WYONG MP David Harris is calling on the state government to buy back the exploration licence for the proposed Wallarah 2 coalmine, a project he described on Thursday as “an absolute outrage” and a “disgrace”.
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The Labor member was one of several speakers at an “information session” convened at Blue Haven by the Australian Coal Alliance (ACA), who oppose the Wallarah 2 plan.
The ACA contends the proposed $800 million mine poses unacceptable risks to the region’s water catchment and the health of Central Coast residents, and will cause subsidence.
Mr Harris painted a mostly concerning picture. He said the government had been influenced and “captured by the mining company”.
And the assessment process for Wallarah 2 was not independent, he said.
But he assured locals the mine could be stopped.
Mr Harris urged locals to follow the lead of the communities of the Liverpool Plains whose fight to oppose a planned coalmine in their region was rewarded last week.
The Labor member applauded the government’s decision to spend $220 million to buy back the Caroona coal exploration licence.
“But if they can do it up there, why can’t they do it here?” Mr Harris said.
“And we’ve actually got more of a case (for a licence buyback) because this would be the only mine that looks like being approved that’s sitting directly underneath a water catchment that serves 300,000 people.”
In July, Wallarah 2’s backers - Wyong Coal and the Korean government-owned Kores - were forced to redesigned the project to eliminate the need to access land owned by Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Under the revised plan, a coal loading facility would be erected at Blue Haven.
“Their latest proposal is an absolute outrage,” Mr Harris said.
“To have a nine-storey coal hopper sitting 200 metres from Blue Haven, on its western edge, is an absolute disgrace. The government shouldn’t even be considering it.”
He told the meeting the government had not yet issued a licence to mine coal at Wallarah 2, only a licence to explore.
“They (the government) can make a decision now to say no. No matter what they tell you, they can make that decision.”
He said the Labor state government had stopped the original Wallarah 2 proposal, in 2011, when the then Planning Minister Tony Kelly blocked it.
“That’s how it can happen again,” he said.
The amended development application for Wallarah 2 is on exhibition until September 5 with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
“Every single person needs to put in a submission,” Mr Harris said.
Wyong Coal said the underground coalmine would generate 300 direct jobs and “plenty of opportunities for Central Coast businesses”.
It would involve construction and operation of an underground coal mine and associated facilities for 28 years.
Up to 5 million tonnes per annum of export-quality thermal coal would be extracted via longwall mining methods.