‘Beggars belief’: calls for federal intervention after extension to ‘carbon bomb’ open-cut coalmine approved by Queensland government

The Hail Creek coalmine in central Queensland, operated by Glencore, has been approved by the state government to expand, including the clearing of 600 hectares of koala habitat. Photograph: Lock the Gate

Environmental groups have called on the federal government to intervene after Australia’s most methane-polluting open-cut coalmine was approved for extension.

A proposed expansion of the Hail Creek coalmine in central Queensland, described by conservationists as a “carbon bomb”, was backed by the state’s government on Wednesday.