The facts
On 7 October 2026 the High Court of Australia, in a 3‑2 split decision, ruled that the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) erred by not requiring conditions to limit scope 3 greenhouse‑gas emissions from the proposed Mount Pleasant coal‑mine expansion by MACH Energy. Scope 3 emissions are those generated when the coal is sold and burnt overseas and are not counted in Australia’s domestic emissions tally. The case was brought by the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMS HEG) after the NSW Court of Appeal halted the expansion on climate grounds. Deputy Greens leader Steph Hodgins‑May said the judgment sends a clear message that exported emissions cannot be ignored. Greens MP Sue Higginson warned the ruling could create legal difficulty for the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) extension, noting that 98 % of emissions from both projects are scope 3. Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan called the decision a threat to Australia’s energy‑export reputation and urged legislative changes.
Our take
Well, shit. The High Court has finally called time on the fossil fuel industry's favorite party trick: the magical disappearing emissions. For years, these coal-peddling cunts have been selling the world's most elaborate shell game, where the carbon produced when their shit gets burned in Japan or China simply vanishes from the ledger, like a fart in a hurricane. The NSW Independent Planning Commission, a collection of professional rug-sweepers, tried to approve the Mount Pleasant expansion by pretending that 98 percent of its climate-fucking potential wasn't their problem. They must have thought the law was as fucking gullible as they are.
The judges, in their infinite wisdom, looked at this bullshit and said 'nah, fuck that.' It's a beautiful, petty, and deeply specific legal fuck-you. The ruling says you can't just count the smoke from your own chimney while ignoring the inferno you're shipping overseas. It's like a murderer arguing they're not responsible because the bullet traveled three feet after it left the barrel. The sheer, ballsy stupidity of the coal lobby's position is now a matter of court record, and it's a gift-wrapped legal sledgehammer for every community group with the guts to use it.
Enter the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, a bunch of absolute legends with a name longer than a coal train and the persistence of a fucking hemorrhoid. They dragged this shit all the way to the highest court in the land and won. Now, every other coal project with a similar 'out of sight, out of mind' business plan is sweating like a paedophile at a Wiggles concert. Greens MP Sue Higginson is right: this could create a 'legal difficulty' for the Hunter Valley Operations extension. 'Legal difficulty' is newspeak for 'your multi-billion-dollar grift is now fucked.'
Of course, the usual dickheads are already crying. Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan are clutching their pearls and screaming about Australia's 'energy-export reputation.' What they mean is their reputation for selling climate catastrophe on a fucking credit card. They want legislative changes to protect their right to poison the planet for profit. They're not statesmen; they're glorified drug dealers complaining that the cops are being mean about their export business. This ruling doesn't threaten energy exports; it threatens the ability of a few greedy pricks to pretend they're not setting the world on fire for a paycheck. It's a precedent that could force every planning dickhead in the country to finally do the fucking math on the whole lifecycle of their climate arson. The game is up, you absolute bastards.
