Another major mining project is threatening to destroy more of the state’s key ecological assets.  The Maules Creek Coal Project in Leard State Forest is now on public exhibition. It will require approval by the NSW Department of Planning. The project has also been referred under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and will therefore require approval of the federal Environment Minister as well.

This project will clear 2,180 hectares of native vegetation (including endangered ecological communities) and produce 13 million tonnes of coal per annum. The mine operator, Aston Resources, is chaired by former National Party MP Mark Vaile and owned by Nathan Tinkler.

Submission period ends on the 11th October.   You can see the details of the project and make a submission here. 

This massive proposal is in close proximity to the Boggabri coalmine, which is also soon to be expanded with a further 1,384 hectares cleared.

The Northern Inland Council for the Environment says the Maules Creek Coal Mine will:

• Clear a total of 1,665 hectares of native bush, taking the total clearing in the Leard Forest to over 3,500 hectares
• Clear 545 hectares of Box Gum Woodland endangered ecological communities (White Box, Yellow Box, Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland) taking the total clearing of endangered communities to over 1,169 hectares.
• Impact on habitat for up to 36 threatened species which are known or likely to occur in Leard State Forest, including Painted Honeyeater, Koala, Turquoise Parrot and Eastern Cave Bat.
• Contribute to the destruction of the largest remnant of vegetation left on the heavily cleared Liverpool Plains.
• Result in a final pit depth of 320m that will cause massive depressurisation of the water table and impact on springs and unique groundwater dependent ecosystems.
• Result in a final void that will permanently deplete groundwater, interfere with aquifers and divert surface water.
• Make an enormous contribution to global warming amounting to at least 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum from burning the coal that is produced.  This is equivalent to more than 15% of all emissions from NSW annually.
• Forever change the quiet rural community of Maules Creek into a giant industrial zone with impacts on health, air quality, noise and amenity.

Marine Parks are under attack in NSW from a minority but vocal band of opponents. In response the Government is conducting an Independent Scientific Audit of Marine Parks and it is important those of us that understand the need for marine protected areas send in our support. Submissions close Friday 30^th September and can be made here http://www.marineparksaudit.nsw.gov.au/

You can read the Greens submission by downloading the PDF here.

The Greens’ bill to strengthen pollution laws, which will require immediate notification of serious incidents causing material harm to the environment, is ready to go and should be supported by the Environment Minister, says Greens MP and environment spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.

“The Environment Minister has now said a number of times that notification should be immediate. The Greens bill was drafted weeks ago and is ready to go, having been introduced into Parliament on 9 September. I first sought the Minister’s support back on 26 August,” said Ms Faehrmann.

“Given this new Orica incident, the government should commit to introducing the bill into the Lower House when Parliament returns and allow its swift passage through the Upper House.

“The Greens bill does just one thing. It changes ‘as soon as practical’ to ‘immediate’ for incidents causing material harm and that’s exactly what the Environment Minister says should happen,” said Ms Faehrmann.

The Environment Minister was first asked if she would support the Greens bill by Quentin Dempster on 26 August. See here: http://bit.ly/oMNqLg

You can help by lobbying the government and opposition to support the bill here.

Greens MP and transport spokesperson Cate Faehrmann says the Premier should reassure the community there won’t be a fire sale of public assets to fund motorways and a rush on privately owned public transport, following comments from Infrastructure NSW head Nick Greiner.

“It’s becoming clearer by the day that Infrastructure NSW will be making decisions in the best interests of the private sector. The Board is heavily weighted with people who are hell-bent on privatisation and only know the private sector.

“Privatising road maintenance is pure madness. The last thing taxpayers want is their pot holes fixed only if it is profitable.

“This state has a sorry history of contracts with private operators. Think of the debacle with Reliance Rail late train carriages, the cross city tunnel fiasco and the dire financial situation of M2 operator. How many failed Public Private Partnerships do we need for the message to sink in?

“The Premier needs to reassure the people of NSW that he won’t allow Nick Greiner to dictate how transport projects in this state are funded. Given his and the Infrastructure NSW Board members’ close connections with the private sector, clearly he will recommend sell-offs and public private partnerships every time.

“Meanwhile we have either no submission or inadequate submissions to Infrastructure Australia on key public transport projects like a second harbour rail crossing and CBD relief line.

“The Premier should rule out all motorways until key public transport projects and targets are at or near completion. If we fix our public transport system we won’t need more expensive and congested motorways,” said Ms Faehrmann. 

Media contact: Peter Stahel 0433 005 727