The livelihoods of thousands of families will be at risk if a major coal mine expansion is not approved, the New South Wales planning watchdog has been told.
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is holding public hearings into the proposed Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Continuation Project, which would see mining continue at the site near Singleton, in the Upper Hunter, until the end of 2045.
It would be a 19-year extension of the Yancoal-Glencore joint venture’s existing approvals, which expire in December this year.
Workers from Hunter Valley Operations coal mine outside the IPC hearing. (ABC Upper Hunter: Courtney Yeandle)
Hundreds of workers gathered outside the IPC hearings in support of the extension.
The IPC heard the mine employed more than 1,500 people, engaged more than 800 suppliers and injected more than $1 billion a year into the economy.
HVO general manager Dave Foster said the mine’s economic contribution was impossible to ignore.
“This really comes down to our economic benefits to our community and the economy, versus greenhouse gas impacts,” he said.
Dave Foster says the project meets all legislative requirements. (Supplied: HVO)
Mr Foster told the IPC that more than 90 per cent of the 2,000 submissions received by the NSW Planning Department supported the expansion.
“Certainly around our local community in the Hunter, everyone’s really backing this project,” he said.
Mr Foster said the Department of Planning 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.
Greg Searles says his business would be affected if HVO closed. (ABC Upper Hunter: Courtney Yeandle)
Greg Searles runs an equipment maintenance business based at Rutherford.
He said HVO was one of its biggest customers.
“Without the [extension] we will be laying off a considerable part of our workforce,” he said.
“I’m not aware of anything in the renewable energy fields that currently exist that our workforce or facility could transition to do.”
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Climate concern
Climate activists who spoke on day one of the hearings said the expansion was at odds with legislated emissions targets.
The hearing was told the project would allow the extraction of 429 million tonnes of coal and was expected to generate 809 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Lock the Gate held a rally outside the IPC hearing. (ABC Upper Hunter: Courtney Yeandle)
Georgina Woods, head of research and in investigations with climate activist group 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,” she said.
“The extension … is in direct contravention of the goals of NSW’s Climate Change Act to protect the people of this state from dangerous levels of global warming.”
Georgina Woods says the price off keeping the mine operational is too high. (ABC Upper Hunter: Courtney Yeandle)
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) told the IPC its review of HVO’s application showed the emissions generated would cost NSW billions.
ACCR analyst Pranav Dayal told the hearing that the cost of offsetting HVO’s emissions in line with state net-zero targets would be significant.
“We estimate the value of the project’s scope 1 and 2 emissions costs is approximately $2.1 billion dollars,” he said.
“This significantly reduces the net benefit of this project to NSW.”
Hundreds of people attended the IPC hearing. (ABC Upper Hunter: Courtney Yeandle)
The IPC has visited the HVO site and is also collecting online submissions.
It is expected to make a determination in September.
