater, and intergenerational equity.

Judicial review was sought by NAC on Member Smith's recommendation. Justice Bowskill of the Supreme Court of Queensland found that Member Smith erred because groundwater quantity and intergenerational equity were not within the jurisdiction of the Land Court to consider in an MRA and EPA objection hearing, and because his honour failed to exercise the discretionary power conferred on him by §190 of the EPA in ruling on noise. The case was remanded to the Land Court, heard by President Kingham this time. Her Honour delivered the decision on Nov. 7, 2018, that the Stage 3 Project may be approved under the condition of lowering the noise limits. Following this decision, NAC applied to change the noise conditions. While OCAA appealed (and NAC cross-appealed) on the Supreme Court of Queensland's decision on May 30, 2018, the appeal was found unsuccessful on Sep. 18, 2019.  

Following the dismissal of the appeal from the Court of Appeals, OCAA applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia on Nov. 29, 2019. The High Court heard the case on Oct. 6, 2020, and on Feb. 3, 2021, reverted the matter to the Land Court once again for a redetermination according to law. As a result, Member Stilgoe of the Land Court recommended the Stage 3 project under stricter conditions on Dec. 17, 2021.

Following the somewhat unsuccessful result after years of litigation, OCAA brought a new challenge against the Stage 3 project in May 2023. This time, the challenge was based on the Queensland Government's 2022 decision to grant an associated water license to NCA. However, OCAA made the decision to withdraw the appeal in January 2025. 
NCA has been extracting coal under the Stage 3 expansion since September 2023.

Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc v New Acland Coal Pty Ltd

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

A company that is owned wholly or partially by the state, typically operating in key sectors.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions to adapt and increase the resilience of rural and urban infrastructure and settlements to climate change.

Action or measure that increases resilience of societal, cultural and natural heritage to climate change impacts.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Heat extracted from the ground, usually in the form of hot water or steam and typically referred to as hydrothermal fluid.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Households employing domestic workers, for activities like cooking, cleaning and subsistence farming, for their own use.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities involving the management, development, and sale of property assets.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Oakey Coal Action Alliance Inc v New Acland Coal Pty Ltd - decision

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance