On World Environment Day today, the Greens launched their $2.1 billion national election policy to protect native wildlife, which would help bring threatened species such as bilbies and koalas back from the brink of extinction in Queensland. 

Qld Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader, said the Greens plan would commit $2 billion over 6 years to re-establish and double funding for the national Biodiversity Fund, which was abolished under Abbott/Turnbull Government after Labor halved its funding while in government. 

With Peabody filing for bankruptcy today in the US, the Queensland and New South Wales governments must urgently secure outstanding rehabilitation bonds from the company.

Qld Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and mining spokesperson, said:

"The state regulators must urgently secure adequate rehabilitation bonds from Peabody for their Queensland and New South Wales mines.

"We need this rehabilitation money in place before coal companies go bust so it can fund local jobs in site rehabilitation for workers who are laid off.

Following allegations of electricity price gouging by the Adani company in India, the Greens re-iterated their call for the state Labor and federal Liberal government to revoke their approvals of the Carmichael mine.

Reports that Anglo American is selling the Foxleigh coal mine at Middlemount to Sydney's Taurus Fund Management is more evidence of the need for the Chain of Responsibility Bill, as well as broader reforms.   

Qld Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and mining spokesperson, said:

"It has already taken too long for the state government to put forward laws to stop taxpayers footing the bill to clean up mess left by big mining companies.  

"Yet again, we see there is no difference between the old parties on digging up fossil fuels to ruin our Great Barrier Reef.

"The Labor Government wants to take advice from a former Liberal Minister who infamously said - 'We've got to make sure that every molecule of gas that can come out of the ground does so'.

"This is a slap in the face for regional Queensland communities dealing with the destruction that coal seam gas and underground coal gasification has wrecked on their wellbeing, land, water and climate.

The Australian Greens are calling for a Senate inquiry on mining and resources rehabilitation to secure jobs in affected communities as reports yesterday and Monday indicated that coal giant Peabody Energy’s US parent company is headed for administration and big miners like

The Australian Greens are calling for a Australia to follow US President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who have agreed to better monitoring and sharp reductions in methane climate pollution from gas fracking. 

Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson, said:

Revelations that an Adani subsidiary's own lawyer is accusing it of fraud is yet another warning that this company should not be trusted with the Great Barrier Reef.

Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and mining spokesperson, said:

The Queensland Government must make sure Anglo American does not dodge its responsibility to provide Central Queensland jobs in rehabilitation by selling its unprofitable Callide coal mine to a shelf company.

Anglo American has agreed to sell its mine to a tiny company which has raised only $750,000 from investors. It was reported today that the investment in jobs and equipment to rehabilitate the site may be more than $121 million.  

Revelations today that the Liberal Government has watered down the environmental conditions of 21 projects, including coal mines, in the past nine months are incredibly concerning.

“The Liberal Government is trying to fool communities by saying they have set so-called strict conditions when approving mines that threaten our land, water and climate,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and environment spokesperson, said.