Maules Creek Continuation Project

I have worked for the mine for 4 years and have seen the good they have done for the community. With events, charitable donations, sponsorships. Without diversity in local industries, we will not grow. We cannot solely rely on agriculture.

I support the Maules Creek Continuation Project as proposed by Whitehaven Coal. The continuation of mining operations beyond 2030 will provide long-term benefits to the local economy, including stable employment for workers in the region and continued support for local businesses and services.

As a local resident of Boggabri who moved to the town recently, the town in which I chose to move my family too would shut down given the mine puts so much money and time into the town for the schools, shops and general economics of the town. It would be detrimental to myself, my family and the township of Boggabri for the mine to shut down.

I like my job, whitehaven employees over 1000 people

I support the project as it provides multiple position for many people near and far

I support the continuation of Maules Creek operation.
Maules creek operation has provided my family with employment opportunities, approval of the continuation project will provide economic support to the local and regional economies. Our region requires large base employment to secure ongoing economic stability.

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This project is incredibly important to the viability of the North West Region. Without it, huge numbers of people will loose their jobs in the near term - a bad outcome for the region. We are fortunate to have low unemployment in the region, and a large corporation like Whitehaven sharing the benefits of mining with the broader community. As a local resident of Gunnedah, I fully support the project.

The Knitting Nannas Hunter Loop are a group of women dedicated to preserving what we can for future generations. As residents of the Hunter Valley we are aware of the benefits and consequences of having a coal mine in close proximity. We object to the proposed Maules creek coal mine expansion on several grounds.
1. Green house gas emissions
Globally we are facing a climate crisis which has been reflected locally, just this winter in NSW, with horrific unprecedented flooding events.
The direct emissions from the mining process itself, of over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, will completely undermine NSW achieving its climate targets.
The NSW Court of Appeal decision on the Mt Pleasant coal mine established that new approvals need to fully assess the impacts of the downstream emissions from the project on the local environment and community. Whitehaven Coal should now be required to do this. None of this has been done in the current EIS.

2. The effect on the local community
This expansion poses a major risk to local farmers. water resources will be damaged and stolen. Whitehaven has already been prosecuted for water theft. Dust, noise and competition for local housing will all impact the local community. Perhaps worst of all this approval is so far into the future that the community will be left with no opportunity for other development, agricultural or otherwise, into the future. It will effectively mean the death of the community even if the project fails to go ahead. In other words, the opportunity loss to this community if the approval goes ahead is immense.
3. Environmental and habitat effects
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.

Submission to NSW Government Opposing the Proposed Ten-Year Extension of the Maules Creek Coal Mine to December 2044

Thank you for the opportunity to record my total opposition to this egregious and far-anticipatory proposal to both expand the Maules Creek Coal Mine, and to extend its destructive and foully polluting operation for a decade more, until the end of 2044.

As a long-term resident of NSW and well familiar with the affected area, I have been implacably opposed to this Maules Creek project from the time it was originally proposed: along with the fierce objections and rightful concerns of the farming community throughout the surrounding areas, and also the total opposition of the elders and families of the Gomoroi people, the original custodians.

As you would surely be aware, the whole regional community mobilised in unity against the project, with rolling protests at the site involving many thousands of people over a period of more than two years. That community anger has surely not diminished since the original mine opening in 2015; that fiercely smouldering anger, disappointment and resentment will surely flame up more fiercely than ever at this utterly unconscionable - and highly presumptuous – further proposal not only to enlarge the project but also to add a further decade of its contamination beyond the present end date of 2034, through to the end of 2044.

In terms of that contamination, the approval and implementation of the “Maules Creek Coal Mine Continuation Project” would dig up an additional 117 million tonnes of coal for export; the greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction and burning of this obsolescent fossil fuel will jeopardise Australia’s meeting legislated emissions reduction targets and commitment to the Paris Agreement and heighten the risks of accelerating climate change disasters. It will also destroy the beautiful Leard State Forest, endangering Swift Parrots, draining water resources and putting the health and wellbeing of the local community at risk.

Laying those critical issues out more clearly and sequentially: my key concerns are:

1. Proponent Deviously Leapfrogging an anticipatory approval that won’t start until 2034, as a free pass to avoid and evade any intervening tightening of the rules

I do not believe that the NSW Government should be considering – and certainly not approving - a massive coal mine expansion now that will not even start until 2034. The particular concern in this is that the proponent deviously seeking to secure a long-term “free pass” through till then in case climate laws are strengthened further in response to the rapidly escalating impacts of global warming in more extreme weather events.

It is also intended to provide an anticipatory “free pass” is locking in Maules Creek’s greenhouse gas emissions far into the future – a “free pass” that we surely cannot afford to give, as it jeopardises everyone’s sustainable future.

2. Swift Parrots and Leard State Forest

This project will clear over 500 hectares of key foraging habitat for the extremely endangered Swift Parrot, despite only 500 of them remaining in the wild; and will push the species drastically 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.

3. Whitehaven is a serial high-risk 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.

4. 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 also exacerbate the housing crisis in the region.

5. Court Ruling on 24 July 2025: Approving Authority MUST take account of Clime Impact Implications

NSW communities are already experiencing devastating impacts from runaway global heating and the increasingly deadly impacts of intensifying climate change; and 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.

