Anti-Adani protesters hijack PM’s budget speech
An anti-Adani protester storms the stage at the PM's address. Photo: AAP
Anti-Adani protesters have hijacked the Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s budget address in Brisbane on Monday, chanting “Climate election, no more coal.”
Two anti-Adani protesters stormed the stage to disrupt Mr Morrison talking at a business lunch.
One woman carrying a ‘stop Adani’ protest flag managed to reach Mr Morrison’s side as he began his address at the Valley Chamber of Commerce.
As she was dragged from the stage by security, a second protester also stood to disrupt the lunch yelling “stop Adani”.
The Prime Minister appeared to take the interruption in his stride, saying: “Do we have contestant number three?” as the protesters were jeered and removed from the venue.
Then a table of 10 protesters started chanting “climate election, no more coal” before they were escorted out by security while about 100 more protesters stood outside the event.
It comes as Environment Minister Melissa Price is under increasing pressure to complete approvals for the controversial Adani mine, with a Queensland MP reportedly threatening to call for her resignation.
The $2 billion Adani mine is shaping up as a political hot potato for the Coalition as the federal election looms, with Queensland and Victorian MPs at odds over the fate of the mine.
Ms Price is still working on sub-approvals amid the reported threat from Liberal senator James McGrath, who famously helped bring down former prime ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.
As the issue drags on, Senator McGrath will publicly call on Ms Price to resign unless she approves the groundwater management plan.
However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who was environment minister before Ms Price, said the vast majority of federal environmental approvals for the Adani mine were done.
Mr Frydenberg played down the tensions when asked about the threat on Monday.
“Melissa Price is going through the proper process, working with the scientists, taking the best possible advice,” he said in Melbourne.
“The Adani project is one where the major approvals have been given and it is now going through the sub-approvals.”
Mr Frydenberg said there were “180 rigorous environmental conditions attached” to the Adani coal mine project, which is proposed for central Queensland.
Queensland Nationals and conservative Liberal MPs are increasingly restless for the Galilee Basin project to go ahead, while their Victorian colleagues worry it will hurt the vote in their electorates.
Thousands of anti-Adani and pro-climate change action protesters have also taken to the streets in recent months to voice anger against the government.
The Adani project has struggled to attract financial backers and the company said late last year that it would self-fund construction of a scaled-down version of the original mine plan.
Adani announced in October that it would scaling back the size and scope of the mine, from a 60 million tonnes a year $16.5 billion mega-mine, to a more manageable 10 to 15 million tonnes a year, costing about $2 billion.
-with AAP
