The NSW Government is proposing to amend the State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) dealing with mining, petroleum production and extractive industries.
This
appears to have been in response to the recent court victory of the Hunter
Valley's Bulga community which opposed the expansion of an open-cut coal mine
by mining giant Rio Tinto.
The
decision in favour of the Bulga community is being challenged in court by both
the mining company and the Minister for Planning, Brad Hazzard. Until the appeal is decided, the Bulga community will have a further wait to learn if
their community is to be saved from the open cut mine expansion.
The legislative
changes, which will prevent another Bulga-type legal challenge, are in
amendments to the State Environment Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production
and Extractive Industries). The proposed changes were recently on public
exhibition – for a mere fortnight (29 July – 12 August). The brief exhibition period indicates that the Government was not particularly interested in having extensive input from the general community - and it is the general community which is likely to suffer if the proposed amendment is legislated.
Under the proposed changes the
“significance” of the “resource” to the economy becomes the central
consideration in the approvals process.
This will mean that other factors of importance to the general community
– the people the government is supposed to represent – will be downgraded. Impacts on local communities’ amenity, their
health and the natural environment will be relegated to minor considerations.
It also suggests that the NSW Government's measures to placate those in the community who are concerned about gas mining (CSG and other forms of gas mining) may be rendered null and void by this change. For example will this change over-ride the decision to have a two kilometre buffer zone between CSG wells and residential areas?
It also suggests that the NSW Government's measures to placate those in the community who are concerned about gas mining (CSG and other forms of gas mining) may be rendered null and void by this change. For example will this change over-ride the decision to have a two kilometre buffer zone between CSG wells and residential areas?
The general community throughout
NSW has already put the government on notice about its cosiness with the mining
industry. In the NSW Northern Rivers
this has been notable in relation to coal seam gas mining. The proposal to amend the mining SEPP seems
to indicate that the government is either unaware of or indifferent to what the
community expects in relation to an even-handed and fair approach to mining
development proposals.
