Federal Government approves Origin Energy’s massive new gas project as cyclone rages in Far North Queensland

The Queensland Conservation Council has slammed the Federal Government's decision to approve a third major fossil fuel project in Queensland since the start of the year.

Environment Minister Murray Watt today gave Australia Pacific LNG, a subsidiary of Origin Energy, the green light to drill 1,695 new gas wells in the Surat Basin, locking Queenslanders into decades of more climate disasters.

Queensland Conservation Council, Climate Lead, Jenny Brown says

This is the third major fossil fuel project Murray Watt has approved in Queensland this year. In less than three months, he has already signed off on 555 million tonnes of new climate pollution in his own backyard, far more than Australia’s annual domestic emissions.

This approval condemns Queenslanders to ongoing climate destruction, while people in Cape York shelter from a cyclone and many others around the state are cleaning up from a summer of climate change driven extreme weather.

Whether it's groceries, petrol, insurance premiums, or the constant threat of another climate disaster and the financial and mental strain that puts on families - Queenslanders are feeling the crunch right now.

Approving projects like Origin Energy’s 1,695 gas wells will only make that crunch worse. Today the Federal Government has demonstrated they are turning their back on Queenslanders in a time of crisis to focus on lining the pockets of fossil fuel corporations.

Banner: Bureau of Meteorology, Himawari-9 satellite, CC BY-SA

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