NSW Breaking News

Bushfire survivors’ legal challenge to massive Narrabri coal mine extension

Published

2 years ago

5 July 2022

JeffG

Bushfire survivors’ legal challenge to massive Narrabri coal mine extension

Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA) is proud to be launching another climate legal case today, this time against the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) over its approval of the extension of Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri Mine extension.

Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), BSCA argues that the IPC’s approval of the mine extension in April was unreasonable, irrational and illogical and not in the public interest because of the project’s impacts in driving further climate change-fuelled extreme weather events such as the Black Summer bushfires and Sydney’s current flooding events.

The IPC’s April decision allows Whitehaven Coal to extend operations up to 10km south of its existing mine with a 500m-wide coal seam and extract an additional 82 million tonnes of coal to 2044.

The project will generate at least 479.57 Mt CO2-e in emissions (roughly equal to Australia’s current annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, which were 488 MtCO2-e) at a time when greenhouse gas emissions must be rapidly reduced to limit the devastating impacts of global warming.

After successfully suing the NSW EPA last year to force it to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, BSCA is taking action in the NSW land and Environment Court to have the IPC’s approval overturned.

“Today, thousands of people across NSW are battling record floodwaters for the third time in only a few months. Homes, businesses, farms, infrastructure are being destroyed and lives are being lost and imperilled.

“As bushfire survivors we stand shoulder to shoulder with all climate survivors, determined to fight for safer communities. We know what it is to lose everything in a climate-fuelled event. We have felt the weight of lives turned upside down as we rebuild only to see the next disaster roll towards us,” stated spokesperson for Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Fiona Lee, who lost her home in the Black Summer fires.

The Bureau of Meteorology State of the Climate Report 2021 revealed the number of extreme fire danger days in Australia had increased tenfold since the 1960s, with 143 extreme fire danger days in the decade of the 2010s compared to 14 in the decade of the 1960s.

If Australia continues to emit climate damaging greenhouse gases, extreme weather events will only increase in number and severity. In this court action, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action will argue that in the face of indisputable evidence on the climate impacts, no reasonable person could conclude that this mine was in the public interest.

Instead of approving new mines and expansions, Australia should be investing in clean, renewable energy sources that will provide jobs and reliable, cheap power.

EDO Director of Legal Strategy Elaine Johnson said:

“This case marks a line in the sand. The IPC has a duty to make legally reasonable and justifiable decisions. Our client says that it cannot be reasonable, rational, logical or in the public interest to approve a mine which will be a major new source of climate pollution in 2022.

“The IPC had before it indisputable scientific evidence on the impact emissions from this mine extension would have on our climate. This mine produces not just thermal coal, but significant amounts of fugitive methane as well.

“Decision makers can no longer ignore the huge body of undisputed scientific evidence that says we must rapidly reduce emissions and leave coal and gas in the ground if we are to have a liveable planet.”

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The Northern Rivers Times Edition 164

Published

8 months ago

29 August 2023

JeffG

The Northern Rivers Times Edition 164

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2022 Floods

‘Don’t Forget Us!’ say Bungawalbyn, Woodburn and Coraki Residents.

Published

9 months ago

14 July 2023

Liam

Protestor holding a sign at Woodburn Bridge

‘Don’t Forget Us!’ say Bungawalbyn, Woodburn and Coraki Residents.

By Kate Coxwell.

The Resilient Homes Program, which was created to provide assistance to home owners to restore and flood protect their homes and lives from future events has rejected over 5000 of the applicants out of just over 6000 in total, resulting in a rally which last weekend saw the Clarence electorate, Woodburn, Coraki, Bungawalbin, Broadwater, Wardell and surrounding rural townships came out in force, back to the bridge where National media had filmed them stranded, in the floods, nearly 18 months ago.

$750 million dollars of promised flood recovery funds seemingly disappeared the week prior, and over 5000 residents affected by floods were called by Service NSW staff to say “you are ineligible” as the NRRC also released new flood zone maps excluding the 2022 data and itself dissolved within days in the same week, the buck now stopping with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Authority.

Arguably, these communities were the hardest hit, with some residents being stranded for over 3 weeks with no access in or out, some stranded for 6 in the worst hit areas of Bungawalbyn, and no one other than their own community, coming to provide life saving medical and supply runs of food and water. This community says it is still feeling forgotten, as many homes, being classed as rural, have been made automatically ineligible, while some others, where water reached the ceiling fans, due to the new mapping, deemed ‘safe’.

With over 300 people attending the rally, standing across the span of the Woodburn Bridge, it was very well attended. Local MP’s Janelle Saffin (State for Lismore) and Richie Williamson (State for Clarence) as well as Mayor Robert Mustow.

Protestors rallying on the Woodburn bridge holding signs.

In an address to the crowd MP Richie Williamson said “This is a humanitarian crisis we are dealing with, the Premier agreed. We need to do better- the Government, the politicians-everyone in the decision-making chain needs to do better.”

Whilst MP Janelle Saffin said “You say you feel forgotten. I have not forgotten you. It was an inland tsunami. Despite not representing Woodburn, you are in my heart!”

Both MP’s and the Mayor were supportive of the Tranch 2 funding proposed, and had recently attended Sydney, speaking to Parliament as a group, about the needs of the community.

One member of the Coraki community recalled “how even in the second major 2022 flood, there was only 2 SES on that day, despite all warnings and extra support sent from around the State, we were forgotten, and the community who had been helping us with supplies, people who live among us who had also lost everything, they were the ones who came, with emergency medical supplies, food and assistance for those trapped again.”

Lyndall Murray from the Hands and Hearts Project, a project which has come together to do what the Government simply hasn’t, and that is to restore 100 homes, with their small team of 16 volunteers, said “The Hands and Hearts Project is doing what the Government won’t. The NRRC decision broke my heart.”

This time, the community is coming together to say “We count- Don’t Forget us!” and has formed a petition, asking for all who care about them to sign it. The petition can be found here: www.dontforgetus.com.au

To see more news on the 2022 floods, please see our other recent posts.

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