Maules Creek Continuation Project

This project cannot proceed on numerous accounts.
Firstly we need NO NEW FOSSIL FUEL projects when the planet has already reached 1.5 degrees of warming and we are seeing the impacts of climate change daily on its inhabitants.
Secondly this project threatens the area's precious land inhabitants which already are endangered-the swift parrot- and need to be protected at all costs.Extinction rates of species world wide is at an all time high and to continue to contribute to this is criminal. In addition,widespread land clearing is adding to climate change and needs to be halted.
Thirdly the impact on the local residents is negative on numerous accounts-the impact of mining with blasting,pollution of water and air and negative social impacts.

I am a city resident, but last year visited the Narrabri area and viewed the Leard State Forest and coal mines in the region.
I wish to comment on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Maules Creek Continuation project.

1. Water is vital for the area but mining impacts are unseen
Whitehaven’s previous record in extracting water shows the company has been underhand, disregarding conditions and stealing water.
I am not confident that assurances they give for the future can be trusted. The impact of water loss on farming and the natural environment of the Leard Forest cannot be seen until it is too late – and water theft is hidden.
Previous approvals allowed Whitehaven to draw 3000 Megalitres from two water sources. This project would draw on seven water sources, and proposes to draw 5400 Megalitres.

2. Swift Parrot habitat matters
Sometimes we value human economic activity too highly in comparison to the importance of maintaining the web of life. It is thinking like this that has led to the destruction of natural areas including forests, and the increasing extinctions of plant and animal species,
To endanger a feeding area of the Swift Parrot – now estimated to only have 500-750 birds remaining – is wrong.

3. Climate impacts of continuing coal are too serious to ignore
Global warming is fuelling dangerous changes to our environment through drought, bushfires, heat and floods. Continuing to approve coal mine expansions will only exacerbate these. The United Nations has called for no more coal mining starting now. I call on the Department of Planning to heed these warnings and reject the continuation of the Maules Creek mine beyond 2034.

Dear Readers

Below are my objections -

Banking an approval that won’t start until 2034
• The NSW Government shouldn’t be approving a coal mine expansion now that
will not even start until 2034 – it is locking in greenhouse gas emissions far into
the future that we can’t afford.
• This proposal is designed to ‘bank’ an approval now before climate laws are
strengthened further in response to the rapidly escalating impacts of global
warming in the form of more extreme weather events.
Swifties and Leard State Forest
• This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift
Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild, and will push the species
closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk.
• The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State
Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for
three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed
for coal mine profits.

Whitehaven is a serial offender
• Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years,
Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35
occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been
prosecuted numerous times.
Water and communities at risk
• This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources – it will suck down
water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their
stock. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules
Ck coal mine at the height of the last drought.
• The expansion will harm the local farming community at Maules Ck and cause
negative social impacts.
• It will further empty the district of families through alienation of productive land,
and create dangerous dust pollution and escalating noise for surrounding areas,
whilst creating division and conflict. It will exacerbate the housing crisis in the
region.

Turbocharging climate change
• NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global
warming but this project will produce an extra 238 million tonnes of total
greenhouse gas pollution.
• The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving climate
targets.
Please give your considerations to all the objections I have made and remember that our Country leads the World for Extinctions of Native Species.

Thank you.

Sincerely

Julie Reid

We must move away from fossil fuels, and especially projects which are not slated to commence for nine years. Whitehaven Coal has an appalling record of non-compliance with legal requirements, so it is unacceptable to allow them to destroy a further 500 hectares of State Forest, particularly when this is a vital foraging ground for the seriously endangered Swift Parrot. This project must not be approved.

Please see my detailed subbmission attached, and thank you.

I object to this expansion on a number of grounds.
The Leard State Forest will be further diminished as a site of native vegetation, a source of food for migratory birds such as the Swift Parrot, several bat species, koala, quolls and endangered vegetation such as the white Box-Gum.
The expansion of the mine will have further detrimental effects on water supplies, air quality, noise levels and farming land in the Maules Creek area. The expansion of the mine will not contribute to the limits on climate change and the reduction of green-house gas emission that we are all meant to be working towards internationally.

I support the continuation of Maules Creek Mine because it plays a significant role in contributing to the local and national economy through job creation, regional development, and export revenues. The mine supports hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, particularly in rural communities, and helps sustain local businesses. Additionally, with proper environmental management and adherence to regulatory standards, I believe it’s possible to balance economic benefits with responsible environmental stewardship.

