The Crisafulli Government’s 25-year plan for the Queensland timber industry presents a worrying vision to continue overcutting and degrading biodiversity and carbon values of the state’s unique native forests outside the southeast corner. 

The Queensland Conservation Council says a new deal to funnel taxpayer money to Gina Rinehart proves the Crisafulli Government is putting fossil fuel profits ahead of everyday Queenslanders and their right to a safe climate future.

The Crisafulli Government's Energy Roadmap, released on 10 October, outlined an expansion of gas generation up to 8.3 GW by 2035. Treasurer David Janetzki today announced a deal for taxpayer money to pay Gina Rinehart's Senex Energy to supply gas to the first of the proposed gas developments, the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant.

New legislation from the Crisafulli Government to repeal the state’s Renewable Energy Targets is the "final nail in the coffin" for the LNP’s election promise to keep the state’s 75% emissions target, according to Queensland’s peak environment group.

This comes as a new Queensland Conservation Council analysis found that Queensland will likely only reach 50 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 in the scenario outlined in the recently released Five Year Energy Roadmap – a staggering 25 per cent less than promised by the Queensland Government.

The amendments tabled today for the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs Act) 2024 include:

• Repealing Queensland’s Renewable Energy Targets of 50% by 2030, 70% by 2032, and 80% by 2035;
• Removing the requirement for a minimum of 54% of Queensland’s electricity generation to be publicly owned.
• Abolishing the Queensland Energy System Advisory Board, Energy Industry Council and Queensland Renewable Energy Jobs Advocate.

New analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council demonstrates the Crisafulli Government’s recently-released Five Year Energy Roadmap significantly underestimates the amount of renewable energy and storage that will likely be built in Queensland by 2030 and beyond.

The analysis shows that the roadmap underforecasts renewable energy and storage by at least 3.4 GW by 2030. These projects represent over $6.5 billion of investment in Queensland’s economy, mostly in regional Queensland, along with more than 1,500 construction jobs.

According to the conservation council, this significant discrepancy underlines the Crisafulli Government’s ideological bias against renewable energy as they attempt to justify a pro-fossil fuel energy plan.

The Queensland Government's new Energy Roadmap shackles Queenslanders to more coal breakdowns, higher power bills and emissions, according to the Queensland Conservation Council.

While the Energy Roadmap (PDF 19mb) outlines the need for investment in new renewable energy and storage, it fails to adequately plan for the inevitable closure of the state’s retiring coal power stations – risking power bills, energy reliability and the State’s emissions reduction commitments.

The Energy Roadmap estimates that 3.4 GW of new large-scale wind and solar capacity will be built by 2030, which is 5.7 GW less than predicted in the previous Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.

QCC says this plan seriously underestimates the amount of renewable energy backed by storage that will likely be built in Queensland over the next five years based on projects progressing in the pipeline.

The announced early closure of the Gladstone coal power station today is evidence that heavy industry and the private sector are getting on with the transition to cheaper renewable energy, says the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC), as they urge the Crisafulli Government to put ideology aside and plan for the timely closure of the state-owned coal power stations.

QCC says the planned closure of the Gladstone coal power station is vital to provide certainty to the community, heavy industry and the renewable energy industry, and protect more than 3,000 local jobs.

Gladstone power station is Queensland’s oldest and largest coal-fired power station. Its unreliability has increased with age, and it's the second least available coal power station in the country.

It’s today been revealed that Queensland’s state-owned energy corporation, CS Energy, has posted a $324 million loss for the last financial year, largely due to issues at the Callide B coal-fired power station. 

In response to these findings the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) is calling on the Crisafulli Government to close Callide B on schedule in 2028, instead of slugging taxpayers up to $420 million a year to keep the failing coal station on life support.

This comes after an analysis by QCC showed that Queensland is on track to build more renewable energy and storage capacity to replace Callide B than was modelled by the previous Labor State Government – calling into question the Crisafulli Government’s decision to extend Callide B’s life by up to three years.

Crisafulli Government Flushing Millions to Prop Up Callide B Amid Renewables Rise
24 September 2025

Queensland is on track to replace the retiring Callide B coal-fired power station with renewable energy backed by storage in time for it to close by the end of 2028, according to a new analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council.

The analysis found that over the next three years Queensland is set to build five times its current capacity of grid-scale batteries and double its capacity of solar farms – smashing previous modelling. 

By the end of 2028, the Sunshine State is set to install up to an additional 3.5 GW of additional large-scale solar capacity and more than double the large-scale storage that was modelled in 2022 under the previous Labor State Government. 

The conservation council is pointing to the findings of the analysis to demand answers from the Crisafulli Government on why they are planning to waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to keep retiring Callide B online past its scheduled retirement in 2028.

Today, the Federal Government has announced a 2035 emissions reduction target of 62-70% by 2035, falling short of what science says is needed to keep Queenslanders safe from the worst climate impacts.

The science is clear that a cut of at least 75 per cent by 2035 is essential to protect the Great Barrier Reef, reduce spiralling disaster costs, and secure a safe future for all Queenslanders, including Torres Strait Islander communities already on the frontline of rising seas and extreme weather.

A Queensland Conservation Council analysis released last month found that climate disasters have cost Queenslanders more than $24 billion in the past three years alone. Without stronger action, those costs will only grow, hitting households, businesses and taxpayers hardest.

BHP is the latest corporation to put a coal mine into care and maintenance and cut hundreds of jobs, a move the Queensland Conservation Council says is scapegoating workers and falsely blaming Queensland's progressive coal royalty scheme.

The peak environment body calls this another case of deceptive practice, and praises the Crisafulli Government for keeping their promise to ensure everyday Queenslanders get a fair share of coal profits. A survey of Central Queensland residents by Lock the Gate, Mackay Conservation Group, and Whitsunday Conservation Council found this is what regional communities want too.

Recent independent analysis by IEEFA revealed labour shortages, rising operating costs, falling commodity prices, ageing workforces and regulatory demands are driving costs for coal miners, not the progressive coal royalty scheme.

Graph: Mines' rising cash operating costs far exceeding royalties

Source: IEEFA