Lock The Gate Slams Department of Planning For Recommending New Coal Mine

BY JARROD MELMETH

The NSW Department of Planning has recommended a new coal mine in the Hunter Valley, on the same day a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of dangerous climate change impacts if coal mining continues to increase.

The report warns if warming was allowed to reach 2C, the world would risk hitting "tipping points", setting a course towards uncontrollable temperatures.

Carmel Flint from Lock the Gate said the recommendation to proceed shows the NSW Government is completely missing in action.

“Not only will this mine put the climate at risk, but new research shows it will take South Korean mining giant KEPCO one step closer to destroying a magnificent valley with state significant heritage values.

“The Department of Planning and Environment has cherry-picked the expert heritage information and moved only to amend the mine plan slightly when it’s clear the mine should have been rejected outright.

“Equally worrying is that there is no new information on Aboriginal cultural heritage impacts provided by the department, even though the Independent Planning Commission previously stated that further investigation was needed.  

“This mine will only proceed with the backing of the NSW Government, who at every step has allowed it to progress through the planning process despite the obvious and unacceptable risks it poses to farmland, water, and heritage.


“We’re calling on the NSW Premier to come and meet local landholders and visit the site as a matter of urgency and then to take firm action to end this dangerous mining proposal," Ms. Flint said.

Future of Hunter Valley Austar Coal Mine In Doubt Following Workforce Redeployment

BY JARROD MELMETH

Yancoal is awaiting the ruling of an appeal against two safety notices handed to its Austar Mine near Cessnock.

Yesterday, the company announced it would commence standing down employees and where possible, redeploying the majority to other underground operations.

It comes after the NSW Resources Regulator banned all underground longwall production at the site following two significant coal burst events earlier this year in February and May, 

A coal burst event is described by the Resources Regulator as a pressure bump that results in dynamic rock failure in the vicinity of a mining excavation, resulting in high-velocity expulsion of the material into the excavation.

No workers were seriously injured during the two coal burst events. One worker was taken to hospital and treated for a cut to his hand.

Yancoal Australia Chief Executive Officer Reinhold Schmidt said the majority of the Austar workforce have been redeployed to the Ashton, Abel and Moolarben underground mines.

"Until all legal avenues have been exhausted and we can re-enter the mine to move the longwall, we are unable to continue proposed longwall activity," Mr Schmidt said.

A company spokesperson has told 2NURFM, Austar will retain skeleton crews to maintain the operation in accordance with compliance requirements.

Austar Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley. Photo: ABC.

"No Coal Joel" slams Government for 'Liddell Hoax'

BY MICHAEL COOK

After pushing for the life of AGL's Liddell power station to be extended by 10 years, the Turnbull Government now seems to have turned its back on the proposition.

The potential extension of the Muswellbrook  power station to 2032 was earmarked to cost around $900 million but is now off the table.

In a major energy speech on Monday by Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, there was no mention of the power station's extension, all but confirming it is no longer on the agenda for the government.

In the speech, Frydenberg looked instead to AGL's cleaner energy investment plan as the right way forward in energy policy.

Liddell Power Station
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8877002-3x2-700x467.jpg

Federal Member for Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon, who Frydenberg referred to as "No Coal Joel" in a recent Parliament House spat, is disappointed in the way the Prime Minister has gone about this issue.

"What Malcolm Turnbull did was raise false hope, he wanted people to believe he can extend Liddell to get him through the next election campaign.

"He's been caught out, thank goodness I think he's now getting out of the way and letting us work with AGL to create the jobs of the future," Fitzgibbon said.

The move away from the extension may signal a shift in electricity regeneration in the area as well as nationwide. 

Adani loan bad for Hunter economy

BY JARROD MELMETH

The Turnbull government is coming under fire for "declaring war on Hunter coal miners" if they proceed with a $1 billion loan to the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Queensland.

Adani has applied for the loan through the $5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund, which grants concessional loans for the private sector to build infrastructure at the top of Australia.

The mine would become one of the biggest in the world with the potential to produce between 25 and 60 million tonnes per year depending on the plan from which the mine is operated from.

Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Infrastructure Pat Conroy said the research shows the negative impact the loan would have to the Hunter region.

"It is just straight logic. If demand for a product is falling if you increase supply, by definition the price will fall and that is my main point which has been corroborated by the CEO of Newcastle Port and by the Australian Institute and I have not had anyone dispute that.

"While the coal is a bit lower quality than Newcastle coal in terms of its calorific value and the value of it when you are trying to use it to produce electricity, it still will suppress the coal prices globally.

"When you add on top of that the fact that the Federal government is considering giving a loan to this company, it is bad news for Hunter coal miners and that is why we should be saying to the Government that we should not be giving a leg up to the competition," Mr Conroy said.

Pat Conroy.

Drayton South mine promises to only mine underground

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

The newsest buyer for the Drayton South Coal Mine in the Upper Hunter is promising to only mine underground.

Thoroughbred horse studs are cautiously welcoming the plan after years of dispute over the mines' expansion.

Horse breeders have long argued the impact of former owner, Anglo American's original plan would've seen coal mining only 500 metres from their doorsteps, causing major dust and noise problems for their horses.

Malabar Coal is promising to only mine underground and has agreed to have its mining license varied.

Wilpinjong mine expansion approved

BY GARY-JON LYSAGHT

Wollar residents have been dealt a devastating blow after the NSW Planning Assessment Commission approved the expansion of the Wilpinjong coal mine.

Wilpinjong coal mine [Picture: The Herald].

The mine will now operate until 2033, increasing its annual production to 13 million tonnes of coal.

The state government and Department of Planning approved the expansion despite receiving 284 objections to the proposal.

Bev Smiles, from the Wollar Progress Association, slammed the Department of Planning's assertion that the decline of Wollar - in the Upper Hunter - is "inevitable even without mining".

"It's not based on any facts," she said.

"It's convenience for them not to recognise, the Department of Planning themselves, with their approval over the last 10 years of major expansions of this coal mine have caused the demise of the Wollar community.

Ms Smiles says the Peabody-controlled mine has slowly eroded the small community, with only three independent properties left in the town.

She says the rest of the town, including the churches, general store and numerous other properties are owned by Peabody.

"What we have left in our community is a number of isolated properties that are totally stranded.  The people, including myself, have been economically disadvantaged by the decision making of the NSW Government," she said.

"That economic disadvantage and the social injustice in the Wollar community has not been recognised at all in the Planning Assessment report or by the Department of Planning.

"We [the Wollar community] believe this decision ... is a very socially unjust decision."