Whitehaven Coal has an extensive track record of destructive, reckless and illegal behaviour. The company has committed over 100 offences, and been fined or investigated 35 times. Its current and proposed coal projects will cause serious harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage, the environment, and the global climate. These factors have made Whitehaven Coal one of the most frequently litigated coal companies in Australia. Below are some of the many court cases involving Whitehaven Coal.
Whitehaven faces 8 blasting cases in the NSW Land and Environment Court related to repeated nitrogen dioxide fumes which were released at the Maules Creek mine on multiple occasions threatening the health of workers and the local environment of the Leard State Forest.
ACF and MCG are challenging the approval of Whitehaven Coal’s proposed WInchester South coal mine in the QLD Land Court. They will argue that no mining lease or approval should be granted due to the projects significant environmental and human rights impacts. The case follows the successful Youth Verdict case which challenged Waratah Coal’s Galilee Coal Project and led to that project being rejected.
The Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) ran a landmark climate legal intervention, requesting the Environment Minister reconsider the climate risks from many coal and gas proposals - including Whitehaven’s Narrabri coal expansion and Winchester South coal mine.
Whitehaven were found guilty of 4 criminal charges related to an incompetent blast that injured workers at a nearby mine.
A group of bushfire survivors challenged the Independent Planning Commission's decision to approve an application to extend Whitehaven’s Narrabri coal mine. They argued approving such a large coal expansion was unreasonable and irrational in light of the climate crisis and its impacts.
Maules Creek Coal, a subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal, was convicted and ordered to pay more than $158,000 by the Land and Environment Court following three separate events where sediment laden water escaped from the mine site during heavy rain, and spilled into Back Creek.
Maules Creek Coal, a subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal, was fined $187,500 for stealing a billion litres of water without an access licence.
Narrabri Coal, a subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal, was convicted and fined $372,500 for breaching licence conditions for 10 incidences at its Narrabri Underground mine, including construction of unauthorised tracks, drilling boreholes in the wrong locations and failing to rehabilitate drilling sites.
SEFR launched legal action against Whitehaven for failing to secure thousands of hectares of biodiversity offsets for its Maules Creek Coal mine. The case was discontinued after the Federal Environment Minister varied the mine's conditions.
Whitehaven were ordered to pay $38,500 for failing to blast competently so blast fumes left the site and drifted over neighbouring properties.