Queensland community groups have written to the state Environment Minister calling on the Palaszczuk Government to urgently fix loopholes in new rehabilitation legislation after a mining company was able to argue down the cost of a bond by more than $45M in court.

The overwhelming lion’s share of benefits to be reaped from the Morrison and Gunner governments’ foolish decision to jointly spend $217M of taxpayers’ money on roads to prop up the gas industry in the Beetaloo Basin looks set to go to a “junior” oil and gas company following a takeover announcement.

Lock the Gate Alliance has renewed its call for the Morrison Government to stop wasting public money to prop up polluting and dangerous gas projects following criticism of the plan by energy experts aired overnight.

The latest planned coal project expansion to come before NSW's Independent Planning Commission is symptomatic of the State Government’s failure to address unacceptable cumulative impacts on the region’s air quality, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.

An independent hydrological analysis has found there may be a risk of contaminants from the former Linc Energy Underground Coal Gasification disaster zone moving offsite if Arrow Energy is permitted to build a gasfield in the immediate area as planned.