Gina Rinehart-backed company gets approval from Tanya Plibersek for coal seam gas project

Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek has approved a project to construct up to 151 new coal seam gas wells in Queensland. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has given a company co-owned by Gina Rinehart approval to develop and operate up to 151 new coal seam gas wells in inland Queensland.

A spokesperson for Plibersek said the Atlas stage 3 project proposed by Senex Energy, which is jointly owned by South Korea’s steel giant Posco and Rinehart, would “primarily contribute domestic gas supply to households and Australian manufacturing – including for glass, bricks, cement and food packaging”.

The Senex CEO, Ian Davies, said the decision was timely “given the current pressures that the east coast energy system is experiencing, particularly in southern states”.

“The clear solution is more gas supply, and our announcement today is part of that solution,” he said.

Climate campaigners called the decision a “disgrace” at a time when international science and energy agencies say there can be no more exploitation of new oil, gas and coalfields if the world is to limit global heating to 1.5C.

“While Australia is distracted talking about the LNP nuclear charade, the federal government is approving new fossil fuel projects,” the Australia Institute’s research director, Rod Campbell, said.

“We know that new fossil fuel projects are the last thing that the climate needs. The last thing that the Australian economy needs is to be doubling down on fossil fuels at a time when we should be leading the world on decarbonisation.”

The head of policy and advocacy at the Climate Council, Jennifer Rayner, said Australia’s existing domestic gas supply “would be enough to meet our domestic needs for more than 60 years”.

“80% of Australia’s gas is used by the export industry. We have more than enough to meet our small and declining needs as we transition to clean energy,” she said.

“There is a massive global glut of gas coming with projects from the US and Qatar. Australia should not be adding to our massive climate pollution from gas.”

The Australian Conservation Foundation’s national climate policy adviser, Annika Reynolds, said in the “midst of a climate crisis, this fossil gas project should not have been approved”.

“This is federal government’s reckless future gas strategy in action,” Reynolds said.

Plibersek’s approval is valid until 2080 and, in addition to the new wells, will allow for construction of supporting infrastructure such as access roads.

Davies said the project was a “significant boost” for domestic gas supply and would deliver 60 petajoules of gas to the east coast market from the end of 2025.

“The federal government has made it clear that gas is required until 2050 and beyond, and that investment in new gas supply is needed if we are to reach net zero with thriving industries,” he said.

The Lock the Gate Alliance’s national coordinator, Ellen Roberts, accused the coal seam gas industry in Queensland of “irreversibly damaging the state’s best farmland”.

“Water has been contaminated, water bores drained and cropping country is sinking,” she said.

Plibersek’s spokesperson said the “Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law – that’s what happens on every project, and that’s what’s happened here”.

“The government will continue to consider each project on a case-by-case basis, under the law,” the spokesperson said.

They said the approval included conditions to protect nature, including “strict limits” on habitat loss.

“Under Labor, we’ve already seen a 25% increase in renewable energy in our grid,” they said.

“We are ticking off renewables energy projects at record rates, outstripping coal and gas projects seven to one. And we have record numbers of renewable energy projects in the approval pipeline.”