"CANBERRA, Australia — Australia for the first time has rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law, with the government minister citing the open-pit mine’s potential harm to the nearby Great Barrier Reef.

The government is under pressure to curb climate change by blocking all new coal and gas extraction projects. Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of both fossil fuels, which are major sources of the nation’s wealth. But Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said Thursday she would decide individual projects on their merits.

“I will make each decision that comes before me on a case-by-case basis according to the law and according to the science that is available,” Plibersek told Parliament."

Rod McGuirk reports for the Associated Presss February 10, 2023. [2]