Queensland approval of Adani plan ‘unlawful’, say environment groups

Activists consider legal challenge, saying rules related to source aquifer have been compromised

The Queensland environment department may have acted "unlawfully" when it approved of Adani's groundwater plan, in the process backing down on a longstanding requirement that the miner provide definitive proof about the source of an ancient desert spring.

Environmental groups are now considering a legal challenge to the approval, partly because the state's Department of Environment and Science (DES) appeared to negotiate a last-minute compromise with Adani rather than applying strict conditions.