RE:WTFI personally don't understand why the halts have been too long but I disagree the goal posts have been moved. It's clear that the decision will now/soon be in the Ministers' hands. And it has also been made explicitly clear the decision is being made based on what was provided in 2015 and nothing since then.
The November 3rd letter includes the following re: option 2:
Option 2 would result in the further assessment process as outlined in the Further Assessment Order coming to an end with Ministers moving to make a decision on whether or not to issue and EA Certificate based solely on existing information provided for the 2015 decision.
If Ministers select option 2, the first step would be to notify PBM and Indigenous nations that the Further Assessment Order has been rescinded. The EAO would then provide the 2015 decision materials to Ministers for their decision on whether or not to issue an EA Certificate. The EAO noted to all parties that proceeding to a decision without completion of the further assessment process would mean that Ministers would be making a decision based solely on existing information provided for the 2015 decision
If the Ministers' were to make a decision and include a reference to the recent happenings with FNs, that opens them up to another court challenge which IMO they would lose given how explicit they are here about it.