I find it ridiculous that the approval system can be considering a project that that won’t start for 9 years. Whether it's economic, scientific, legal, environmental or social grounds any number of changes can and will occur in that period. Looking to establish ground rules that far in advance should not countenanced in any way.

In particular this proposal is designed to ‘bank’ an approval now before climate laws are strengthened further in response to the rapidly escalating impacts of global warming in the form of more extreme weather events.


Aside from the all-important emissions issues (more on that later) there are very specific local environment issues that must be considered.

This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild, and it will push the species closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk.
The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed for coal mine profits.

This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources – it will suck down water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their stock.



I'll now move on to corporate governance issues.
Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years, Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35 occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been prosecuted numerous times.
Water and communities at risk

Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules Ck coal mine at the height of the last drought.


On the human/societal front the expansion will harm the local farming community at Maules Ck and cause negative social impacts.
It will further empty the district of families through alienation of productive land, and create dangerous dust pollution and escalating noise for surrounding areas, whilst creating division and conflict. It will exacerbate the housing crisis in the region.


NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global warming but this project will produce an extra 238 million tonnes of total greenhouse gas pollution.
Following the NSW Court of Appeal decision last week on the Mt Pleasant coal mine, Whitehaven Coal should be required to fully assess the impacts of the downstream emissions from the project on the local environment and community. This requires proper attribution science to be conducted. None of this has been done in the current EIS.
The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving climate targets.

In summary - this project should be rejected. There are no potential positive outcomes, beyond the possibility of lining the pockets of Whitehaven shareholders. And if that occurs it will be to the detriment of NSW, the environment and future generations

Submission regarding expansion of the Maules Creek Coal mine
I am opposed to any further expansion of the Maules Creek Coal Mine. Climate change is already affecting our entire ecosystem over the whole world. We should be doing everything we can to protect our climate and environment for future generations. It is well known that digging up coal will further destroy our environment. We must stop this now, not give an approval that won’t even start until 2034. This is outrageous. How can we even consider locking in further greenhouse gas emissions so far into the future?
NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global warming and climate change, yet this project will produce an extra 238 million tonnes of total greenhouse gas pollution. The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving climate targets.
I thought our parliament was there to protect us and protect our environment. Clearly not the case if they are looking to approve something like this which will knowingly continue to destroy our environment.
We also have a duty to protect our endangered flora and fauna. This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild, and will push the species closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk. The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed for coal mine profits.
Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years, Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35 occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been prosecuted numerous times.
This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources – it will suck down water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their stock. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules Ck coal mine at the height of the last drought and now the Government is looking at allowing them to further deplete and pollute water sources.
There will also be terrible impacts for the local Maules Ck farming community. They do not want these mines.
The Government must not approve this mine expansion.

Dear Decision Makers,
Canaries of great warning of desisting from action and requiring remedial action, matters are now catastrophical.
1. Australia leads in the people caused mass extinction and biodiversity loss; 100 million koalas in 1788, 100,000 now, is optimistic;
2. Umpteen failed rescue packages for the Murray-Baaka - we do not know what we are doing;
3. Gigantic heatwaves including ocean ones, cosmologically rapid, making it impossible for life to adjust, rather than the biosphere being reset;
4. Much of Australia may be harsh, but it is also extremely fragile;
5. Latest three yearly state of the environment report to NSW, ecological health is 29 per cent to that of 1788;
6. Since the shortlived brightness of the 1960s' beacon and brightness, there has been a universe of environment protection law, yet we look upon the above.
7. Real action is required but Melbourne and Sydney building on their rich soils, to the west and south west of their respective CBDs, shows how dangerous, lost and misguided people are. There is a black hole leadership void.

Climate Change
1. Ninety seven per cent of the climate scientific field, and the very best, warn of the risk, there is no room for expansion of fossil, in any form, whose 20 - 80 times more potent methane leaking, in addition from carbon dioxide, from burning, from all fossil energy production, throughout, enters the now charged atmosphere, uncontrollably.
2.You and I are not experts, but, of course, bound by the experts, in this case of the laws of risk.
3. Though Earth, orbitally, should be heading to another ice age, it is now 1.5 degrees warmer, than 300 years ago, when industrial use of fossil began. This is a jump in cosmological terms, and acceleration, in recent decades, is put down to the removal of other reflective filth from the atmosphere.
4. This rise in temperature explains the recurrent snap freezing of North America and Europe of a more volatile atmosphere, of more heat in gas, making the gas, other than the inert group, ever more lively, driving polar air further. Conversely Muscovites were depressed when during a recent Christmas period, temperature was a mild 5 degrees, showing the swirling of more energy in the atmosphere that is happening.
5. People are commenting on this year's colder starts to the days. However, the maximum of such days is exceeding the ruling maximum average, by up to four degrees, consistently, in the exceeding showing in these grass roots terms something is terribly amiss.
6. Look at the land clearing in NSW.

