THE tale of a Maules Creek farmer stuck in no man’s land next to the Whitehaven coal mine will be told to a national audience tonight.
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ABC’s Australia Story will cover the bizarre situation Pat Murphy and his family have been left in due to government oversight.
Seven years ago, Mr Murphy and his family moved to their “dream property” at Maules Creek, close to towns and a school for their young children.
They were optimistic about the future, with plans to sub-divide their farm, run sheep and grow crops, including barley and wheat.
But life changed dramatically for the Murphy family when exploration for the open-cut coal mine began right next door, just a year after they’d arrived in the area.
Mr Murphy wanted to leave the property but said it was impossible to do so with the money he was offered by Whitehaven.
In the meantime, he says staying on the property leaves his family exposed to noise and dust from the mine, yet they say the NSW government has told them it is not able to directly act on his concerns.
The government has acknowledged the mine would be unable to comply with any noise and dust restrictions over parts of his property, therefore no specific restrictions were put in place for his property when the mine was approved.
Instead, Mr Murphy was told he could ask the mine to buy him out.
Environmental Defenders Office principal solicitor Sue Higginson questioned not only the rationale behind the decision, but the entire approval process.
“If that was the situation, then it would have been appropriate to require that Pat’s property was purchased by the mine before the mine was approved,” she said.
Last year, Environment Protection Authority officer Simon Smith, who has since retired, investigated complaints from Mr Murphy and his neighbour, Lochie Leitch, about excessive dust coming from the mine.
Mr Smith says the mine “could do better”.
However, Whitehaven managing director Paul Flynn said the company was operating within its licence.
“I’m certainly happy to stand by the track record of the company in terms of its compliance since the mine was constructed a short time ago,” Mr Flynn said.