Linc handed $4.5m fine

Company’s actions a blight, says QRC’s Macfarlane

QUEENSLAND Resources Council CEO Ian Macfarlane has taken aim at former Linc Energy CEO Peter Bond over his assertion that the guilty verdict in the Linc Energy trial was “meaningless”.

Mr Bond made the comments to The Australian last month after jurors found Linc Energy guilty of five counts of wilfully and unlawfully causing environmental harm at its underground coal gasification plant at Chinchilla, west of Brisbane.

Linc Energy is in liquidation and did not offer any defence at the trial.

Speaking at a press conference in Toowoomba today after the company was handed a $4.5 million fine from District Court Judge Michael Shanahan, Mr Macfarlane said Mr Bond “needed to have some respect for the rules”.

“And I think the judgement today highlighted that Linc didn’t abide by the rules - in fact (it) continued to operate even though it knew it was breaching the rules - so I think Peter needs to have a look at what the law stands for and respect it,” Mr Macfarlane said.

Underground Coal Gasification was banned in 2017 by the State Government.

When asked whether the experimental underground coal gasification project should have been approved in the first place, Mr Macfarlane said the pilot UCG program was “an experimental project, and for all intents and purposes the process was viable”.

“The reality is though that the company failed to comply with the regulations that were set down around it,” he said.

Mr Macfarlane said the $4.5 million fine handed to the company today was appropriate.

“This has been a blight in terms of the environment and the resources council supports the ruling of the court today.”

He also said QRC was working with the government to introduce financial assurance processes for when a company went into liquidation and wasn’t able to pay fines or for rehabilitation. The penalty is the highest ever imposed under Queensland law for environmental offending.

Lock the Gate spokesperson Vicki Perrin said the group was deeply concerned about Linc Energy’s ability to pay, given it was in liquidation.