The Hunter Valley’s already unacceptable air quality will reach disastrous levels should the new United Wambo coal mine be approved, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.

A new report dramatically predicts that early action to diversify the economy and invest in regional development could ensure the Hunter Valley avoids the worst economic impacts of a decline in coal mining as the world moves towards a renewable energy future.

A premature attack from the NSW Minerals Council has fallen flat, with community group Lock the Gate free to continue running a television advertisement in the Hunter region urging for farmland to be protected from coal mining.

The latest Australian Electoral Commission donations report, released today, has once again exposed the cosy relationship between resource companies and political parties, according to Lock the Gate.

A mine modification recommended for approval by the NSW Department of Planning today is the thin end of the wedge for mining to creep into the productive Upper Hunter Shire and the region’s strategic agricultural land, which has no protection from coal mining.