A decade after the controversial Doyles Creek Mine near Jerrys Plains was attracting plenty of adverse publicity the way coal mines gain approval headed back to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) this week.
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ICAC is conducting Operation Eclipse a new investigation into the regulation of lobbying, access and influence in NSW.
Unlike the investigation into the granting of the Doyles Creek licence in 2008 ICAC says this investigation is not concerned with examining whether any particular individual may have engaged in corrupt conduct, but rather seeks to examine particular aspects of lobbying activities and the corruption risks involved in the lobbying of public authorities and officials.
ICAC has already received a number of submissions regarding lobby and on Monday it heard from NSW Mineral Council, chief executive officer, Stephen Galilee. He had been personally invited by ICAC to give evidence to the Commission as the Minerals Council did not make a submission.
His organisation has been waging an advertising campaign, since the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected the Korean company Kepco's plan to built a 'greenfield' open cut and underground mine in the Bylong Valley last month, arguing strongly against this decision and calling for changes in the state's planning regime.
Then we witnessed the problems with the IPC first approving, then disapproving and a week later approving the Bloomfield Group's Rix's Creek mine continuation project near Singleton.
With this mistake NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes found the ideal opportunity to call for a review into the operations of the IPC.
In a statement by Minister Stokes on Saturday he said NSW is open for business and he was looking for speed in decision making and to provide clearer process for investors.
The review will be conducted by NSW Commissioner for Productivity Peter Achterstraat. The terms of reference include: to recommend whether it is in the public interest to maintain an Independent Planning Commission, considering, where relevant, the experience with similar bodies in other common law jurisdictions.
Following the series of inquiries by the ICAC into Doyles Creek and Mount Penny mine licence in the Bylong Valley the Commission recommended in 2010 that the decision-making role of the Planning Assessment Commission, now called the IPC, be expanded because it provided 'an important safeguard against potential corrupt conduct'.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald former ICAC commissioner David Ipp, QC, who presided over a series of high-profile inquiries into mining licences, said "returning to ministerial discretion on mining licences is a recipe for corruption".
"Once it is left to the minister basically there are no safeguards," he said.
Also voicing their strong opposition to the removal of the IPC is Lock the Gate.
"The Minerals Council wants to abolish the Independent Planning Commission to bring back the bad old days of political influence over controversial mining decisions, locking out the communities that actually live with the impacts of mining," said Lock the Gate's George Wood.
"This review of the Commission proves the power of the Minerals Council which is deeply concerning and a perfect example of the undue influence the mining industry has on public policy in NSW.
"The Commission's approach to transparently publishing its correspondence, providing the public with opportunity to comment on projects at every stage of its deliberations and publishing statements of reasons contrast sharply with the Department of Planning's lack of transparency and impartiality when it comes to major mining projects."
In his evidence to ICAC's chief Commissioner Peter Hall QC on Monday Mr Galilee said his organisation had regular engagement with the Deputy Premier in his capacity as Minister for Resources.
"I mean, at the moment we're engaged in a very public campaign to advocate for improvements to the planning system, so we are engaging with the Department of Planning as we do regularly, but at the moment more regularly on that, on those issues.
"And we're in, at the moment we're involved in a public campaign to seek changes to that Act ( Environmental Planning and Assessment Act), ideally, or at least improvements to the planning system so we can improve, in our view, certainty for investors in NSW.
"We're seeking some changes to restore some consistency and certainty to the planning and assessment system in New South Wales so we can continue to attract that large-scale investment that our projects require.
"The structure and role of the Independent Planning Commission itself, in our view, creates a level of uncertainty that our members are telling us is holding back and deterring investment in New South Wales."
When asked by Commissioner Hall," So far as your position in the mining industry is concerned in the work you do, you would accept that there ought to be, in general terms at least, both transparency of process and outcome. Is that right? Mr Galilee answered yes.
Commenting on the current state of planning approvals Mr Gailiee said - that he believed that in some cases in our instances in our industry, projects have been refused because of noisy objectors.