Australia's High Court has struck down a state regulator's approval for a large coalmine expansion in the Hunter Valley. The court's decision, delivered on Wednesday, sided with community members who opposed the expansion, which could have allowed the mine to operate until 2048.
The judgment follows comments made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May, where he expressed support for "existing industries" such as coal and hoped the community group would lose the Mount Pleasant mine expansion case, stating it had "been through appropriate approvals."
Critics have highlighted a contrast between the Prime Minister's stance on the coalmine and his recent message at a climate conference in Fiji. Albanese led a delegation to Tuvalu, a nation experiencing sea level rise at about twice the global average, and heard a plea from a 13-year-old for global cooperation to protect small islands.
During the pre-Cop31 meeting, Albanese also heard from Nepal's foreign affairs minister, Shisir Khanal, who described climate impacts in his country as "the very definition of climate injustice," noting that neither Nepal nor Pacific nations contribute significantly to global emissions. Albanese acknowledged these "extraordinarily traumatic" climate events in a speech before departing Fiji on Wednesday, advocating for more international investment in the Pacific Resilience Facility.