You may have missed a little side deal the Queensland government tried to slide in while we were all focused on the category 4 Cyclone Debbie. Just as the storm was slamming into the coast, the Queensland Government handed Adani a water licence that will let them guzzle billions of litres of precious groundwater for 60 years - for free and without any independent review.

Is there any end to what governments will do to ensure this project gets up? Are we still pretending we live in a democracy?

This is what we know:

• The license was approved in secret, without scrutiny by farmers or local community groups. Last year, a special loophole was made in Queensland’s water laws for Adani so local farmers and the community cannot object to this water licence and now have no right of appeal.
• Adani merely needs to monitor and report the amount of water it extracts.
• There are no set limits on the impacts to important aquifers: the Dunda Beds and Clematis Sandstone. Adani decides what limits are acceptable in a report it is only required to provide some unspecified time in the future.

Adani can’t be trusted with our precious water. Adani’s plans risk having a disastrous, long-term impact on aquifers and present a massive risk to farmers and communities relying on that water to survive.

Further reading here.

Queensland’s cuts to water red tape could leave outback bores high and dry. kdliss/Wikimedia Commons