Press release – 8 October, 2015Sydney, 9 October 2015 – Responding to comments from Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg that Adani has to ‘stand on its own two feet’ and that its operations are not a priority project under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF), the Head of Program for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Emma Gibson, said:“We welcome indications the government has come to its senses and decided not to use taxpayers’ money on the Carmichael coal mine, which is a total flop and financially risky.
"This project has no investors, globally coal prices are falling and 14 international banks won’t touch it. Minister Frydenberg’s comments today show that the government is finally considering the public interest when it comes to this failing coal project.
“That the government under Tony Abbott had been considering the use of the NAIF for Carmichael infrastructure shows the extent of the fossil fuel lobby’s influence on policy decisions.
“We already know the Great Barrier Reef will suffer damage under a global coral bleaching event. To put the Reef under more stress with proposed dredging to expand the coal terminal at Abbot Point and build the Carmichael mine would only serve to push the Reef over the edge.
“It makes no sense to build infrastructure for an environmentally devastating mine that in all likelihood won’t happen, and should never happen," Ms Gibson said.
ENDS