Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Four years after Adani's climate-wrecking Carmichael coalmine was approved in my home state of Queensland, Adani has taken the Queensland government to court to avoid employing locals. Adani, now called Bravus, has once again shown its moral bankruptcy. Sadly, on this court challenge, the Queensland government kowtowed, so Adani dropped its case. The Queensland government should have held the line on employing locals. Instead, like always, the Queensland government fell over itself to approve this coalmine and then appeased the mining giant with public subsidies, ignoring job security for locals.

Adani has failed multiple times to support the Clermont community. The upgrade of a local road was a condition of Adani's state approvals. Adani says works have begun, but the road is not complete. It's behind schedule so much that last year the Isaac Regional Council began legal action, saying that Adani had failed to meet its obligations. That case is ongoing. Adani and the fossil fuel addicted governments on both sides of politics who enable them are the bad guys here. The workers who believed their lies now face uncertain futures. It is an utter betrayal.

Queensland workers deserve job security and a just transition away from coal. They deserve to co-design that transition and what will come next. The Greens have always prioritised workers and always will prioritise workers. We have a plan to support all the coal workers to transition to new industries with a 10-year wages guarantee and free retraining if any retraining is needed. In contrast, both Labor and Liberal governments have shown time and time again that they would rather put local jobs at the whim of the profits of overseas mining corporations like Adani. Adani's latest court case to avoid employing locals is yet another wake-up call. Never believe a fossil fuel company when they say they want to create good jobs.