This is the third story in our Wasteland series that shows how the unrestrained expansion of the open-cut coal mining industry has impacted the once thriving, vibrant and historic villages of the Hunter Valley. The advancement of mining operations has undoubtedly brought significant benefits to our region through employment, economic success, the development of regional centres and prosperity for the industry. However, perhaps the cost of this prosperity was never fully considered, especially for the villages and residents who have been all but engulfed as a result. In this article we investigate planning procedures and how the loss of legal appeals leaves residents bereft when it comes to challenging planning approvals.
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For three years Deidre Olofsson sought documents from two government departments closely involved in the mine approval process for Yancoal's Ashton South East Coal Project.
The mine is to be located at Camberwell, adjacent to Glennies Creek and the company’s existing underground operation; it would therefore only be a short distance from Mrs Olofsson’s home in the village.
What Deidre hoped to understand from documents she sought, and eventually gained through freedom of information access, was how decisions relating to the mining project were reached and who was actually involved in making or influencing those outcomes.
Describing herself as just an ‘electrician’ with absolutely no training in this area Deidre was driven by a desire to find out the truth about a mining project that would have an immense impact on her family, her village and the environment.
“My parents who also live in the village were harassed, we have been threatened and bullied and I simply wanted to know how the Department of Planning and in particular the Office of Water – the two departments with the greatest say on this development came to a decision that it was on our best interests for the mine to be approved,” she said.
“When this project was first assessed it was rejected and despite my year’s of research I have found absolutely nothing in the documents that explains the reason for the change.
“In fact all I found were regular breaches in the rules governing these agencies with repeated failures in record keeping of meetings, no minutes and no telephone records. Such breaches were acknowledged when the NSW Ombudsman reviewed my supplied material.”
Ashton South East Open Cut Project underwent a win/lose saga where the project was first rejected by the Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) in 2011 only to see that decision reversed in 2012.
Local residents including Deidre and Wendy Bowman supported by Hunter Environment Lobby and the NSW Environment Defenders Office (EDO) went to the Land and Environment Court using a merits appeal against the approval.
In a landmark ruling the Court approved the mine but included a condition that Yancoal had to purchase the neighbouring 182-hectare property ‘Rosedale’, owned by 83 year old Mrs Bowman, before approval to proceed with the Ashton South East Open Cut would be granted.
Mrs Bowman has steadfastly refused to sell her irrigation and grazing property which means the project has stalled.
Working on that case and also assisting Deirdre in her quests to obtain relevant documents was EDO principal solicitor Elaine Johnson.
“Deidre is justice focused and her years of work exposed systematic problems in the planning approval processes including closed door private meetings between proponents and the Department of Planning and PAC,” she said.
“Proponents meeting in private with PAC raises many issues, most notably the difference between the Commission and a court – as that situation would never occur in a court. “
And that is just one of many reasons why Deidre, the EDO and many other community groups want a return of merit appeal reviews by the Land and Environment Court.
Merit reviews are no longer available to any party once a PAC public hearing has been held ( this is done on a case by case basis at the request of the Minster for Planning ).
Since this change was implemented 38 projects have gone to PAC and of those referrals 29 or 76 per cent have been resource projects according to the EDO report on Merits Review in Planning NSW.
“The extinguishment of merits review decreases the transparency and accountability of the very projects that are likely to have the most significant environmental and social impacts on communities,” the EDO report says.
“For a decade the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has consistently recommended to the NSW Government that third party merits rights should be extended, to improve transparency and accountability of development approval processes.”
Ashton South East Open Cut Project was the last coal mine approval taken to the Land and Environment Court on a merits review and Deirdre says if her community had not been able to use a merits review then she would now be living, once again, adjacent to an open cut mine.
“The Court case saved us. It was open and transparent - Justice Pain visited the site and heard from both sides, Everyone understands her ruling and it was based on law,” Deidre said.
“Sadly the same cannot be said about the PAC process. In fact its the complete opposite.”
Through her FIO work Deidre was able to establish there was no register of pecuniary interest for PAC members and that the Commission’s record keeping was very poor. Once again, a view acknowledged by the NSW Ombudsman.
Changes have taken place since Deidre made her complaints but she recently reviewed minutes of a PAC meeting on the Mt Owen mine modification and found mistakes in the description of who was in attendance.
“Mining company’s representatives were simply described as members of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue without any mention that that organsiation was affiliated with the NSW Minerals Council,” she said.
“That’s a complete failure in correct record keeping. Perception is everything and it looks corrupt whether it is or not. We need absolute transparency on who is who when it comes to planning decisions that affect so many people.
“My work confirms my worst fears that the people in charge of these decisions don’t appear to be acting honestly and we need them to act honestly.”
Deidre’s complaints have also been confirmed by the NSW State Records Authority and she has also found problems with published records of political donations.
All in all for her it’s a murky world when it comes to local mine approvals but she fears it is not confined to the Hunter and mines.
She is still seething over the actions in 2010 of the then NSW Labor Minister for Planning Tony Kelly who without any community consultation, gave the Camberwell Common to Ashton Mine for the South East Open Cut mine project
The 66-hectare common had been a community asset since 1876 but fortunately thanks to community pressure was returned to Camberwell.
To sum up the whole saga, Deidre says that communities don’t matter when it comes to building coal mines.
Ms Johnson said community’s trust Court decisions like the one delivered on the Ashton South East Open Cut Project and the one handed down by Chief Justice Brian Preston on the Warkworth mine expansion in 2012.
“Compare that to the really unworkable approval given by PAC for the Warkworth Continuation in 2015. The community will always find it hard to accept decisions where appeal rights are removed by the Minister, and that is a great concern for us all when we seek legitimacy in planning and decision making,” she said.
Louise Nichols
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