Summary: Ken Henry points out there are no sound economic policies without a sound environment. Without listing the ways, despite the talk on environment and universes of protective law, starting with the 1960s, Earth, from pole to pole, is a basket case, of much filth. The world and its scarce life, is riddled with petroleum plastic, in one form or another, including the rigid, in helpless animals' gullets. Forever chemicals.

For years, 2000-2015, I would swim daily at inner Newcastle's south facing Bar Beach which became a rubbish tip when a southerly blew. So much for the talk and protective law.

That the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors the oceans and atmosphere, is of the US Department of Commerce, this is very pointed, showing people are part of the environment, but with power, can have a vast effect, racing towards destruction, so far.

All powered societies must maximise their people being environmentalists. So many lost in this now dead end world, brought about only by collectiveness, is a matter for unprecedented grieving, for mounting death and loss.

At 73, it is a matter of exquisite loss, south east Australia, my hunting ground ceased to be the wonderful temperate climate, about 30 years ago.

Flash flooding, another canary, of quickly changing climate, of more heat energy in the atmosphere, increasing the water holding capacity before the now dam bursts from the sky, on the 1.5 degrees rise, in Europe and Asia and North America and South America and Australia and Africa. of of frequent 1-in-500 or 1000 years event shows how rapidly matters are on the move now. Another canary.

The environment control us, much is uncontrollable and should not be made more uncontrollable and less habitable by life, generally.

Wishing you well,

Yours sincerely,
Graeme Tychsen

Banking an approval that won’t start until 2034
The NSW Government shouldn’t be approving a coal mine expansion now that will not even start until 2034 – it is locking in greenhouse gas emissions far into the future that we can’t afford.
This proposal is designed to ‘bank’ an approval now before climate laws are strengthened further in response to the rapidly escalating impacts of global warming in the form of more extreme weather events.

Swift Parrots and Leard State Forest
This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild, and will push the species closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk.
The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed for coal mine profits.

Whitehaven is a serial offender
Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years, Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35 occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been prosecuted numerous times.

Water and communities at risk
This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources – it will suck down water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their stock. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules Ck coal mine at the height of the last drought.

The expansion will harm the local farming community at Maules Ck and cause negative social impacts.
It will further empty the district of families through alienation of productive land, and create dangerous dust pollution and escalating noise for surrounding areas, whilst creating division and conflict. It will exacerbate the housing crisis in the region.

Turbocharging climate change
NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global warming but this project will produce an extra 238 million tonnes of total greenhouse gas pollution.

Following the NSW Court of Appeal decision last week on the Mt Pleasant coal mine, Whitehaven Coal should be required to fully assess the impacts of the downstream emissions from the project on the local environment and community. This requires proper attribution science to be conducted. None of this has been done in the current EIS.

The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving climate targets.

This project represents an enormous source of social and economic value to the Gunnedah/Narrabri region. It provides 800 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs through suppliers/contractors.

Gunnedah is a farming region which experiences long periods of poor conditions and this mine assists the local community by providing an economic diversification to buffer against the wild swings in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture and mining can coexist and compliment each other in this region.

Based on what I have seen with my own eyes, the behaviour of the company currently mining this location is not fit to operate. I have been sent to the pit to repair one of three water pumps operating pumping pit water out. This is due to the artesian water table being disturbed. There was a hole in the high wall approximately 400mm diameter gushing water into the pit.
I was one of the first people onsite in February 2014 prior to mining operations. Since this time, local residents have informed me of the dramatic drop in the water table.
Narrabri Shire had not benefited from this operation. We have left the district due to these changes, there are not 900 local jobs to protect as a large percentage of people are FIFO or DIDO.

