A SURVEY that found most people in NSW now think the coal industry is doing NSW communities more harm than good has been dismissed as “misleading and mischievous” by local mining giant Centennial Coal.
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The Nature Conservation Council said the survey results were “a significant blow” to the state government and the fossil fuel industries which have mounted “propaganda campaigns” to build support for unpopular coal and coal seam gas projects.
ReachTEL conducted the survey on March 14.
More than 56 per cent of those surveyed said coal mining was having a negative impact on NSW communities.
Forty-four per cent of those surveyed said it was having a positive impact.
The Nature Conservation Council said the result was the reverse of the findings from the survey of 2013, and represented “a very significant shift in community attitudes”.
Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said the results were telling.
“People want this damaging industry brought to heel, but the [Mike] Baird government is clearing the way for its expansion,” she said.
Locally, the state government has been criticised for not refusing the proposed Wallarah 2 coal mine, near Jilliby, despite a pre-election promise by former Premier Barry O’Farrell to stop the mine, and concerns about the mine’s potential impact on the Central Coast’s water supply.
Instead, Premier Baird has pledged his support for the Planning Assessment Commission’s independent assessment of the $800 million project.
That assessment is ongoing.
“Where is Mr Baird’s plan to end our dependence on coal and move NSW towards the modern energy future the people want?” Ms Smolski said.
“Despite years of government propaganda, policy tweaking, coal sector advertising campaigns, as well as ongoing support from aggressively pro-mining sections of the media, the great majority of people still think Premier Baird has not done enough to protect farmland, water and the environment from coal and coal seam gas.”
The survey was criticised by Centennial Coal.
The company is a major player in the coal industry in the Westlakes area. It runs the Awaba, Mandalong, Mannering, Myuna and Newstan coal operations.
The company’s executive general manager of external affairs, Katie Brassil, said the Nature Conservation Council of NSW’s strong anti-mining agenda was well known.
“To lump coal seam gas (CSG) in with traditional coal mining and combine them with some leading questions is simply misleading and mischievous,” she said.
“In Centennial’s case, our people are our local community. The majority of our employees live locally, work locally and recreate locally.”
Data from the NSW Minerals Council Economic Impact Assessment 2014/15 showed that coal mining and exploration employed 1,619 people in the Lake Macquarie Local Government Area.
Mining generated $220 million in wages, and supported 593 local businesses, the report said.
Coal mining made business purchases and community contributions of $316.9 million.
The total direct spend by the industry in Lake Macquarie was $536.9 million.
“Mining is without question a significant and positive contributor to our local economy,” Ms Brassil said.