Federal MP alleges Hunter mine operators lying about coal quality

BY DAKOTA TAIT

The Federal Government is seeking a briefing from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, after claims aired in Parliament, mine operators across the Hunter and Australia, are lying about coal quality. 

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie raised the allegations in Canberra on Monday, naming local operators Glencore and Peabody, as well as Anglo-American and Macquarie Bank. 

He told Parliament, a whistleblower coal executive has handed over thousands of documents as proof. 

The documents are purported to show fraud making out that Australian exports are of higher and cleaner quality than they actually are.

Testing firm ALS has also been implicated, just two years after admitting to falsifying up to 50 percent of results at its Newcastle lab. 

The corporate regulator has taken no action on ALS, but four staff members were suspended and then left the company.

If true, the allegations are likely to raise questions about the impact on emissions and the environment, as well as overseas sales and the economy.

Greens make final pitch to Hunter voters ahead of election weekend

BY DAKOTA TAIT

The Greens have made a last-minute pitch to Hunter voters, just days out from the Federal Election.

It's considered a real possibility the minor party could hold the balance of power from the crossbench, offering confidence and supply to the next Government in the case of a hung parliament.

The party's promising to address local issues including housing affordability, for dental to be included in medicare coverage, climate action, and a 10-year job-for-job guarantee scheme for coal workers through the energy transition.

Senate Candidate David Shoebridge says mining jobs won't stick around, and the major parties need to prepare today.

"It's remarkable that both other major parties seem to think that coal's future will go on indefinitely," Mr Shoebridge said.

"We know that's not true, and we need politics to be honest about this, but also ensure that coal-dependent communities and coal-dependent economies have not just a lifeline, but a prosperous post-coal future."

The party's pushing a six percent wealth tax on billionaires, as well as a crackdown on tax avoidance and subsidies for corporations, to help fund the policies.

Greens Senate Candidate David Shoebridge and Newcastle Candidate Charlotte McCabe.

Hunter Mine Proposal Linked to Paris Agreement

BY LILLY HAINES

Australia's climate change commitments made under the Paris Agreement could be linked to requirements of a NSW coal mine for the first time, following proposed conditions for the United Wambo mine expansion near Singleton.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission is calling for public comment on expansion conditions of consent for the Wambo Mine, requiring the project to ensure "all practical measures" are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in countries where its coal is exported.

The commission is proposing the joint venture Glencore/Peabody project prepares an export management plan linking the sale of Hunter coal to countries with policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

Countries receiving exports include Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Paris Agreement was signed by more than 170 countries and calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts requiring countries to achieve zero net emissions as soon as possible after 2050.

The agreement has an international goal to hold global warming to "well below 2° C" and to work towards limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels.

The proposed Wambo condition comes after the NSW Land and Environment Court's rejection of the Rocky Hill open-cut mine project in Gloucester Valley last February.

Chief Judge Brian Preston's landmark decision was the first NSW coal mine refusal made considering the unacceptable impact of greenhouse gas emissions and the likely contribution to climate change.

NSW Coordinator for Lock the Gate Alliance Georgina Woods said she welcomed the commission signalling its support for the Paris Agreement as a key framework for the management of new coal mines in NSW.

"This means we are recognising the global context of our industry and making that a part of how mines are considered, approved and managed in NSW," she said.

Ms Woods urges people to make public comment submissions to the commission before August 9.

"There is  a lot of conversation to be had in the Hunter about the role our coal export industry plays in global climate change," said Georgina Woods.

"We need have a conversation about how we can best address [climate change] while also making sure the region is diversifying its economy to provide jobs and prosperity in the long run, while the countries that buy coal from us are transforming their own energy systems to more renewable sources."

Part of the United Wambo mine complex near Singleton. Image: The Newcastle Herald

Community Calls for Balance in Bid to Stop Dartbrook Reopening

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

Farmers, business owners, health professionals and families have come together in the Upper Hunter to prevent more coal mines being opened in their backyard.

A new committee has been formed in response to a proposal from Australian Pacific Coal to reopen Dartbrook underground mine which was mothballed in 2006 following three deaths at the site over a twelve-year period.

