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Fiery Senate exchange reveals investigation into coal firm allegedly clearing endangered greater glider habitat

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Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Australian government officials are investigating whether a coal mining company is putting threatened greater gliders and koalas at risk by illegally clearing bushland in central Queensland without approval under federal law.The revelation came in a fiery Senate estimates hearing in which the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Albanese government for not doing more to stop the clearing and described environment department bureaucrats as “weak” – an allegation she later withdrew.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailOfficials told the hearing there was an “active investigation” into the alleged clearing, which was raised by Queensland Conservation Council in June. Guardian Australia reported in July that the council had obtaining drone footage that appeared to show large areas of cleared bushland at the site of Magnetic South’s Gemini coalmine near Dingo.In a letter to the department and environment minister, Murray Watt, the council alleged Magnetic South had cleared about 200 hectares of greater glider habitat and said it had “urgent concerns” that construction of the mine might have begun without the company first referring its plan for assessment under national environmental law.On Wednesday, officials said the department had inspected the mine site in August and were investigating whether there had been a breach of the law or if there had been a significant impact on threatened species, such as the glider and koala.Hanson-Young asked the officials whether the coal mining company was continuing to work at the site while the investigation was being carried out.A department representative responded “I believe so”, but took the question on notice to confirm the details. They added the company did have authorisation for some activities at the site.Hanson-Young asked if the department had asked the company to stop clearing while the investigation was under way or taken other steps, such as using a ministerial power to call the project in for assessment or seeking an injunction.Officials said they were still considering the clearing allegations and were required to work through the investigation.They said there were no provisions under “compliance enforcement obligations to compel a company to stop” and this was something that was being looked at through the reform process for Australia’s nature laws. They added a court “would not think favourably on an injunction until an investigation has been completed”.Greater glider habitat may be being illegally cleared in central Queensland by a coal mining company. Photograph: Josh BowellIn a heated exchanged, Hanson-Young then raised concerns that a separate investigation of alleged illegal clearing by another coal company – Vitronite – in Queensland was still not complete almost a year since it commenced.Officials said the department was acting on both cases as it was required to under national environment laws.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionHanson-Young called the department “weak” for not taking steps to prevent further work at the Vitronite site.“You could have called for an injunction to stop the work on Vitronite,” she said.“I think we’ve just explained why we haven’t,” the department said.“Because you’re weak,” Hanson-Young responded.The senator withdrew the remark after a request from Watt. The department said its officers were doing their jobs and meeting their “obligations under the law as it currently exists”.Guardian Australia has sought comment from Magnetic South. The company has previously said it took its environmental obligations seriously and was committed to ensuring its operations were carried out in line with federal and state laws.“Magnetic South works constructively with regulatory authorities and prides itself on an uncompromising approach to project delivery within the conditions of its EA [state environmental authority] and mining lease,” they said in July.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called environment department bureaucrats ‘weak’ - though later withdrew the remarkGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian government officials are investigating whether a coal mining company is putting threatened greater gliders and koalas at risk by illegally clearing bushland in central Queensland without approval under federal law.The revelation came in a fiery Senate estimates hearing in which the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Albanese government for not doing more to stop the clearing and described environment department bureaucrats as “weak” – an allegation she later withdrew. Continue reading...

The revelation came in a fiery Senate estimates hearing in which the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the Albanese government for not doing more to stop the clearing and described environment department bureaucrats as “weak” – an allegation she later withdrew.

_{Sign up: AU Breaking News email}

Officials told the hearing there was an “active investigation” into the alleged clearing, which was raised by Queensland Conservation Council in June. Guardian Australia reported in July that the council had obtaining drone footage that appeared to show large areas of cleared bushland at the site of Magnetic South’s Gemini coalmine near Dingo.

In a letter to the department and environment minister, Murray Watt, the council alleged Magnetic South had cleared about 200 hectares of greater glider habitat and said it had “urgent concerns” that construction of the mine might have begun without the company first referring its plan for assessment under national environmental law.

On Wednesday, officials said the department had inspected the mine site in August and were investigating whether there had been a breach of the law or if there had been a significant impact on threatened species, such as the glider and koala.

