A DECISION by the state’s peak planning authority to reject plans for a coalmine in the Hunter Valley has given renewed hope to opponents of similar projects proposed for the Liverpool Plains.
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The Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) concluded that the Drayton South mine, near Muswellbrook, was “not in the public interest” and posed unacceptable risks to the equine and viticultural tourism industries.
Mine site owner Anglo American was seeking approval to extend its Drayton open-cut mine, which has operated for more than three decades, and secure the jobs of about 500 workers into the future.
But the proposal met with fierce opposition from anti-mining groups and the internationally renowned Darley and Coolmore horse studs, which neighbour the mining lease.
Liverpool Plains farmer Rosemary Nankivell, who is vehemently opposed to plans by Shenhua Watermark and BHP Billiton to mine on the region’s prime agricultural land, said she was heartened by the PAC’s ruling.
“It’s very good news for those areas,” she said. “Knocking it back for the sake of tourism and the Hunter Valley thoroughbred industry means they’d have to seriously think about knocking them back for the sake of food, water and fibre.”
Breeza farmer Andrew Pursehouse is not opposed to mining, but says the projects planned for the Liverpool Plains would have devastating impacts on aquifers crucial to the area’s productivity.
“At least you know it can happen,” he said of the PAC’s refusal.
“You would like to think some of the best farming country in Australia – if not the world – could be protected.”
The PAC last month handed down an interim finding that Shenhua Watermark’s proposed $1 billion coalmine near Breeza was “approvable”, with a final determination to be made at a later date.
In its reasons for rejecting the Drayton South proposal, the three-person panel headed by Garry Payne said there was not a big enough buffer between the mine and horse studs.
“The economic benefits of the project do not outweigh the risk of losing Coolmore and Darley and the potential demise of the equine industry in the area, with flow-on impacts on the viticultural tourism industries,” the panel said.
NSW Minerals Council chief executive officer Stephen Galilee described the Drayton South decision, as well as the rejection of another mine near Lithgow, as a “brutal double-blow for working people in regional NSW”.
