Deputy Premier won’t step in to protect Central Coast drinking water from mining contamination

This morning in budget estimates Greens NSW upper house MP and spokesperson for Mining and the Central Coast, Abigail Boyd, demanded answers from NSW Deputy Premier, and Minister for Regional NSW, Industry & Trade, John Barilaro, as to how his government would ensure the Central Coast water catchment would be protected if the Wallarah 2 coal mine goes ahead.

Abigail Boyd said “I asked the Deputy Premier if this government would step up and ensure that the drinking water for over 320,000 residents is protected by stopping the toxic Wallarah 2 coal mine.

“The short answer is that they won’t – the longer answer however, is that they can’t.

The Mining Act, due for review, is currently set up in such a way that it does not allow for the outright rejection of a mine when it risks a drinking water catchment. Asked about whether his government would be able, under the current act to step in and protect a community such as the Central Coast from contamination from a coal mine the Deputy Premier said no.
“The Wallarah 2 licence currently allows for 300 gigalitres of water to be removed from the Central Coast water catchment. To compensate, 300 megalitres of recycled mine water will be returned to the catchment each year.

“Not fresh water. Recycled mine water. Into our drinking water catchment.

“Despite knowing the risks posed to our community by this toxic coal mine, the Deputy Premier’s priority was having NSW as the mining investment centre of Australia.

“The truth is that this is a government that is wholly subservient to the mining industry.

“Wallarah 2 would be a disaster for our community – it will contaminate our drinking water, destroy our local environment and harm agriculture, tourism and the local economy.

“The Greens stand with the community: we oppose this toxic coal mine and will always put the community’s needs first.”

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

NSW is missing out on tens of billions of dollars. By introducing a progressive coal royalty structure similar to the one in Queensland, we would have raised an extra $20 billion last year.

The NSW Government owns and controls, on behalf of the people of this state, the rights to the minerals and materials that naturally occur in NSW land.

Huge fossil fuel companies are only able to extract and sell these commodities with the consent of the State. It’s time they paid a fair price for that privilege.

The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars out of their cosy relationship with governments. Granted permission to extract and sell coal, these large multinational fossil fuel corporations pay just over 7% in royalties back to the people of NSW – keeping the rest as mega-profits for themselves. These companies have a track record of taking more than their fair share and leaving communities suffering and stranded with poisoned groundwater, devastated landscapes and a stranded workforce when it suits their business models.

Globally, the hyper-inflation of fossil fuel prices driven by price-gouging opportunism and war profiteering from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has delivered record windfall profits to these already obscenely wealthy corporations. In the last year, NSW coal exports totaled over $70 billion dollars, but the people of NSW will only see about 7 cents in every dollar, or about $6 billion dollars of that amount.

Rather than going toward schools, hospitals and public infrastructure, billions of dollars went into the pockets of multinational mining corporations. The Greens believe there should be more money for schools and hospitals and less for mining billionaires.

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Mobile phone

Address (Street, Suburb, State, Postcode)

Country

I want to volunteer

Join with Facebook

Join with Twitter

Deputy Premier won’t step in to protect Central Coast drinking water from mining contamination

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

Join the Campaign

Join 49,937 other supporters in taking action