Arabic version: اللجنة المستقلة للتخطيط تستمع لقضية تمديد منجم وادي هانتر لمدة 19 عاماً
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has begun public hearings into a proposed 19-year extension of the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) coal mine that would allow mining at the site near Singleton until the end of 2045 and extend approvals that expire in December this year.
According to ABC News, the hearing heard HVO employs more than 1,500 people, engages more than 800 suppliers and injects more than $1 billion a year into the economy. HVO general manager Dave Foster told the IPC the mine’s economic contribution was “impossible to ignore.”
Mr Foster told the commission that more than 90 per cent of the roughly 2,000 submissions received by the NSW Planning Department supported the expansion and said the Department had deemed the project approvable. “We have met all NSW and federal government requirements, particularly around greenhouse gas emissions, and because of that it really gives us a lot of confidence that we will get this project approved,” he said.
Local businesses told the IPC the mine underpins livelihoods across the Upper Hunter. Greg Searles, who runs an equipment maintenance business based at Rutherford and said HVO was one of its biggest customers, warned: “Without the [extension] we will be laying off a considerable part of our workforce.” Supporters argued the decision weighs those economic and social impacts against environmental costs.
Climate and community groups at the hearing highlighted the project’s projected outputs: the application would allow extraction of 429 million tonnes of coal and was expected to generate 809 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Georgina Woods of Lock the Gate said the emissions would worsen climate-change related disasters: “Every single one of those tonnes is worsening the global warming that the people of NSW are already paying too high a price for.”
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility told the IPC its review estimated the cost of offsetting the project’s scope 1 and 2 emissions in line with state net-zero targets at about $2.1 billion. ACCR analyst Pranav Dayal said that figure “significantly reduces the net benefit of this project to NSW.”
Hundreds of workers and activists rallied outside the hearings during the first day. The IPC has visited the HVO site and is collecting online submissions; it is expected to make a determination in September.
Related sections: Australia/استراليا | New South Wales | General | Economy/اقتصاد
