A group of climate campaigners are taking Clive Palmer to court claiming the proposed coal mine in the Galilee Basin could breach their human rights.
Mel, Brisbane
This landmark case is a major moment in environmental law in Australia – the first time a coal mine has been challenged on Human Rights grounds.
The group called Youth Verdict is a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people from right across Queensland. They all have one thing in common – they stand to be most impacted by the climate change that is fuelled by the coal we burn today.
In their opposition to this mine Youth Verdict is joining the Bimblebox Alliance – a determined group of Galilee Basin landholders and their supporters who have spent 10years battling the Galilee Coal Project.
These farmers and local landholders are defending the Bimblebox Nature Refuge which is almost 8000 hectares of 95% remnant woodland, a haven for native wildlife and plants, including over 173 bird species, that would be devastated by the mine.
This landmark case is a watershed moment in Australian legal history and has the potential to be a game-changer in the legal fight against climate change.
Youth Verdict are clients of the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO). For over 30 years, the EDO has been using the law to protect the climate, communities, animals and the natural environment – from the Tarkine to the Kimberley.
They are made up of legal and scientific experts that work all around the country with farmers, conservation groups, Traditional Owners, and people from all walks of life and from all over Australia – from the outback to the cities.
EDO’s client Youth Verdict are challenging Clive Palmer’s proposed Galilee Coal Project in Queensland’s Land Court, arguing the mine will contribute to catastrophic climate change and increase the risk of bushfires, drought, floods, heatwaves and cyclones.
On their behalf, EDO lawyers will argue the Galilee Coal Project would cause a breach of their human rights by fuelling dangerous climate change that puts their futures, their lives, and their cultures at risk.
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