MULITNATIONAL miner Anglo American has hit back at the NSW government, and the independent approvals body, for rejecting its application for a coal mine in the heart of the Hunter’s horse country.
Last Tuesday, the Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) unequivocally rejected Anglo American’s pitch to expand its Drayton open cut coal mine, which is perched on the doorstep of the renowned Coolmore and Darley studs.
The PAC, which has final say over project approvals, rejected Anglo’s application after the NSW Planning department recommended the project be approved.
“Anglo American does not believe the PAC took Drayton South seriously,” said Anglo’s chief executive of coal, Seamus French.
Today, the company issued a stinging rebuke to the Drayton rejection and called on Premier Mike Baird to overturn the ruling.
It claimed the PAC ignored NSW Planning’s “expert advice” and issued a knee-jerk reaction due to the Thoroughbred lobby.
Anglo claimed the decision comes at a cost of 500 jobs, a loss of $70 million a year from local businesses and strip $35m in annual royalties to the State.
“The feeling among the Drayton mine workforce at site is that the government has caved into threats from the horse studs,” Mr French said.
“We don’t accept this process and don’t believe it protects the interests of local people or the State of NSW.
“It is up to the government to make this wrong decision right. The government has the ability to save these 500 jobs and protect these 500 families.
“The company can do no more, Drayton is running out of coal and we have physically run out of options to secure continuity of employment.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Baird said: “The Premier respects the decision of the independent Planning Assessment Commission”.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association said the PAC’s determination "demonstrates that the government’s new process can protect our strategic agricultural industries, critical industry clusters and the health and welfare of our regional communities,” according to Association president Cameron Collins.
Mr Collins told The Land on Tuesday that the Thoroughbred industry is also major contributor to the local economy, which would have been badly impacted were the mine to be approved.
Summary of the PAC’s reasons for refusing Drayton’s expansion:
- 1. The project does not provide sufficient buffer to protect Coolmore and Darley from the impacts of mining as recommended in the PAC Review Report and the Gateway Panel Report.
- 2. The project has not demonstrated that it will not adversely impact on equine health and the operations of the Coolmore and Darley horse studs.
- 3. The approach of monitoring the response of thoroughbred horses to the mine’s operation to address uncertainty is not acceptable because once the damage to the operations of the studs occurs, it is irreversible.
- 4. The economic benefits of the project do not outweigh the risk of losing Coolmore and Darley and the potential demise of the equine industry in the area with flow-on impacts on the viticultural tourism industries.
- 5. The project is not in the public interest.