Australia's federal Department of Environment gave its approval for Chinese mining firm Shenhua's Watermark coal mine in New South Wales' Liverpool Plains. The approval means the mine will likely get all government permits necessary for mining to commence, but politicians and local residents opposed to the mine's development have vowed to continue fighting to halt the project. The Liverpool Plains region is one of Australia's most agriculturally productive, which has farmers concerned about the effects mining may have on the region's aquifers.

Australian government officials welcomed a decision by the United Nations' Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) not to list the Great Barrier Reef among World Heritage Sites considered "in danger." Effects of climate change and coastal development prompted the organization to review the status of the world's largest reef in May. The recent determination affirms the earlier decision that the reef does not warrant endangered status.

A May 5, 2015, vote by the Victorian Parliament will ban cattle grazing in national parks within the Australian state. The ban affects all national parks in the state, and follows a controversial trial period for grazing in Alpine National Park instituted by the previous administration.

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, overturned a license suspension that has prohibited the energy company Metgasco from proceeding with a major gas-drilling project on the state's northern coast since May 2014. The suspension, issued by the Office of Coal Seam Gas, was declared unlawful due in part to the office's consideration of negative responses during the company's community consultation process. The court said the office should have considered the quality of the consultation process itself, not its outcome.

On March 31, an Australian court began hearing arguments in a case challenging what would be the country's largest coal mine. The environmental group Coast and Country filed suit in the Land Court of Queensland against Indian mining conglomerate Adani and the company's proposed Carmichael mine. The $16.5 billion project would consist of strip and underground mining and cover about 174 square miles. Coast and Country argued that the coal mine presents an unacceptable risk to the climate, groundwater, the Great Barrier Reef, and endangered species, including the black-throated finch.

Australia has announced a ban on the importation of African lion trophies in an effort to stop "canned hunting" of the big cats. Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced the ban, which goes into effect immediately, at the Global March for Lions held in Melbourne. Hunt decried the inhumane conditions involved in the practice, which can involve drugging or baiting the animals.

Parties reached a settlement agreement worth $235 million in compensation for victims of one of Australia's deadly 2009 wildfires. Defendants included Victoria government agencies and utility companies, with AusNet Electricity Services agreeing to the largest sum of $204.5 million. The settlement marks the end of a series of lawsuits stemming from fires that ravaged rural Victoria on February 7, 2009, in what has become known as "Black Saturday." Total compensation now amounts to approximately $627 million.

The Australian government has declared it will not list 5 of the 31 species covered by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, which Australia consented to in November. The five species, all sharks, include two species of hammerheads and three species of threshers. Australia’s Environment Minister said the reservation from the Convention is necessary because the country’s domestic laws are stricter than required by the agreement, and the listing would result in unintended consequences and unreasonably harsh penalties for violations.

An Aboriginal community in southwest Queensland, Australia, has filed an appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Mithaka people claim the state government violated international law by failing to consult the group before removing protective status for certain rivers in order to open the region to shale oil exploration. The group fears hydraulic fracturing will threaten rights to their traditional culture, which is closely associated with the area's waterways.

In Australia, the government of Prime Minister Abbott has instructed the nation’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation to prepare to cease investments by the end of 2014 and to cease operations by late June 2015. The bank, which was established by the former Labor government to provide commercial loans to clean energy projects, has stated that it will continue to operate normally until the legislature amends the legislation that establishes the organization. “The fact that we have to prepare our accounts this way makes no difference to what we do.