I strongly object to the Maules Creek Coal Mine Continuation Project Application Number SSD-63428218.
The continuation of this project in Leard State Forest should not be approved. It is not in the public interest. In fact, it would be a negative state significant development. The impact of the mining and burning of coal from the greenhouse gas emissions on global warming from this proposed extraction of 117 million tonnes would be avoided if this expansion and extension did not take place.
I consider that Condition 27 of the existing MCCM approval could be seen to actually require that this application for a ”continuation” be rejected by the NSW State Government. There should be no further approval if the public interest, as expressed by the Paris Agreement and NSW Government Climate Targets, is recognised as it should be. The current capacity of the MCCM to reasonably and feasibly minimise the emissions of greenhouse gases from the site includes the cessation of mining as soon as possible and certainly at the conclusion of the currently approved period.
[Greenhouse Gas Emissions
27. The Proponent shall implement all reasonable and feasible measures to minimise the release of greenhouse gas emissions from the site to the satisfaction of the Director-General.]
If the coal was left in the ground there would be over 500 more hectares remaining of the Leard State Forest precious remnant of woodland forest providing habitat for critically endangered ecosystems and threatened species of flora and fauna. The extant global heating inaction crisis and biodiversity loss crisis is exacerbated by any further clearing of habitat and digging and burning of coal.
This proposal, on public land particularly, is not in the public interest. It would approve production of greenhouse gas emissions after 2034. On the current global trajectory of global warming and corresponding recognition by the legal system, it is likely that contributing to greenhouse gas emissions for private profit will be criminal. This proposal is clearly the attempt by Whitehaven Company to try to gain approval before laws change.
Whitehaven Company is not a good corporate citizen. They have even been prosecuted for theft of water. During the recent drought they took more than their agreed share with the other users in the Maules Creek Community, including the farmers.
Whitehaven Company do not care about or has failed to understand the need for the consideration of the impact of the proposal on biodiversity. The consequences of clearing the habitat afforded by the precious remnant Leard State Forest cannot be mitigated or offset by planting 2,300 ha of seedling trees in a paddock. ‘Native woodland’ habitat features of hollow bearing trees for denning by gliders, mature tree canopies for feasting on the nectar of resplendent eucalypt blossoming for the Swift Parrots without them having to use energy flying from tree to tree are just two examples of the loss and impact of clearing forest with ecological integrity that the Biodiversity Assessment Report (BDAR) can be said to describe. But there is a clear failure to maintain or improve the environment with respect to, for instance, these example habitat features in the immediate term, it is simply not possible, growth takes time! This is time that critically endangered species do not have.
The MCCM Continuation Project does not propose any viable resolution of impact of pushing a species even closer to extinction. In the Background Document to the National Swift Parrot Recovery Plan, June 2010, the Swift Parrot population in the world was estimated to be 2,500 in 2007. (Saunders et al. (2007) Conservation of the Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor – management lessons for a threatened migratory species)
The population of Swift Parrots is now more like 500 to 700. Table 71 (page 400) of Appendix C BDAR cites Webb et al (2021) as estimating the population to be 750. There also was an estimated population of around 600 birds seen near Bendigo this year, 2025 DECCA_Victoria.
Irrespective of the current size of the population, the trajectory of the population is clearly in decline. The species is critically endangered! The Swift Parrot was not seen in Leard State Forest survey work in 2024 but 21 individuals were seen in 2023 and it had also been detected in 2022.
The National Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) 2024 page 15 notes:
Surveys
When considering habitat loss, alteration or degradation to habitat in any part of the Swift Parrot’s range,including in areas where the species ‘may occur’, surveys for occupancy at the appropriate times of the year and identifying preferred foraging species remain an important tool in refining understanding of the area’s relative importance for Swift Parrots. In addition, it is also important to note that Swift Parrots opportunistically use areas depending on the occurrence of eucalypt flowering. As a result, the absence of Swift Parrots from a given location at a given time cannot be taken as evidence that that location is unsuitable habitat. Rather, if there are potential food plants present (that include resources such as lerps, not just flowers) then that site may be utilised by Swift Parrots if conditions become favourable. This opportunistic habitat use means survey data and historical records need to be considered when assessing the relative importance of a local area or region for Swift Parrots, in addition to the knowledge that variation in local conditions is a crucial predictor of Swift Parrot presence/absence and site utilisation (Webb et al. 2019).
The response to the Commonwealth Assessment criteria of significant impact of the clearing in Leard State Forest of over 500 hectares of foraging habitat for Swift Parrots recorded in Table 71 of Appendix C of the BDAR provides the information that should be used to determine that the proposal should not proceed . I submit that an objective assessment of the information provided in conjunction with the recognition that a species that is in critical danger of extinction cannot have impact mitigated, the impact must be prevented at all costs.
The habitat for this endangered species needs to be protected if we are to be serious about preventing species extinction.
There is no case made for the continuation of this mine in this time of climate and biodiversity crises.

