PREMIER Mike Baird is walking away from a key election commitment to protect the Liverpool Plains' prime agricultural land from mining.
On February 3, prior to NSW's March election, Mr Baird promised to begin work on new protections for the black soil cropping country, in response to recommendations from the government's own independent expert panel.
Shenhua's recently approved Watermark mine will be dug into ridge country above the black soil, but BHP is preparing plans to mine directly underneath the alluvial floodplains at Caroona, just 20 kilometres down the road from Watermark.
BHP holds a coal exploration licence, issued by the NSW government.
It confirmed to The Land it was still pursuing plans to gain a licence to mine at Caroona.
When questioned on the potential sale of its Liverpool Plains coal project, BHP declined to comment.
The Planning Assessment Commission (PAC), which approved Shenhua's Watermark mine, issued two reports on the large open-cut coal mine - in August 2014 and January 2015.
Both advised the government to ban mining on black soil.
"The NSW government should undertake some more detailed work or refinements to identify and protect those highly valuable, fertile black soils where mining should be prohibited - the (black) soil plains should be preserved for agricultural production," the PAC said in August.
In January it reiterated its call to protect the black soil, adding "ongoing uncertainty for the surrounding community does impact on its capacity to plan and invest for the future."
Following the PAC's advice, Mr Baird weighed in on the issue.
He and Deputy Premier Troy Grant visited Tamworth to support the Nationals' incumbent MP Kevin Anderson, whose election campaign was under fire from Shenhua's opponents.
"I do not support any mining on the black soil of the Liverpool Plains and certainly what we saw out of the PAC, they have said the government also needs to look at additional protections in terms of the black soil on the Liverpool Plains," Mr Baird said on February 3, when he touched down at Tamworth airport.
"I've spoken to the Planning Minister about it and we'll be responding to that (the PAC's recommendations)."
The Land asked Mr Baird repeatedly this week what work has been done to deliver on his pre-election commitment, in reference to BHP's Caroona coal project.
A spokesman for Mr Baird simply replied: "No application has yet been received by the department for this project."
Mr Baird's political opponents have been quick to seize the initiative in the Liverpool Plains mining debate.
Labor's mining spokesman Adam Searle said the party was updating its land use policies.
"Prime agricultural land must not be put at risk by mining," he said.
"The planning and legislative controls over mining approvals need to be improved and simplified - particularly around how conflicts over potential land use between agriculture and mining are resolved."
Greens mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said prime land should be reserved for farming.
"This means not only the black soils, but other natural assets that form the ecology and hydrology of an area should be protected."
"The Greens would immediately place areas like the Liverpool Plains in Schedule 2 of the Rural Lands State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) to protect it as state significant agricultural land," he said.
"A strategic decision needs to be made by governments to protect key agricultural areas and to then enter into negotiations to cancel the exploration licences."
