NSW Greenlights Largest Coalmine Extension Despite Climate Harm — SkimNews
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- Independent Planning Commission approved a 19-year extension of the Hunter Valley Operations coalmine, permitting 809 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution and making it the largest coalmine in NSW history.
- The commission acknowledged the extension would materially worsen global warming and cited CSIRO findings that climate change is increasingly affecting all Australians, yet concluded the mine's economic contribution and 1,500 regional jobs outweighed those harms.
- Had the extension been blocked, more than 1,000 workers would have been stood down and local suppliers would have lost business, with the mine set to close at the end of this year — disruption the author argues could have been managed.
- Polling commissioned by Lock the Gate found 85% of Hunter region residents experienced extreme weather in the last five years, with 80% attributing it to climate change.
- The commission heard heart-rending testimony from grandparents, scientists, and residents already experiencing climate damage, but ultimately judged this less weighty than the mine's claimed economic contribution.
Why it matters: The decision explicitly traded a documented climate trajectory and direct community testimony for the economic interests of a single mining operation. With the largest coalmine in NSW history now locked in for nearly two more decades and 809m tonnes of emissions permitted, the approval sets a precedent that economic considerations override CSIRO-acknowledged climate harm in state planning decisions.
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