As a concerned citizen, keen environmental defender and after having spent nearly three decades in the remote outback I object the Maules Creek Continuation Project for several reasons as follows.

Premature application

I believe it’s premature to apply 9 years in advance for an extension of a coal mine, especially in our current climate crisis.
No responsible government should lock in greenhouse gas emissions far into the future that we can’t afford.

Swifties and Leard State Forest

This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild, and will push the species closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk.
The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed for coal mine profits.

Whitehaven is a serial offender

Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years, Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35 occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been prosecuted numerous times.

Water and communities at risk

This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources – it will suck down water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their stock. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules Ck coal mine at the height of the last drought.
The expansion will harm the local farming community at Maules Ck and cause negative social impacts.
It will further empty the district of families through alienation of productive land, and create dangerous dust pollution and escalating noise for surrounding areas, whilst creating division and conflict. It will exacerbate the housing crisis in the region.

Turbocharging climate change

NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global warming but this project will produce an extra 238 million tonnes of total greenhouse gas pollution.
Following the NSW Court of Appeal decision last week on the Mt Pleasant coal mine, Whitehaven Coal should be required to fully assess the impacts of the downstream emissions from the project on the local environment and community. This requires proper attribution science to be conducted. None of this has been done in the current EIS.
The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving climate targets.

For the reasons outlined above I am asking for this application to be rejected. Our future generations deserve to enjoy all our unique and beautiful wildlife as we have been fortunate enough to do so.

Please see full comments provided in the attachment.

IEEFA has reviewed the Maules Creek Continuation Project Economic Assessment (Appendix K to the Environmental Impact Assessment) and found numerous problems with the proponent’s thermal coal price forecasts, carbon cost assumptions and projected greenhouse gas emissions.

1. The thermal coal price forecasts in the economic assessment are significantly higher than other analysts’ forecasts, with no justification for the difference provided.
2. The sensitivity analysis applied to coal prices estimates in the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) fails to capture alternate forecast data and downside risks facing both thermal and metallurgical coal.
3. The proponent has not used NSW Treasury shadow carbon prices to estimate carbon costs.
4. Carbon costs are excluded from the CBA sensitivity analysis results.
5. The proponent has not reported expected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by individual greenhouse gas type.

Applying the NSW Treasury shadow carbon price to the current estimated carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the project would generate at least an additional AUD221 million in carbon costs, in Net Present Value (NPV) terms, over five times higher than currently estimated by the proponent in its CBA. If methane emissions from the project are higher than reported and estimated, these costs could be even higher.

Applying thermal coal price estimates in line with other analysts’ projections would decrease the NPV of the project to NSW to at least AUD482 million less than is claimed in the current economic assessment base, all other aspects remining equal. The impact of these lower prices could also make the mine unprofitable, meaning the operator may pause or cease production early and no additional royalties would be generated by the project, decreasing the estimated NPV further.
The economic assessment is therefore not currently in line with NSW government requirements and guidelines on how to prepare an economic assessment for this type of project. The difference in assumed carbon costs in the proponent’s economic assessment with NSW Treasury shadow carbon prices, and the difference between the proponent’s expected thermal coal prices and other forecasters expected thermal coal prices, mean that the overall NPV calculated by the proponent in its CBA is unlikely to be plausible and should be disregarded in the project assessment until the economic assessment can be amended and re-submitted.

We recommend that the Minister and Independent Planning Commission require the proponent to re-submit the economic assessment for the project in line with current NSW government requirements and guidelines. To do this the proponent should:
1. Use NSW Treasury carbon prices in its CBA and in its sensitivity analysis
2. Report projected GHG emissions form the project by type of gas (methane as well as carbon dioxide)
3. Consider requiring greater sensitivity analysis to be conducted in the CBA on estimated GHG emissions from the project to account for uncertainties in methane emissions.
4. Request the proponent to reference thermal coal price forecasts from other sources and improve the sensitivity analysis in the CBA to better account for uncertainties in thermal coal price estimates and downside risks to these price forecasts.

Kind regards,
Anne-Louise Knight, Lead Research Analyst, Australian Coal

Dear Madam/Sir,

I hereby lodge my submission to the Maules Creek Coal Mine Continuation Project.

I am against Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek coal mine 10-year extension and their further clearing of Leard State Forest.

