I have been employed at this site for 8 years, in this time I have been able to support my family by earning wages from this site. It has a flow on effect that helps the surrounding communities by way of shopping, fuel, local products and more. Peabody also supports local community events such as the recent of the Mudgee 9's. The Leukemia Foundation had a major boast from fundraising last year and the up and coming Relay for Life with be one of the next beneficiaries.

With most of the wages being earned at the mine site being spent within the community in local shops, rent, mortgages, rates and so on and so forth. Without these wages being paid the community would not be thriving as much as it is now.

As an employee of Peabody Energy at Wilpinjong Coal Mine, a resident, home owner and rate payer of the Mid-Western Regional Council, approval of the Wilpinjong Extension Project is important to me. The mine is already a major contributor to employment within the region, and provides substantial sums of money to assist community organisations, health services, and the upgrading and maintenance of important infrastructure such as Ulan Road.

The Mid-Western Regional Council area is a thriving community, boosted by the contribution the mine makes by way of its employment etc. Further, there are employees who originate from various other parts of the country and world, (including myself) that then bring their families and friends to the region. This is a significant contribution to the tourism industry. Many of my family and friends, who have visited the region, probably would not have if it was not for me residing here. Many of them had not heard of Mudgee prior to me relocating here.

Approval of the Wilpinjong Extension Project will allow continued economic growth, and be beneficial to the entire region.

the mine gives good opportunity to the local area and should have the opportunity to carry on with mining

Who would want this 1.5km from their doorstep?! Shame on the NSW Government if they allow this expansion.

As Commercial Manager at Wilpinjong, I am very well aware of the hundreds of people the mine employs - largely from the Mudgee region, as well as the millions of dollars a year we pay in royalties to the State government, and hundreds of thousands to the local Council for community infrastructure.
But money isn't everything - what about our impact on the local area ?
Wilpinjong has a rigorous environmental monitoring program, and we abide by the many conditions required under our various licenses.
Just recently, cattle were grazed on an area that was mined less than 10 years ago, demonstrating that the land can be successfully restored to its former use after it has been mined.
This application will not increase the annual mining activity, but rather extend the life of mine so it can go on bringing all the economic benefits to the Mudgee area for another 7 years.

I would like to support the Wilpinjong Extension Project. This is a great opportunity to create jobs in regional NSW and to bring additional wealth to our local, state and national governments.

I support the Wilpinjong Extension Project as this represents an opportunity for a local employer to continue to employ local people. I live in Mudgee, work at Wilpinjong and love the Mudgee area. I plan to live and work in the Mudgee area for as long as possible and any extension to Wilpinjong must be a good thing for the local community.

I think it is great that the coal mines support the local communities and businesses.

I strenuously object to the proposed extensions to Peabody's appalling holes in the ground near Wollar.
I object for the following reasons....

1. Cumulative noise impacts from machinery operating in the mine, increased rail movements from all three mines to the west of us and major increases in road traffic have never been assessed.
The peace and quiet which we have long enjoyed on our rural property no longer exists. Expanding the mine closer will make things worse.

2. Loss of the local fire brigade has increased our isolation and risk of threat in times of wild fire and potential traffic accidents.

3. Loss of local services in Wollar village i.e. mechanical has already cost me work hours and longer travel distances for repairs (120km round trip). If Wollar shop closes we will unable to purchase any goods or groceries locally.

4. The extension cannot be justified as all previous predictions concerning tonnage of coal, job numbers, impacts on Wollar community and benefits to the wider community have been proven seriously wrong.
I don't trust Peabody to get anything right.

5. I believe that this expansion is only aimed at giving Peabody a saleable asset at the expense of the Wollar community as they are obviously close to bankruptcy as all financial reporting is telling us.

6. How does an obviously financially distressed company guarantee its rehabilitation commitments
# I don't support three final voids sterilising land into the future.
# if Peabody cannot afford to backfill its pits then the mine is economically unviable.

Key Points of Objection:
I have read the following points and find them very disturbing especially after Peabody's damage at Waratah Rivulet and surrounds in our water catchment area. Also Australia has committed to reducing our greenhouse gases.

1. The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will destroy the community of Wollar. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.
2. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate.
3. Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015
4. The cumulative impact on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry has not been rigorously assessed.
5. The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, which will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, and is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
6. The area has significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.
7. The extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.
8. The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
9. The extension will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future. This is a completely unacceptable legacy.
10. The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.
11. The predicted job numbers are overstated compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.
12. Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations.
13. The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.
14. The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.