Hanson-Young asked the officials whether the coal mining company was continuing to work at the site while the investigation was being carried out.

A department representative responded “I believe so”, but took the question on notice to confirm the details. They added the company did have authorisation for some activities at the site.

Hanson-Young asked if the department had asked the company to stop clearing while the investigation was under way or taken other steps, such as using a ministerial power to call the project in for assessment or seeking an injunction.

Officials said they were still considering the clearing allegations and were required to work through the investigation.

They said there were no provisions under “compliance enforcement obligations to compel a company to stop” and this was something that was being looked at through the reform process for Australia’s nature laws. They added a court “would not think favourably on an injunction until an investigation has been completed”.

Greater glider habitat may be being illegally cleared in central Queensland by a coal mining company. Photograph: Josh Bowell

In a heated exchanged, Hanson-Young then raised concerns that a separate investigation of alleged illegal clearing by another coal company – Vitronite – in Queensland was still not complete almost a year since it commenced.

Officials said the department was acting on both cases as it was required to under national environment laws.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Hanson-Young called the department “weak” for not taking steps to prevent further work at the Vitronite site.

“You could have called for an injunction to stop the work on Vitronite,” she said.

“I think we’ve just explained why we haven’t,” the department said.

“Because you’re weak,” Hanson-Young responded.

The senator withdrew the remark after a request from Watt. The department said its officers were doing their jobs and meeting their “obligations under the law as it currently exists”.

Guardian Australia has sought comment from Magnetic South. The company has previously said it took its environmental obligations seriously and was committed to ensuring its operations were carried out in line with federal and state laws.

“Magnetic South works constructively with regulatory authorities and prides itself on an uncompromising approach to project delivery within the conditions of its EA [state environmental authority] and mining lease,” they said in July.

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of

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West Virginia Program That Helped Communities Tackle Abandoned Buildings Is Running Out of Money

A West Virginia program that helped communities demolish abandoned buildings is running out of money, and state lawmakers haven't proposed any new solutions