Whitehaven Coal is pushing for yet another damaging expansion of their Maules Creek coal mine, locking in climate destruction until 2044. If this goes ahead, it will not just scar the land, it will wipe out critical habitat for the Swift Parrot, one of Australia’s most endangered birds. With fewer than 500 left in the wild, every tree matters.

The Leard State Forest is a sanctuary for these rare birds, one of the few places on the mainland where they are still seen feeding on native blossoms. But with Whitehaven’s expansion their precious habitat will be replaced by a giant coal pit.

It is not just nature under threat. Local communities are still dealing with the impacts of mining. Over 70 properties have been bought up by coal mines, hollowing out the valley. Whitehaven has been caught illegally taking water during the last drought. And they have left a legacy of environmental harm and broken trust.

* Swifties and Leard State Forest:

This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the Swift Parrot. As mentioned above, only 500 of them remain in the wild and this will push the species closer to extinction. This is a key site for Swifties and must not be put at risk.

The project will also clear a further 428 hectares of the beautiful Leard State Forest, resulting in over 46% of the State Forest having been cleared in total for three coal mines. Our scarce and precious public lands should not be destroyed for coal mine profits.

* Water and communities at risk:

This expansion poses a major risk to local water resources. It will suck down water beneath local creeks and the groundwater used by farmers to water their stock. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for stealing water at the Maules Creek coal mine at the height of the last drought.

The expansion will harm the local farming community at Maules Creek and cause negative social impacts. It will further empty the district of families through alienation of productive land, and create dangerous dust pollution and escalating noise for surrounding areas, whilst creating division and conflict. It will also exacerbate the housing crisis in the region.

* Turbocharging climate change:

New South Wales communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from global warming. This project will produce an additional 238 million tonnes of total greenhouse gas pollution.

Following the New South Wales Court of Appeal decision last week on the Mount Pleasant coal mine, Whitehaven Coal should be required to fully assess the impacts of the downstream emissions from this project on the local environment and community. This requires proper attribution science to be conducted. None of this has been done in the current EIS.

The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine New South Wales achieving it’s climate targets.

* Whitehaven is a serial offender:

Whitehaven Coal has an appalling compliance record. In the last 10 years, Whitehaven has been found guilty or investigated for breaches of the law on 35 occasions, many of them including multiple offences. They have been prosecuted numerous times. No permission should be granted for this extension.

* Banking an approval that will not start until 2034:

The New South Wales Government should not be approving a coal mine expansion NOW that will not even start until 2034. It is locking in greenhouse gas emissions far into the future that Australia simply cannot afford.

This proposal is designed to ‘bank’ an approval now, ahead of time, before climate laws are strengthened further in response to the rapidly escalating impacts of global warming in the form of more extreme weather events.

I stand with the local community who are fighting to protect the beautiful Leard State Forest and the Swift Parrot, and defend their precious water resources. The Minister for Planning must reject the Maules Creek Coal Mine Continuation Project.

I say no to more coal, more destruction, and more climate harm.

Our forests, water, and wildlife are not for sale.

Our Swifties are right on the edge of extinction! Choose Swifties over coal!

I thank you for this opportunity to express my opinions on this matter.

For the only planet we have.

Colleen Wysser - Martin

I would like to keep working at maul’s creek coal mine

I’m strongly opposed to the proposed extension of Maules Creek mine. It’s inconceivable to me that in the midst of our anthropogenic climate crisis extending a coal mine for a further 10 years is even a possibility. The International Energy Agency has made it perfectly clear - no new coal and gas! Badging this phishing scheme an extension is a weasely back-door action.

In addition, the critically endangered Swift Parrot- relies on the Leard State Forest for feeding. The parrot - the arrow of the forest - is down to around 600 from its already endangered numbers of 8000 40 years ago. Are we seriously contemplating starving this incredible species to extinction for the sake of a potential profit in an industry that’s running itself - and our planet - into the ground?

Please reject this act of dangerous act of prospecting.

Dear NSW Government
Please find ATTACHED my formal submission that outlines my objection to the Maules Creek Continuation Project. This project if approved, will operate to 2044 and will cause further climate change risks with increased emissions, destroy species habitat, negatively impact Leard State Forest, effect critically endangered wildlife and their ability to survive, and contaminate water. I will address the real future of more coal mines in the state and question the ethics of Whitehaven a company that has a track record of numerous breaches in their operations.
Thank you
Janice Haviland

Save the swift parrots