Not in our backyard: coal port faces fight

Whitsunday residents are bound for court in a bid to show the Queensland government failed the environment when it approved a port expansion for Adani's new mega-coal mine.

Whitsunday Residents Against Dumping say dredging required for Adani's expansion of the Abbot Point coal terminal, north of Bowen, could do untold environmental harm and the mine itself will fuel global warming and endanger the reef.

Lawyers for the group will appear in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Friday, arguing Queensland's environment department failed to properly assess the port project before it gave Adani the go ahead.

The expansion is needed to ship coal from Adani's planned $16 billion Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.

Grandmother and action group spokeswoman Sandra Williams says she's stunned by the government's support for a project that could do so much harm to fragile ecosystems.

"We believe the state government's approval of a project that will ship millions of tonnes of coal through our vulnerable Great Barrier Reef was not made lawfully," she said on Friday.

"Adani's controversial port project could push the reef to the edge, risking more irreparable damage. Adding insult to injury, the burning of coal from Adani's massive mine will further fuel climate change causing continued coral bleaching events."

The group also holds serious concerns for the Caley Valley wetlands because dredge spoil will be dumped nearby.

But the Palaszczuk government has defended its plan, and says dredge spoil will be disposed of on land adjacent to the existing coal terminal, not on the Caley Valley wetlands or within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The action group's case will be heart in the Supreme Court in Brisbane from 10am (AEST).