NSW Premier Chris Minns says activists shouldn’t get overexcited by a High Court decision that halted the expansion of a Hunter Valley coal mine, saying there are no plans to change the state’s laws to protect other extensions.
After the High Court ruled in favour of a Hunter Valley residents’ group, which halted the Mount Pleasant mine expansion last year, Minns described the judgment as a “very narrow, technical decision” that he didn’t believe would affect approvals for expansions of other mines.
“What I’d say about the High Court’s decision from yesterday is that I don’t think everyone should overreact to the decision, and I also don’t think that activists who are considering court action should get overexcited,” he said.
Last week, the Independent Planning Commission ruled in favour of The Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) application to continue operating until 2045. Minns drew a distinction between Mt Pleasant’s initial 2022 application, which did not account for emissions burned from the coal sold overseas (known as scope three), and the HVO approval. Minns argued that the laws had been strengthened since then, which he said was evident in the IPC’s decision to consider scope three emissions in its approval of the HVO expansion.
“It did take into consideration the point of law that was contested in the High Court. I think the rules that are in place today are better, more informed, and more understanding of the of mining and the environmental impacts than they were previously,” he said.
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