Media releases
If you have a media enquiry, please call or email Jem Wilson on (03) 8341 3110 or [email protected]
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Tree-mendous news as Victoria’s native forests saved from the chopping block
Environmental groups are celebrating the end of native forest logging in Victoria, after decades of campaigning by citizen scientists, community groups and Traditional Owners. The announcement of the end of native forest logging is testament to the efforts of forest...
Pulp the timber contract not our forests
The Andrews Labor Government has legal grounds to suspend its controversial wood pulp contract, according to new legal advice from top silk Perry Herzfeld SC and barrister Daye Gang. The barristers, who specialise in public law, have advised The Wilderness Society...
Not my job: Environment Minister says climate science is not relevant to new coal and gas approvals
Community and environment groups are outraged by Minister Tanya Plibersek’s decision to dismiss the climate harm of three huge new coal and gas proposals on Australia’s nationally significant places, plants and animals. The small volunteer group, Environment Council...
Two huge coal proposals shelved – but real test for Environment Minister is still to come
The Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) welcomes Minister Plibersek’s decision to shelve two coal projects in central Queensland but implores the Environment Minister to listen to science and properly consider the climate impacts of the other coal and...
Liddell closure will reduce toxic pollution of our air, land and water
Data released this month from Australia’s annual report on toxic air pollution shows AGL's Liddell Power Station has kept pumping out pollution in the lead up to its closure this week. Health experts and environment groups say the closure of Liddell will provide...
Engie must not be allowed to cut corners on Hazelwood clean-up
Plans by Engie to flood the former Hazelwood coal mine have outraged community and environment groups, who are concerned the operator wants to dodge its responsibility to properly rehabilitate the mine. Engie is pursuing a slap dash plan to rehabilitate the Hazelwood...
Although coal-fired power stations are generating less and less electricity, they are still among the biggest polluters of Australian’s air
Coal fired power stations are producing less power but remain one of the biggest sources of toxic air pollution in Australia, according to analysis of new data from the national inventory of toxic pollution. Each year more than 4000 big polluters like power stations,...
Protect cultural and ecological recovery within the Barmah National Park, as a result of 2022 major flood event
Government agencies must ensure commitment to protect and preserve the Yorta Yorta People’s Cultural Identity and Traditional Knowledge for the ecological recovery of the Barmah National Park and Murray Valley National Park, peak environment groups say. The...
Toxic coal ash dumps leave Latrobe Valley communities at risk
Environment Victoria and lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia say EPA Victoria needs to outright reject AGL Energy's plans for a massive expansion of toxic coal ash dumps and enforce laws to protect the local community. AGL Energy has sought approval to...
New laws must hold all mining corporations accountable to clean up their toxic mess
Lawyers and community groups say important new laws to compel mining companies to rehabilitate their toxic sites should be applied to every fossil fuel project in the state. “Every corporation profiting from mining and drilling in Victorian communities has a...
Federal government pulls ‘water trigger’ over controversial plan to flood Victorian open-cut coal mine
The federal government has announced Engie’s plan to fill Hazelwood coal mine with almost double Melbourne’s annual water consumption will now be scrutinised under federal environment law. This is fantastic news for the Latrobe Valley and the result of calls from...
Environment group takes NT government to court over land clearing for cotton
The Environment Centre NT (ECNT), the Northern Territory’s peak conservation body, is taking the NT government to the Supreme Court, in a landmark challenge to a corporation’s plans to clear ecologically important tropical savanna to grow cotton. Under powers given to...
Keeping coal in the ground the right move, but Minister must consider catastrophic climate impacts for scores of pending proposals
The Environment Council of Central Queensland welcomes Tanya Plibersek’s refusal of a Clive Palmer-backed coal mine but says the climate impacts of other pending proposals on the Great Barrie Reef and thousands of living wonders, must be accounted for. ECoCeQ,...
Call for Victoria’s climate laws to be fixed following Supreme Court decision
Environment groups have called for Victoria’s climate change and pollution laws to be fixed after a court found the EPA’s decision not to limit greenhouse gas emissions, or set proper restrictions on toxic pollution from power stations, was legally valid. Independent...
Delta Coal fails to paint a true picture of Chain Valley mine proposal risks, expert says
A geotechnical engineer and mining expert says Delta Coal’s proposal to prolong the operations at its Lake Macquarie mines has failed to provide the community with a true picture of the risks it poses to the environment. Delta Coal proposes to dig up an additional 9.5...
Environment Council taking legal action on Glencore’s Valeria mine proposal welcome potential withdrawal
A Central Queensland environment council running a legal intervention seeking the climate impacts of major coal and gas proposals be assessed says Glencore’s flagged withdrawal of its proposed Valeria mine is a signal to all fossil fuel operators. The Environment...
Government’s environmental law reform must deliver binding protections or risks missing critical window
Environmental lawyers say national environmental law reform must deliver stronger binding protections for nature and explicitly require thorough climate impact assessment, in the face of escalating climate and extinction crises. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek...
Alinta Energy handed licence to increase harmful toxic pollution
Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority has quietly handed Alinta Energy a licence to pump out even more toxic pollution from its Loy Yang B power station. “Loy Yang B has been permitted to pump even more toxic sulfur dioxide into the air and add to its already...