---
title: Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal withdraws supreme court appeal
description: A Clive Palmer-owned mining company has withdrawn its appeal against a landmark ruling that its giant thermal coalmine project would worsen the climate crisis and infringe on the human rights of future generations.
---
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The Canopy is a weekday morning email newsletter provided by the team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
# Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal withdraws supreme court appeal
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
A Clive Palmer-owned mining company has withdrawn its appeal against a landmark ruling that its giant thermal coalmine project would worsen the climate crisis and infringe on the human rights of future generations. The Queensland land court found the emissions from the burning of the coal would, through its effects on global heating, limit the human and cultural rights of First Nations people and young Queenslanders.
A full bench of the High Court has set aside three days this week to hear a case in which two vehicle owners are fighting the constitutional right of the Victorian government to levy road user charges against electric vehicle owners. The plaintiffs argue that EV drivers shouldn’t be slogged with a per-kilometre road use tax that the Victorian Parliament legislated in 2020.
And across the ditch, New Zealand has declared a state of national emergency for only the third time ever after Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed homes, left people stranded, and downed communication networks. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has warned the conditions will get worse before they get better, with winds already hitting 130 km/h.
TOP STORIES:
[Clive Palmer-owned company withdraws appeal against ruling that coalmine would worsen climate crisis](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/13/clive-palmer-owned-company-withdraws-appeal-against-ruling-that-coalmine-would-worsen-climate-crisis)
Lawyers for Waratah Coal have told Queensland’s supreme court it was discontinuing its appeal against the state’s land court decision in a case brought by First Nations young women and environmentalists.
[High Court hears the vigorous debate over EV road user charging](https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8083261/is-an-ev-road-user-tax-fair-high-court-hears-the-arguments/?cs=14264)
A full bench of the High Court has set aside three days this week to hear a case in which two vehicle owners are fighting the constitutional right of the Victorian government to levy road user charges against electric vehicle owners.
[Cyclone Gabrielle: New Zealand declares national state of emergency](https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/roofs-lifting-off-homes-people-evacuated-as-cyclone-gabrielle-lashes-new-zealand-20230213-p5ck8h.html)
People are trapped on homes and roofs by flooding, landslides have destroyed homes, and a national state of emergency has been declared as Cyclone Gabrielle continues to batter New Zealand.
[Severe storms forecast for parts of Far North and south-east Queensland as firefighters battle blazes in the west](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-14/queensland-wet-weather-rainfall-forecast-severe-thunderstorms/101968480)
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of several different types of weather hazards across Queensland this week, including flooding, a potential tropical cyclone, heatwave, fire weather, hazardous surf and severe storms.
[Tanya Plibersek urged to intervene to stop stockpiled soft plastics from being dumped](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/14/tanya-plibersek-urged-to-intervene-to-stop-stockpiled-soft-plastics-from-being-dumped)
Environment groups are urging federal and state governments to ensure thousands of tonnes of soft plastic that could end up in landfill are safely warehoused by supermarket chains until recycling facilities become available, even if that takes years.
[Senators air concerns on signature emissions measure](https://au.news.yahoo.com/safeguard-scheme-could-harm-efficiency-011647452.html)
The future of the government's proposed safeguard mechanism remains up in the air, with key crossbench senators indicating concerns with the scheme, warning it may allow major climate emitters to continue to pollute.
[Report calls for end to outdated logging of NSW native forests](https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/02/13/logging-nsw-native-forests/)
Native forest logging releases about 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year – equivalent to 890,000 additional cars on the road or 390,000 return flights to London, according to a new report authored by Dr Jennifer Sanger from The Tree Projects.
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