Gunnedah once again hosts a public forum to debate its controversial open-cut Watermark coal mine perched above the black soil Liverpool Plains - and opinions remain divided over the project's impact on agriculture.
The NSW Government's independent assessment body, the Planning and Assessment Commission convened a public meeting which is the final hurdle of the first stage of the approvals process for the Watermark Coal Project.
Chinese miner Shenhua re-iterated its promise to keep off the black soil of the Liverpool Plains, but farmers said this won't be enough to protect fertile farmland.
About 100 local farmers, business people and community members attended the meeting.
Shenhua Australia chairman Liu Xiang spoke before the panel yesterday, saying he was confident in the project’s environmental impacts as it had been “subjected to unprecedented levels of scrutiny” over the past five years.
He said the approvals process had “helped us refine and improve measures to protect the local environment” and the project would “diversify the community while allowing the region’s rich agricultural legacy to continue”.
Motel owner James Farquhar and local real estate agent Don Ewing both spoke in support of the project, saying it would benefit the town’s economy while providing a large number of jobs.
Approval of the Watermark project would see at least 425 jobs created, with up to 600 positions available at peak production.
“Our economy has been boosted enormously over the past 20 years,” Mr Ewing said.
There were plenty of objections to Shenhua’s project, with farmers again speaking about potential impacts to water and crops.
Breeza Station owner Andrew Pursehouse, an immediate neighbour of the proposed mine, said he was concerned about cotton crops being downgraded due to coal dust.
“Who will pick up the tab from cotton when it’s ... totally destroyed,” he said.
“We need long-term agriculture first, not short-term mining.
“I see a bright future in clean, green agricultural products.”
Solicitor Sarah Hubbard, whose family farms at “South Wandobah”, Spring Ridge, said she was concerned about the industry’s decline in the area if the mine is to go ahead.
“Never is my short life would I have believed that we would have a coal mine on our doorstep, and what is more disturbing is the frustration of the process for the people that are so impacted by it,” the 26-year-old said.
“It is common knowledge that this mine’s lifespan is 30 years. Thirty short years of economic benefits from mining while the economic benefits from agricultural production provided by the Liverpool Plains has served the world for generations.”
Earlier in the day the women and children of the SOS Liverpool Plains group voiced their objections, saying that the Liverpool Plains “should be set aside for farming only, for the benefit of future generations.”
Watermark project manager Paul Jackson addressed media before the meeting, saying the mine could co-exist with agriculture.
“We’ve spent a lot of time mitigating impacts on our neighbours,” Mr Jackson said.
“There will always be people who don’t like what you’re doing next to them.
“I understand that but at the end of the day, this (mine) is in the public interest of NSW.”
The meeting continues today. Among the speakers in today’s session are former New England MP Tony Windsor, NSW Farmers’ Association president and Premer farmer Fiona Simson, Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay, NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO Mark MzKenzie and Namoi Water executive officer Jon Maree Baker.