Plans to reopen the mine and extend operations until 2027 are in their final stages after the NSW Department of Planning & Environment provided a positive recommendation in January of this year.

An Independent Planning Commission (IPC) meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9 and new committee Friends of the Upper Hunter is urging fellow residents to have their opinions on the project heard.

The group believes the region has reached a tipping point in the number of mines it can safely sustain and hopes to see the same success Groundswell Gloucester had earlier this year in its bid to stop the opening of the controversial Rocky Hill Mine.

A major concern for the group is Australian Pacific Coal's long-term plan to run an open-cut mine on the site.

Committee member Kirsty O'Connell said it's not about being anti-mining but about finding balance for the community and ensuring healthy communities and clean air going into the future.

"We also need to be able to position ourselves for the future and to invest and strengthen those other industries that are going to be important as we go through these transitions with the mining industry," said Ms O'Connell.

"We really want to make sure there is enough quality land, there's enough water, there's enough space for those industries that will create jobs for everyone in the community now and into the future."

Kirsty O'Connell said it's about taking care of the health of local communities as the region continues to see worrying trends in air quality.

"There's been two separate reports now that the Upper Hunter, and particular the postcode 2333, is one of the most polluted in the country and certainly the most polluted airshed in NSW."

The group is also stressing the effect the mine's reopening could have on air quality for residents of the Lower Hunter, with unwashed coal to be delivered to Newcastle via the railway line.

Independent Planning Commission Meeting will be "Critical"

Friends of the Upper Hunter view the proposal to reopen the underground mine as a "stepping stone" towards an open-cut mine and Kirsty O'Connell believes next month's IPC meeting will be critical in the fight against Dartbrook's reopening.

"We want to make sure the community is wide awake to the strategic importance of the underground proposal, the fact that it does pave the way for an open-cut mine,

That's why it's really important that anyone who doesn't want an open-cut on the doorstep of Aberdeen and the Hunter River actually has a say now," she said.

"We're really trying to encourage as many people as possible to put in a written submission because typically people forget or they think it doesn't matter, and we're really trying to tell people strongly 'Your objection matters',

It only needs to be a sentence, it can be confidential, but please get an objection in and make sure our concerns are heard on this."

Anyone interested in having their say on the issue can apply to speak at the meeting before April 1st or provide a written submission via the IPC website.

Friends of the Upper Hunter has also provided a direct link to the submission portal on its website.

The meeting will take place at 10am at the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music in Muswellbrook on Tuesday, April 9.

Meeting Sought With Local MP

The group has sought a meeting with re-elected MP Michael Johnsen to make sure he's clear on the details of Australian Pacific Coal's proposal.

"The state government has already set out in it's Hunter Region Plan a fantastic plan for diversification of the local economy and for transition, in fact, those are some of the priorities for the Upper Hunter," said Ms O'Connell.

"We're really encouraged that Michael Johnsen was one of the councillors who voted for Upper Hunter Council's first Coal and Coal Seam Gas policy,

He was part of that unanimous vote and what we're calling on him to do is to stand by those principles he was exhibiting in 2011 and call for the protection of farming and for the protection of our communities."

A map of Upper Hunter Mines. Image: Friends of the Upper Hunter via Australian Pacific Coal

Mine Rehabilitation Reform Needed: Lock the Gate

CHELSEA EDWARDS

A report released by Lock the Gate Alliance has found fixing mine rehabilitation shortfalls could create jobs in the Hunter.

The report concludes more than 1200 jobs could be created if the state government implements mandatory rehabilitation targets for mines.

The Hunter is home to the nine largest coal mines in the state, with only 9302 hectares of 30,192 disturbed hectares currently under rehabilitation.

NSW Coordinator for Lock the Gate Alliance, Georgina Woods says NSW taxpayers are at risk of having to pay the bill for mine rehabilitation.

"We want to make sure that mining rehab is being done while the mine its self is operating, so it's keeping up with the mine and being done while there is still money around," she said

"We need to make sure there are mandatory targets for every mine site."

Image from: Newcastle Herald.