Warkworth Coal Mine Continuation

It is vitally important that the extension is approved as so many people depend on it as a means of income, both direct employees of the mine, and employees of industries supporting the mine. The closure of the mine would have dire consequences on the community of Singleton which depend so highly on the mining industry .

I support the mt thorley warkworth mine extension.

To secure the future for my job and family and also other young families and other residents in the communities surrounding the mine, I support the submission of the MTW extension.

I support the Warkworth extension. Coal and allied are environmentally responsible and the extension will support 1300 jobs of works plus a whole heap of contractors jobs. The Singleton economy needs it.

I support the Singleton Extension. It is critical for the Singleton economy and will support heaps of jobs. I have faith in coal and allied will be environmentally responsible in controlling dust and noise.

I support the Warkworth extension. It is critical for the jobs of the local economy.

If this extension does not go ahead, it will have a major impact of my family, lifestyle and career.

Not only is Warkworth a great place to work, but it is great for the future of the local community.

I make this submission on behalf of Stop Coal Seam Gas Blue Mountains, a community organisation comprising approx. 450 people concerned about the environmental impact of CSG and coal exploration and exraction. We wish to oppose both the Warkworth (SSD 6464) and Mt Thorley (SSD 6465) Continuation Projects.

The NSW Land and Environment Court ruled in April 2013 that expanding the Warkworth coal mine would do the NSW public more harm than good. Judge Preston found that the information used by Rio Tinto and NSW Planning in support of the project was wrong, and he overturned the approval.

When Rio Tinto and the NSW Government appealed that decision to the NSW Supreme Court (Court of Appeal), they lost. Two superior NSW courts have now ruled that Rio's plan to expand the Warkworth coal mine fails on merit.

The Bulga people and their many supporters justly assumed that this would be the end of the project. Instead, Rio Tinto have simply resubmitted their mining application. It has been split in two, and the name updated, but these two projects (SSD 6464 and SSD 6465) are effectively the same project that has been rejected by two NSW courts (MP 09_0202).

That the Planning Department has even accepted Rio Tinto's application is a failure of procedural fairness, and makes a farce of the very process you are now asking us, the public, to participate in. We are being asked to make submissions on a project that has already been through this very same assessment process and failed - only to be resubmitted. We are being asked to submit to a process overseen by a Department that is clearly working closely with the proponent to get the project approved, and which got the decision wrong the first time around. There can be no faith in this process.

The Department must respect the decisions of the NSW Land and Environment Court, and the NSW Supreme Court (Court of Appeal), and reject these applications.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

Janis O'Leary
for Stop Coal Seam Gas Blue Mountains

I agree with warkworth expansion

For the pass 25 years I have lived in Muswellbrook and held positions indirectly and within the mining industry which has enable me to provide for my family during this time, my son now also has completed a apprenticeship and works within the industry.
My concerns would be if this extension at Warkworth is not granted, the effects on employment and economy of the area.

The mine supplys 1300 jobs directly and supports more in the community.

I am writing in support of the Mount Thorley Warkworth extension.
I have been living in Singleton for the last 5 years and find Singleton a wonderful place to live. I have lived in some of Australia's largest cities and some of its smallest mining towns. All have some benefits and all some drawbacks. Brisbane was a lovely city to live in but the traffic & queues can become exhausting. Not to mention the constant noise from the roads & airport. On the other hand the smallest towns in Western Australia whilst quiet can be a little short on services, especially schooling. I share these experiences because Singleton represents a lovely balance between the two extremes and I live with a couple of coal mines only a few km's from my home.
The impact of the mines and the coal railing in the area is minimal when I consider the lifestyle we have. Good access to services, close to the coast and career opportunities most other city or country areas would die for! When considering the benefit the combined coal mining industry brings to the Hunter Valley & Newcastle region I can't imagine why we wouldn't support it. My home was noisier in Brisbane even though I lived on a quiet cul-de-sac, not to mention travel everyday was a nightmare. Singleton is a good place to live.
My children are both in school here, one at Singleton Public School (Hunter Street) and the other at Singleton High School. I don't take these for granted because there are a lot of country areas in Australia where education services struggle (low school rolls and lack of resources). The economic benefits of this region give our children a chance a lot of other country areas don't get.
The community benefits are also obvious to me. The grants given out in this area by mining company's means we have excellent facilities. From pools to sports grounds that a lot of other communities would struggle to fund.
I have lived & worked all around Australia and have seen some wonderful sites and consider myself lucky to be working & living in Singleton. Coal mining is an enormous benefit to the region and the impact not as great as some would say when you consider the choices & options it gives us.
I guess I have one final point in support of the Mount Thorley Warkworth extension. I have seen some good friends struggle with mine closures in the region over the last year. I also remember seeing the trauma the car industry workers were going through in Victoria and South Australia as the car industry was brought to its knees. Bail-out packages costing the country a small fortune were all designed to keep people employed and maintain those families & communities. The loss of an operation the size of Mount Thorley Warkworth and the devastation on all of the employees & their families will be enormous. Why would we bring that kind of damage to our friends & neighbours from a business & industry that does so much to support us?
Mount Thorley Warkworth represents tremendous value to this community and the mine extension should be supported.
Sincerely

