Supreme Court backs Gina Rinehart's Alpha mine, asks farmers to pay GVK’s legal costs

A Supreme Court appeal against Gina Rinehart’s Alpha has been rejected on Friday.

Supreme Court Justice James Douglas upheld an earlier land court ruling, dismissing environmental group Coast and Country’s argument that the land court’s consideration “environmental harm that might be caused by another coal mine somewhere else in the world” was irrelevant under state environmental laws.

The land court earlier ruled that blocking the mine was ineffective as people would find coal elsewhere. The court, nevertheless, acknowledged that the mine’s contribution of global carbon emissions was “both real and of concern.”

“Although the objective of the (Environmental Protection Act) is environmental protection in the context of ecologically sustainable development, it does not require the (land court) to ignore what is likely to happen elsewhere in the world, even if this particular mine does not go ahead,” The Guardian quoted Douglas as saying.

The justice also asked the three farmers, whom Coast and Country represented, to pay GVK Hancock’s legal costs as well.

The company said in a statement that it was pleased with the ruling. "We are pleased the court has clearly ruled that our project has continued to follow and comply with all regulatory and legal processes,” the statement said, "This is a great day for Queensland as we can now get on with taking the next step towards creating thousands of jobs for the region and state.”

However, Tim Buckley, an expert from the institute for energy economics and financial analysis, believes the prospect of the mine as a business idea is dim, arguing the “viability and bankability” of the project due to GVK’s difficulties with funding.

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