BY ISABEL EVERETT
The Greens are introducing a plan to tackle what they say is an air pollution crisis in the Upper Hunter.
The corner stone of the plan is the Clean Air bill, which will be tabled in State Parliament on May 5.
The bill would force coal-fired power stations to cut emissions to mandatory levels similar to those in the U.S, Europe and China.
Other parts of the plan call for a ban on any new or expanded open cut mines being approved in the Upper Hunter, coal trains to be covered, and for continuous monitoring and reporting of all stack emissions from power stations.
Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd says 10 pollution alerts were issued in the Hunter Valley in January 2021 alone.
“Our Bill will force the remaining coal-fired power stations in NSW, including Bayswater, to meet the higher air quality standards legally mandated in the United States, Europe and China.
“For too long, operators of coal-fired power stations have profited, refusing to pay the costs of reducing emissions while forcing communities here in the Hunter Valley to pay the price with higher rates of serious illnesses like heart disease, lung cancer and asthma.”
The Party's Upper Hunter by-election candidate, Sue Abbott, says existing pollution controls aren't sufficient.
“No matter where you live you have the fundamental right to breathe clean air."
“Currently people who live within 50kms of coal-fired power stations face a risk of premature death as much as three to four times that of people living further away, with some of these toxic emissions travelling over 200kms."
"It’s not good enough, and that’s exactly why we are introducing the Clean Air Bill.”
