Rockhampton-based Senator Matt Canavan has called on the Queensland Government to grant a mining lease for the Adani coal project.

“The Labor Government is dragging its feet on this issue and it’s time they granted the mining lease,” Senator Canavan said.

“Thousands of jobs in regional Queensland depend on this project going ahead as quickly as it can, and the biggest single problem is delay in the Queensland Government granting a lease.

“This week we have seen the media reporting on two major issues affecting the Queensland economy.

“The first is the severe downturn caused by the transition of major mining projects from development to production, with consequent job losses in the thousands.

“The second is continuing State Government delay in approving a mining lease for Adani, which would create thousands of new jobs.

“Surely, the Queensland Government can understand the urgent need to get on with the Adani projects after six years of approval processes. It’s time.

“I’m not sure whether the State Government is malevolent, incompetent or timid, or all three all at once, but from the outside it looks like Labor’s policies on development for North Queensland, especially mining policy, are being drafted for them by environmental activists.”