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Coal mining endangers Sydney water catchment: study

The Sydney Morning Herald reports coal mining in Sydney's water catchment is placing at risk sensitive and endangered swamplands that once damaged, can never be repaired, according to an independent hydrologist.

Philip Pells, who reviewed highland peat swamps above the Springvale coal mine for the Colong Foundation for Wilderness, also challenged claims made by owner Centennial Coal that impacts from past mining had been “negligible”

“You've got a very fragile system up there that can be upset by very small changes and you can't predict them,” Pells said.

ATO drops tax case against Russian oligarch

The Australian Taxation Office has dropped its case against a Russian oligarch it alleged owed $34 million in unpaid taxes after resolving the dispute, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Federal Court on Monday set aside a freezing order over $116 million worth of Australian shares owned by Vladimir Iorich's Swiss-based Pala Investments that was originally issued on the request of the ATO's Project Wickenby team.

As a result of the ATO's actions, Pala's $107 million worth of shares in mid-tier gold miner Alacer Gold were frozen by the Federal Court, as was the group's 6% holding in Perth-based uranium explorer Peninsula Energy, which is valued at more than $9 million.

Queensland Nickel fills state coffers

The collapse of Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel will have a major impact on the profitability of the state-owned Port of Townsville and the cash-strapped Palaszczuk government's budget, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt – who will hold emergency talks with administrators this week – is desperate to find ways to keep the refinery open to avoid the economic fallout, which would make his task much harder in his second budget in June.