High Court orders fresh hearings into approvals for New Acland coal mine expansion

The High Court has ordered fresh hearings into the planned expansion of a controversial coal mine on Queensland’s Darling Downs, potentially putting a halt to the project.

The court has spent the past four months considering an appeal from the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) against the stage 3 expansion of the New Acland coal mine, 180 kilometres west of Brisbane.

The OCAA, which comprises more than 60 landholders, has opposed the project since the approvals…