Darryl Messenger

I believe the mine expansion should go ahead.
If it doesn't, and further cut backs are experienced, the hunter valley will cease to exist as we know it.
Thousands of people directly and indirectly will be adversely affected.
The local communities will directly suffer, as the jobs are lost and people move away. Taking their support for local business's and vital infrastructure with them.
Our children's future and opportunities as well as quality of life will also be diminished.
Lost revenue for the government and commonwealth will also be experienced if the expansion doesn't go ahead.
I believe the RTCA environmental management practices can reduce and manage the impact on the areas surrounding the proposed expansion area to a better than acceptable level as well.

I am a father myself, recently relocating to singleton to gain experience within the mining industry, taking a lot of pride in working for RTCA and grateful to be able to currently open future opportunities and increase the quality of life for my family.

We have already lost Holden, Ford and Toyota recently.
Mining is the backbone of Australias industry.
Now more than ever we need it to continue to grow if our country is to progress forward in a forever changing and competitive financial environment.

I Morgan Creagh am FOR the MTW extension, this mine supported my family for the 18 years my late Father worked here and has now supported me personally since 2007. During this time we purchased land in the local government area, built houses (which are loosing value due to the down turn, this affects everyone, not just the mine workers!), bought and maitained vehicles locally, shopped locally and have family members who work for local suppliers, all this could come to an end without the mines and the huge amounts of cash flow they provide for the area. Its been made clearly evident over the last 12 months how much value mining adds to the local area weather directly employed by the mines or through a third party supplier. We need mining

I hope you get the extension so my cousin has a job and I will no longer have to keep paying for her.

in the current economic climate it has to be approved, many thousands of peoples jobs would certainly go.
coal & allied (or previous owners) have had the mineral rights here for decades, and they own all the land.
they are not pushing they're way into new area's, or going to green field sites, Coal & Allied own all the land.
i cant see any reason not to continue,

I believe that if this application is rejected it will have direct effect in my employment at MTW mine. This would have a life changing effect on my whole family unit. The mining industry has been a great supplier of employment in the Hunter and a supporter of the community. This is in direct comparison to one of the groups who seem to be always objecting/ complaining, the local horse studs who employ a very limited people on what i bet are limited wages. What do these studs contribute to society? only gambling issues that are never mentioned and ensure that all the profits from the studs go to enure the very wealthy remain wealthy and all their weathy bookmakers etc.
Please approve this application for the future of so many families

This is a submission against both the Warkworth (SSD 6464) and Mt Thorley (SSD 6465) Continuation Projects.

I am most concerned that a legal process was followed by those objecting to this mine project, but this appears not to be respected by the other parties. I think this issue goes to the heart of proper accountability in public policy making in NSW.

The NSW Land and Environment Court ruled in April 2013 that expanding the Warkworth coal mine would do the NSW public more harm than good. Judge Preston found that the information used by Rio Tinto and NSW Planning in support of the project was wrong, and he overturned the approval.

When Rio Tinto and the NSW Government appealed that decision to the NSW Supreme Court (Court of Appeal), they lost. Two superior NSW courts have now ruled that Rio's plan to expand the Warkworth coal mine fails on merit.

The Bulga people and their many supporters justly assumed that this would be the end of the project. Instead, Rio Tinto have simply resubmitted their mining application. It has been split in two, and the name updated, but these two projects (SSD 6464 and SSD 6465) are effectively the same project that has been rejected by two NSW courts (MP 09_0202).

That the Planning Department has even accepted Rio Tinto's application is a failure of procedural fairness, and makes a farce of the very process you are now asking us, the public, to participate in. We are being asked to make submissions on a project that has already been through this very same assessment process and failed - only to be resubmitted. We are being asked to submit to a process overseen by a Department that is clearly working closely with the proponent to get the project approved, and which got the decision wrong the first time around. There can be no faith in this process.

The Department must respect the decisions of the NSW Land and Environment Court, and the NSW Supreme Court (Court of Appeal), and reject these applications.

Mining in the Hunter Valley as it currently stands is under threat. In addition to the current state, the closure of MTW will not only impact the 1300 people that work there, but the entire community, families, locals schools and businesses. The whole town and wider Hunter Valley areas will be impacted. It is important for the livelihood of the Valley to keep this mine running.