Think it was Campbell Newman who approved the project, and the next Government inherited it.
Anyone see the ADANI ad in today’s AGE. They promised to pay any loans back in full with interest and create 10,000 jobs and be environmental champions. It wasn’t even on the funnies page.
You may be right. Then the AP handshake (and support) was given very good coverage, indicating continuation of the approval.
Perhaps but Politics is Politics, and when you have a contract, you need balls like Danny Andrews has to break them.
I still reckon ADANI will never happen, we do a lot of work with the Coal Industry and no-one I talk see see that it is all viable.
Adani are on the verge of insolvency. They’ve got a port that isn’t connected to anything that needs refinancing and if it doesn’t happen it will go into administration. That could bring the whole company down. So, they try to get someone to build a rail link to it that is going to the biggest coal mine ever built. Except, it’s a massive stranded asset. So, what do you do? Get the port refinanced at all costs and then flip the lot for a bargain because it’s worth Fark all as a coal mine. Well, there’s free, unlimited access to artesian water in the details. I’m sure someone will like the sound of that. China, maybe? They also like buying Australian ports.
Sure, there seems to be very few who think it will happen. Which is why I’ve speculated previously on the possibility that Labor knows it won’t happen but are pretending otherwise to appease northern voters and related industry. Is that possible?
This is my main concern. I’m fully expecting Labor to win as they are comfortably ahead in the polls, but if she is really for the mine as she was before the veto, what is going to stop her backtracking?
Wouldn’t the first time a polly said it wasn’t a ‘core’ promise after the win is in the bag.
Plausible deniability !
The Queensland Labor government’s secret royalties deal for Adani is set to deliver a more generous interest rate than the federal loan to the Indian giant that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk controversially vetoed.
Ms Palaszczuk who promised at the 2015 election not to do any secret deals with Adani is continuing to refuse to release the details of the government’s royalties holiday for the proposed Galilee Basin coalmine.
But sources close to the deal have confirmed the Queensland government has struck an agreement with Adani in which the interest rate charged on the delayed royalties is less than the 3-4 per cent that is expected to be charged on the federal Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan.
At the end of the first week of Ms Palaszczuk’s re-election campaign, she reneged on the government’s written support to facilitate a concessional federal NAIF loan of up to $1 billion for Adani to build a common-user rail line from the proposed Carmichael Mine in the Galilee Basin to Abbot Point port.
“There are commercial-in-confidence arrangements that happen with companies right across the state. They are commercial in confidence, and I’m not going to breach commercial in confidence.”
It was also revealed that the state government was in negotiations with a central Queensland council to take over and upgrade several council roads to the mine, at a cost of up to $100m. On Wednesday, Isaac Regional Council mayor Anne Baker a member of the ALP confirmed the council had voted in February to negotiate a deal for the state to take over the roads because the council could not afford to keep the infrastructure on its books.
Ms Palaszczuk initially said her decision was made because of a conflict of interest, due to her partner’s working on Adani’s application to the NAIF, but she has since said it reflected Labor’s 2015 election commitment that no taxpayer money would go to the Indian giant.
The Australian revealed yesterday that the secret deal would delay the payment of $360m in coal royalties for the first five years of the mine’s production with the deferred royalties to be paid back in full, at the generous interest rate.
The Labor leader yesterday dodged questions about the terms of the deal. “Because it’s commercial in confidence,” she said.
A source close to the royalties deal struck in May told The Australian the state government had made an agreement with Adani at the same time to fund the road upgrade.
During a heated press conference yesterday, the Premier dodged repeated questions about the deal and would not rule out using taxpayers’ money to improve the roads. But late yesterday, her office issued a statement saying it was a condition of the state Co-ordinator-General’s approval of the mine several years ago that Adani fund the roads.
However, several sources said the deal offered by Labor in May had superseded that element of the Co-ordinator General’s report.
Maybe Labor QLD can do what the VIC branch here did with the useless Desal plant. Unionise the ■■■■ out of it so it goes over budget and schedule. By the time it’s due to open, viola! Adani are broke and out of business.
Where on earth is there 6 lanes? Eastlink into Eastern is 4, ring road doesn’t get to more than 4 that I can picture?
Im pretty sure this was discussed on here years ago, but there were huge huge problems with the project from the absolute top level down. As far as I know, union actipn wasn’t even close to top of the list. But they had forgotten to put in the main electrical safety system in the first version of the design, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were genuine safety concerns leading to union actions.
another victory for taking the cheapest tender.
I did a bit of work that went into the project, I think Saladin did too? Or had a mate that did?
Govt said they would expand the Eastern between the tunnel and NorthEastLink to 6 or 7 lanes
Jesus, that is going to be a shitshow.
Rumours that Lee Rhiannon has lost preselection for the Greens in NSW. Pretty big deal to dump a sitting senator in a preselection contest. Mind you, as a Green voter I’m kinda glad to see her go cos I reckon she caused more trouble than she was worth, but of course it’ll depend on who replaces her. NSW invariably produces the worst pollies no matter what party.
Good.
She has not adapted and has projected her struggle on to the party as a whole. She is a disgrace.
From the greens’ social medias, Mehreen Faruqi:
I’m honoured that Greens NSW members have selected me to be their lead Senate candidate at the next Federal election. I am so thankful to members for their support and the confidence they have put in me.
I am so proud of our grassroots preselection process and thank the other candidates, Lee, Rachael and Abigail.
I’ve worked alongside Lee since I took up my role in NSW parliament and pay tribute to Lee for all the work she’s done for the party and progressive politics. I really look forward to building on this legacy of the NSW Greens.
It is inspiring that so many of you share my vision for a bigger and more diverse party which stands ready to take on the challenges of climate change, economic inequality and neoliberalism.
I’m looking forward to making history and representing the Greens as the first Muslim woman in the Australian Senate (and dismantling face to face the divisive rhetoric of Pauline Hanson and One Nation).
With you, I’m ready to run our biggest ever campaign. We need to reach out to new communities, work with social movements, and embrace bold new policies and campaign techniques. We need to do this because the Greens must be heard loudly in Canberra
We offer a real alternative to the politics-as-usual of Labor and the Liberals who continue to inflict cruelty on refugees, are greenlighting the Adani climate time bomb and are beholden to private corporations.
More than ever we need to be on the front foot, articulating a clear, progressive social and environmental agenda to the public.
There has never been a better time to vote Green. Now is the time to convince New South Wales to do so. I look forward to joining you on the campaign trail.
— Mehreen
Suck on it Pauline and your balance of power. Looks like at best PHON will get two seats in Qld and one of them won’t be Malcolm Roberts in Ipswich that Pauline said was her heartland
Although hey have a decent swing doesn’t look like they will win a seat at this stag. Big farkin LOL.
Increase in the state wide vote which she will bang on about - but does not translate to seats…
I’m supportive of a regulated intake of refugees but anyone who supports the Greens’ ‘Open Dock’ policy has their head up their backside. A return to a people smuggling free-for-all will lead to refugees being exploited and dying in un-seaworthy rust buckets. You hear plenty of moaning accompanied with hand-wringing from The Greens but no real answers apart from “let them all in”.