Adani coalmine delayed? Australian senate fails to pass crucial "reform" amendment for project's financial closure

Adanis' Mundra power plant, controversial in Australia

By A Representative
In what is being described as a new “new hurdle”, the proposed Adani coalmine in the Queensland state of in Australia failed to get the crucial Australian Parliamentary nod, essential for financial closure for one of the biggest coalmining projects in the world. The government lost the Senate vote 35-33, meaning the legislation won't pass until the Senate returns in mid-June.
The Australian Parliament was to pass “critical reforms to native title laws, designed to remove a key obstacle to the project going ahead”, but the crucial vote was postponed. Following the defeat, Attorney-General George Brandis moved to suspend the Senate's schedule.

In India last month, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised Gautam Adani, chairman of the powerful Adani Group, known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that he would deliver the reforms to Australia’s native title regime to ensure that the Adani “could secure an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with Traditional Owners.”
“In failing to secure the important legal change, Adani continues to be unable to move to financial closure. The Carmichael project in Queensland is yet again delayed, and remains in limbo seven years after the top Indian business group acquired the project proposal and promised first coal by 2014,” said Tim Buckley from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
While Australian Resources Minister Matt Canavan has told the Australian media that this “does put into question [Adani’s coal] project. It does mean [Adani] will have a delay in their final investment decision”, Labor leader Bill Shorten, following the vote, said his party would support the laws when they would come for vote in mid-June.
However, Greens senator Rachel Siewert accused the government of ignoring issues with the proposed changes."They want to rush this through so Adani can go ahead with their dirty coalmine," she said.
"Though the failure of the Senate to pass the amendments today will mean some delays in some early works, the company remains on track to make the crucial financial decision this month," an Adani spokesman said.
The legislation amendments the Native Title Act to resolve legal uncertainty around more than 120 indigenous land use agreements relating to major projects, including the $21 billion Carmichael mine.
Meanwhile, the powerful Australian environmental lobby opposing the coalmining project has begun to make the Adani threat to close down the Mundra power project in Gujarat following the Supreme Court disallowing any revision in the price at which the power is to be sold an example to show why the Australian coalmining project is not viable.
“The admission by Adani Power’s management this week that the 4.6GW Mundra Power Plant is not able to viably produce electricity from expensive, imported coal is another serious obstacle to this Carmichael coal proposal ever reaching financial close”, said Buckley.
“Not only does this require a US$600m write-off of contingent revenues previously booked, but it calls into question the stranded asset risks associated with the entire 4.6GW US$5bn capital investment”, he insisted.
“The latest solar tariff result this week for the Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan at a record low Rs2.62/kWh continues to call into question the strategic and commercial viability of any proposed coalmine premised on ongoing Indian thermal coal import demand, a strategy clearly out of alignment with the Government of India’s stated strategy for zero thermal coal imports,” Buckley insisted.

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

Search This Blog