The conservation group attacked by the Abbott government after its legal challenge to Australia’s largest proposed coalmine had its taxpayer funding more than doubled by the former Queensland Liberal National party government.
Mackay Conservation Group, whose federal court action led to the commonwealth conceding its approval of Adani’s Carmichael mine was invalid owing to lack of regard for vulnerable snake and skink species, received $150,000 funding over the life of the Newman government between 2012 and 2015, according to figures seen by Guardian Australia.
The group, which the treasurer, Joe Hockey, has criticised for taking legal action despite being based hundreds of kilometres from the proposed mine, received just $70,000 in the previous three years from the then Labor government.
Its funding boost was in stark contrast to the Newman government’s treatment of higher-profile conservation groups – including the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Environmental Defenders Office Queensland and the Wilderness Society, which all had their funding cut to zero.
Mackay Conservation Group went on to mount a federal court case that prompted the Abbott government’s move to change environmental approval laws in an attempt to end what the attorney general, George Brandis, has branded “vigilante litigaton” by green groups trying to stymie mining projects.
Adani is to face another federal court challenge to its mine next month from the traditional landowners of its Galilee basin site, the Wangan and Jagalingou people.
This comes amid revelations the former Newman government spent $1.6m on a public relations campaign to lift its poor image on protection of the Great Barrier Reef in the wake of moves by Adani to expand its Abbot Point coalport.
The Queensland minister for the environment and the reef, Steven Miles, said the use of taxpayer funds for this was “unethical” and “one of the most cynical, politically motivated acts I’ve seen”.
The Newman government mounted the campaign last year after research by the firm TNS for the environment department found there was “an issue of trust” with its management of the reef, with half of Queensland residents believing it favoured economic interests over the long-term health of the natural treasure.
The research revealed the government had established its website Reef Facts in an attempt to counter public concern triggered by commonwealth approval of Adani’s plan to expand its Abbot Point port and to dump seabed waste from dredging in the reef marine park.
Reef Facts was intended to address what some environment department officials felt was “misinformation” from conservation groups leading up to a decision by Unesco on whether to list the reef as “in danger”. The research showed environmental group websites ranked alongside the government’s own sites as the most trusted sources of information on the reef.
But the PR firm Rowland found a further campaign was needed to “reset the language and style” of government messages on the reef, suggesting the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, and his then state counterpart, Andrew Powell, sign public “pledges” promising reef protection.
Rowland also suggested the state government write directly to investment bank chief executives last August to reassure them that “Australia’s commitment to reef protection and management ensures the reef is a safe long-term investment for industry and business”.
The Newman government flagged spending $2.4m on the campaign but only spent $1.6m – including $647,000 on media advertising. It cut the PR offensive after the G20 summit in Brisbane last November, when a speech by the US president, Barack Obama, about conserving the reef angered the Abbott and Newman governments.
Miles said he was “appalled that instead of trying to fix the reef, the LNP government tried to fix their reputation – using government resources to splash out on TV ads and social media gurus”.
“The idea that the LNP would rather spend money on spinning a story about the health of the reef instead of actually doing something to find a solution is one of the most cynical, politically motivated acts I’ve seen.”
The former Newman LNP government introduced its own laws to stop so-called “third party” legal challenges to mines but lost office before they took effect. The Palaszczuk Labor government has since struck out the laws.
But the LNP lifted funding for Mackay Conservation Group upon taking office in 2012, which the group’s spokeswoman Christine Carlisle said it was “of course pleased” about but was never told why.
Carlisle said the state government funding, which came in three-year cycles, could only pay for the organisation’s rent, research and some coordinated activities.
The federal court challenge to Carmichael was funded by more than 15,000 donations – the bulk of them ranging from $10 to $50 – through a campaign by activist group GetUp, said a fellow group campaigner, Ellen Roberts.
Queensland’s shadow environment minister, Stephen Bennett said the former government had made clear to Mackay Conservation Group and others that their funding “had to be project based and not a skerrick could go towards court action”.
Bennett said conservation groups “need to decide” about their core business.
“If it’s local, conservation-based efforts that inspire future generations to care about the environment then that’s fine. If their intent is to run campaigns designed to frustrate genuine economic growth that meets high environmental standards I think they need to question (whether they should) continue to receive government funding.”