From their home on Charleston’s, West Virginia's West Side, Tina and Matt Glaspey watched the house on the corner of First Avenue and Fitzgerald Street go downhill fast. A family with a young daughter left because they didn’t feel safe. The next owner died. After that, the police were responding regularly as people broke into the vacant home. The Glaspeys say that in just two years, the small brick house went from occupied to condemned, left without power or water, repeatedly entered by squatters. “One day, we noticed a bright orange sticker on the door saying the building was not safe for habitation,” Tina said. “It shows how quickly things can turn, in just two years, when nothing is done to deal with these properties.” City officials say the house is following the same path as hundreds of other vacant properties across Charleston, which slowly deteriorate until they become unsafe and are added to the city’s priority demolition list, typically including about 30 buildings at a time. Until this year, a state program helped communities tear these buildings down, preventing them from becoming safety hazards for neighborhoods and harming property values. But that money is now depleted. There is no statewide demolition program left, no replacement funding, and no legislation to keep it running, leaving municipalities on their own to absorb the costs or leave vacant buildings standing. Across West Virginia, vacant properties increase while a state program designed to help runs out of money The state’s Demolition Landfill Assistance Program was established in 2021 and was funded a year later with federal COVID-19 recovery funds. Administered through the Department of Environmental Protection, the fund reimbursed local governments for the demolition of abandoned buildings that they couldn’t afford on their own. The state survey was the first step in the program to determine the scope of the need and assess local government capacity to address it. It was distributed to all 55 counties and more than 180 municipalities. However, the need is far greater. Carrie Staton, director of the West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center, has worked with communities on abandoned buildings for about 14 years. She said most counties don’t have the resources, funding or staffing to manage dilapidated housing on their own. “We’re just so rural and so universally rural. Other states have at least a couple of major metro areas that can support this work,” she said. “We don’t. It just takes longer to do everything.” Charleston has spent millions demolishing hundreds of vacant buildings As the state’s largest city, Charleston has more tools than most local governments, including access to federal funds that smaller communities don’t have. That has allowed the city to spend more than $12 million over the past seven years demolishing over 700 unsafe and dilapidated structures.But John Butterworth, a planner for the city, said Charleston still relied on state demolition funding to help cover those costs, which averaged about $10,000 per property, including any environmental cleanup. “It’s a real cost,” he said. “It’s a necessary one to keep neighbors safe, but it is very expensive.”He said the city received $500,000 from the state program during its last round of funding to help tear down properties that drew repeated complaints from neighbors. “I think people are really relieved when we can say that the house that’s been boarded up for a year or more is coming down,” he said. “Where the concern often comes from neighbors is, what comes next?”One vacant home on Grant Street had fallen into disrepair before being demolished in May of last year. Cracks filled the walls. Dirt and moldy debris were caked on the floors. Broken glass and boarded-up windows littered the property as plants overtook the roof and yard. Eventually, the city was able to get the owner to donate the property, which was then given to Habitat for Humanity as part of its home-building program. Now, the property is being rebuilt from scratch. Construction crews have already built the foundation, porch and frame, and it is expected to be finished within the year after its groundbreaking last October. Andrew Blackwood, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha and Putnam counties, said the property stood for at least five years, deteriorating. The home had signs of vandalism and water damage and was completely unsalvageable. He said that of the 190 homes the organization has built in both counties, nearly 90% of them have been complete rebuilds after the previous structure was demolished. A statewide problem without a statewide plan Lawmakers have said they recognize the scale of the problem, but none have proposed other ways for tearing down dangerous structures. Fayette County used state demolition money as it was intended, which was to tear down unsafe buildings that had become public safety hazards to nearby residents. With help from the state program, the county tore down 75 dilapidated structures, officials said, removing some of the most dangerous properties while continuing to track the progress of others through a countywide system. County leaders hoped to expand their demolition efforts on their own this year, but those plans have been put on hold. The county had to take over operations of a local humane society after it faced closure and will need to fundraise, said John Breneman, president of the Fayette County Commission. Former Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, said that kind of budget pressure is exactly why he pushed for state involvement in demolition funding. Swope, who helped create the state fund for the demolition of dilapidated buildings in 2021, said the idea grew from what he saw in places where population loss left empty homes, which local governments had no way to tear down.“They didn’t have any money to tear down the dilapidated properties, so I decided that that should be a state obligation because the state has more flexibility and more access to funding,” he said.Swope said he’d always viewed the need as ongoing, even as state budgets shift from year to year.“I visualized it as a permanent need. I didn’t think you would ever get to the point where it was done,” he said. “I felt like the success of the program would carry its own priority.” But four years later, that funding is gone, and lawmakers haven’t found a replacement. Other states, meanwhile, have created long-term funding for demolition and redevelopment.Ohio, for example, operates a statewide program that provides counties with annual demolition funding. Funds are appropriated from the state budget by lawmakers. Staton said West Virginia’s lack of a plan leaves communities stuck.“Abandoned buildings are in every community, and every legislator has constituents who are dealing with this,” she said. “They know it’s just a matter of finding the funding.”And back on the West Side, the Glaspeys are left staring at boarded windows and an overgrown yard across the street. Matt said, “Sometimes you think, what’s the point of fixing up your own place if everything around you is collapsing?” This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

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Fiery Senate exchange reveals investigation into coal firm allegedly clearing endangered greater glider habitat

Related News

West Virginia Program That Helped Communities Tackle Abandoned Buildings Is Running Out of Money

Webinar: Cell Tower Risks 101 - What You Need To Know To Protect Your Community

EPA Funding Salvaged in US Congress Spending Bill

Funding bill excludes controversial pesticide provision hated by MAHA

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Suggested Viewing

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a sustainable future

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Fiery Senate exchange reveals investigation into coal firm allegedly clearing endangered greater glider habitat

Related News

West Virginia Program That Helped Communities Tackle Abandoned Buildings Is Running Out of Money

Webinar: Cell Tower Risks 101 - What You Need To Know To Protect Your Community

EPA Funding Salvaged in US Congress Spending Bill

Funding bill excludes controversial pesticide provision hated by MAHA

Hey Jon Stewart, Jokes About Wearing Masks Aren’t Funny

Suggested Viewing

THE SPRAYER

Descended: The Fight for Harris Neck

Jetty Cats

Lake Victoria: An Ecosystem in Turmoil

Let's talk about it! (International Politics is NOT a child's play)

Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future