On 24 July 2025, “The New South Wales court of appeal has overturned the approval of the largest coalmine expansion in the state after a community environment group successfully argued the planning commission failed to consider the impact of all of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“The court found the independent planning commission was required and failed to consider the impacts of all emissions associated with the project on the local environment, including from the exported emissions – known as scope 3 emissions – when the coal is sold and burnt overseas. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/24/significant-legal-breakthrough-as-nsw-court-blocks-coal-mine-expansion-over-emissions

In Conclusion

Accordingly, I now urge that the Proposal for the Expansion and Extension of the Maules Creek Coal Mine be refused.
Thank you.

Rupert Macgregor
04/08 /2025

I am currently employed at Whitehaven Maules Creek as a Maintenance Superintendent. The project is well run and has considerable benefit to the local community. My family and many other families rely on the income generated by the mine to live in regional NSW. The Coal industry in generally is a massive contributor to the NSW economy and Whitehaven Coal is likely the biggest employer in the local area. With Maules Creek Coal being the major site.

I work at MCC and support the ongoing project, for not only my own, but ongoing local job opportunities.
The project supports the local communities be it with sponsorship etc, or just local workers funnelling money back into the local community.

The continuity of the project will give a positive domino and multiplier effects to the surrounding regions, communities, and people.

I write in strong support of the Maules Creek Mine Continuation Project, which seeks approval to extend operations through to 2044. This project is critical for the economic, social, and strategic stability of North West NSW.

Economic and Employment Rationale
Employment Security: The continuation directly safeguards over 900 local jobs—employment that is regionally concentrated and not easily replaceable by other industries.

Economic Multipliers: Beyond direct employment, the mine underpins hundreds of indirect jobs across transport, services, and local procurement networks.

Local Investment Cycle: Operational continuity allows stable capital reinvestment in regional infrastructure, training pipelines, and SME growth across the supply chain.

Regional Development Imperatives
Decentralised Economic Resilience: Maules Creek represents a rare long-term industrial anchor in an otherwise economically vulnerable region. Its loss would reverse a decade of regional economic diversification and demographic retention.

Skills and Community Development: The project supports apprenticeships, Indigenous engagement programs, and community partnerships that will not be sustained without operational continuity.

Strategic and Transitional Considerations
Energy Transition Realities: While broader decarbonisation is a policy goal, the economic pathway must remain orderly, risk-managed, and regionally inclusive. Premature curtailment risks social and economic dislocation.

Regulatory Oversight: The project remains subject to stringent environmental and operational conditions under NSW regulatory frameworks. Continued approval does not imply deregulation.

Conclusion
The Maules Creek Continuation Project is not merely an industrial proposal—it is a socio-economic stabiliser. It delivers tangible local benefits, supports long-term regional planning objectives, and aligns with a just transition framework. I urge the Commission to approve the continuation in the public interest.

I strongly support the continuation of mining at Maules Creek. The mine, and Whitehaven's broader presence in the region, plays a critical role supporting local employment and local businesses.
Without the mine, local people will be forced to travel further afield for work and local businesses will lose a secure source of income.
The mine also makes signfiicant contributions to the local community throughs skills development, education, health services and investment in local infrastructure and community organisations.
At a broder level, mining remains fundamental to our prosperity through the billions of dollars it contributes in taxes and royalties.
Since the commencement of operations, Maules Creek has demonstrated its credentials as a responsible operator and it continues to minimise and manage impacts as best as possible.

The continuation of this project will ensure a significant amount of money goes into the local community & provides a lot of career opportunities for the local people.

I strongly support the continuation of operations at the Maules Creek Coal Mine (MCCM) until 2044 as outlined in the development application. Extending the project's life will provide critical benefits to the local community and broader economy.

Both my wife and I are employed in specialised roles at Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal Mine. We relocated from the Hunter Valley nine years ago in pursuit of a better quality of life, and since then, Whitehaven has provided our family with the opportunity to establish the rural lifestyle we had long aspired to. The continuation of this project is essential not only to maintaining our professional livelihoods but also to preserving the community-focused way of life we have built in the region.

Whitehaven has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the local area through generous sponsorships and community donations. These contributions have supported local schools, sporting clubs, events, and community initiatives, helping to build a stronger and more connected region.

The project also supports around 940 jobs on average and plays a vital role in boosting local procurement, contributing significantly to the economic resilience of North West NSW. The Environmental Impact Statement provides robust measures to protect and enhance the local environment, demonstrating Whitehaven’s responsible approach to development.

I urge the NSW planning department to approve the continuation of this project and support the long-term sustainability of Maules Creek and its people.

Good for the local community and keeping the local economy within the community.
Jobs for locals and keeping locals in for area for job stability.
Long term future opportunities.
Brings other buisness to the local area and supports small buisness with in the town and gets behind sporting clubs and other various community organisations

I would like to see an extension on this project to continue to support local jobs for locals and local businesses. Whitehaven continues to support local businesses and helps regional areas thrive.

We've worked with Maules Creek for the past 7 years. The continuation of the project is essential to our business and the continued employment of the local people we employ.