High court stops coal mine expansion in Australia
Australia's highest court ruled against expanding a huge coal project in New South Wales this week.
Retired teachers Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan filed a lawsuit when officials greenlit the initiative in 2022. They claimed plans to run the mine longer and increase production ignored national goals to reduce pollution.
The state appeal court agreed in 2025, stating the initial permission was illegal because planners missed the climate damage from burning fuel. This decision established a legal standard for approving fossil fuel projects across the whole country.
MACH Energy then appealed to the nation's top court, but judges rejected their request on Wednesday. The final judgment confirms that extracting coal and shipping it abroad cannot ignore the resulting climate harm to local people.
Wales noted that the group always knew digging up coal would cause climate change that affects everyone directly. MACH Energy accepted the verdict without further contesting the outcome reached by the judges today as reported by environmental groups.