Lock the Gate Alliance will tomorrow begin a bus tour through the Hunter Valley to highlight the devastating impact of coal mining as the region faces proposed expansions of several large mines.
Local landholders have invited Sydney and coastal supporters to the region in order to tell their story and so city people can see first hand how mining has torn up the landscape and polluted the air.
Bulga and Milbrodale Progress Association Member John Krey, who is meeting with bus passengers tomorrow said, “I really think it’s important for Sydney-siders and people from the cities to understand what’s happening in the Hunter Valley, and the costs Hunter Valley people bear for the sake of the state’s coal export industry.
“Most people who don’t live here don’t appreciate the noise and the dust that comes from open cut coal mining, they don’t appreciate the general pollution, they don’t appreciate the environmental destruction of the rare ecosystems up here caused by coal mining, or the social dislocation.
“When you drive into this area, you can’t help but be staggered by the hundreds of hectares that used to be bushland or productive farmland that have been destroyed for coal mining.”
Muswellbrook local and retired Muswellbrook High science teacher Wendy Wales, who is meeting with bus tour passengers tomorrow said, “It has been devastating to watch the landscape of the Hunter Valley transform from rural paddocks and fields, hills and mountains, to coal mine overburden as far as the eye can see.
“The peak of Mount Arthur will be blocked out shortly because these mountains of coal mining spoil piles are growing. There is a 180 degree panorama of coal mine overburden when you crest the hill to arrive in Muswellbrook.
“Mount Pleasant coal mine is right on the doorstep of town and the air pollution from this mine is causing people to develop serious cases of asthma and other respiratory health issues.
“Government planning laws have totally failed our town. After twenty years of coal mining boom there is disadvantage, sickness, and anxiety about what the industry will leave behind when the coal mines close. At the moment the government does not have the answers to this problem. We need a fair and just transition and showing folks from Sydney and the coast the reality of our region’s challenges will help us secure our future.”
Fourth generation Muswellbrook local Tony Lonergan said, “Muswellbrook is not a prosperous town, despite years of creating wealth for the multinational mining companies.
“Muswellbrook is surrounded by coal mines on all sides. It is impacting the air quality and it has taken away the horizon. We don’t see the valley anymore - we see a mountain of overburden.
“These companies are talking about expanding their coal mines until 2050. They would condemn us not just to local air pollution and abandoned voids but to catastrophic levels of global warming. We’re grateful to the people from Sydney taking their weekend to visit our valley, because the decisions to expand these mines are made by people in Sydney and Canberra and we want our voices heard."
Lock the Gate spokesperson Steve Phillips said, “Hunter Valley locals have worked for decades to sustainably diversify the region so it has a bright future when overseas demand for thermal coal inevitably dries up.
“At almost every turn, they have been let down by the coal mining companies who have made billions off a resource that is rightfully owned by the people of NSW, and by complicit governments.
“The Hunter has a proud history of coal mining, and a profound dependence on it that could leave us stranded if we don’t prepare and talk maturely about it. The Hunter desperately needs a local-led transition plan that prioritises sustainable industries as the world shifts to cleaner energy alternatives so locals are not left high and dry when demand for thermal coal inevitably ceases to exist.”
ENDS