The premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the deal demonstrated her support for "responsible and sustainable development" of the port and the Galilee Basin, inland from Bowen in north Queensland.
He said the Queensland government would "continue to provide concessions to eligible Queensland pensioners".
Documents tendered to the Icac also revealed new federal Labor MP, Queenslander Jim Chalmers, was hired to lobby the then Queensland Labor premier Anna Bligh in 2007 for AWH to expand its operations to the state.
"I can only assume it's a mistake," George said, when asked why flights to Queensland were approved as expenses to be charged to Sydney Water.
The Queensland government will submit a new application to the federal environment minister Greg Hunt for the dredging proposal, centred on the "T2" site, previously abandoned by BHP.
In Queensland, it seems, bands can't wait to queue up to offer support – or at the least, their silence – in exchange for a few dollars.
Balmain and the central Queensland town of Barcaldine are claimed as the "birthplaces" of the ALP.
Several port expansions are planned to facilitate this, although BHP has pulled out of one project amid concerns that Queensland already has a surplus of port capacity.
GVK said the mine, located near the Queensland town of Alpha, is expected to last for at least 30 years, producing up to 30m tonnes of thermal coal a year for export.
The AFP said in its own submission that regimes for delayed notification search warrants or covert searches were "in place in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, WA and the Northern Territory, as well as Canada, the UK and the United States of America".
The World Heritage provisions of Australia's federal environmental laws provide these protections, ensure the national interest is pursued in decision-making, and make sure the national government is able to meet its obligations under the World Heritage Convention," Henry wrote on the day the Queensland and federal governments signed the MOU.
