Parents for Climate, representing more than 27,000 parents, grandparents and carers across Australia, is calling on the Minns Government to scrap its proposed legislation allowing MACH Energy to increase coal production at the Mount Pleasant mine, and to respect the High Court's landmark climate ruling.
On 7 October, a Hunter Valley community group won the first climate case ever heard in the High Court of Australia. The Court found the approval to expand the Mount Pleasant mine was invalid because decision makers had failed to consider conditions to minimise the project's emissions to the greatest extent practicable, including the emissions from coal burned overseas. Less than a fortnight later, Premier Chris Minns announced legislation allowing the mine to produce 16.5 million tonnes of coal a year while the matter returns to the courts. The bill is expected to be introduced when Parliament sits in November.
"The High Court has confirmed what parents already know: the pollution from our coal doesn't disappear when it's shipped overseas. It comes back to us in the fires, floods and heatwaves our kids are growing up with. This ruling was a turning point for our children's future, and the Minns Government should be building on it, not rushing to undo it," said Nic Seton, CEO of Parents for Climate.
The Government says the bill is needed to protect 400 jobs, yet the mine's original approval was modified in August to allow 12.5 million tonnes a year through to 2032. Former Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy has said there is no evidence those jobs are under threat, described the proposal as "reprehensible" and warned that it sets a dangerous precedent. The ABC has also reported that the mine is under investigation over alleged breaches of its production limits.
"We teach our children that the rules are the same for everyone. When a coal company loses in the highest court in the country, the answer can't be to change the law so it wins anyway. That's not the example we want to set for our kids, and it's not the NSW we want them to grow up in," Mr Seton said.
Parents for Climate is also concerned that the bill shifts the final say on decisions affecting our children’s future away from independent courts and towards politicians, and that it could open the door to amendments that weaken a requirement that has been part of NSW planning policy for years: considering the climate impact of coal projects, including the emissions from exported coal. The Government’s own Net Zero Commission has found that continued coal expansion is not consistent with NSW’s long-term climate goals. Independent oversight is what gives families confidence that these decisions are made fairly, and our children cannot afford for NSW to go backwards.
The NSW Parliament has just passed the Future Jobs and Investment Bill, establishing an authority to plan for the future of coal communities and placing enforceable workforce planning obligations on companies.
"Protecting workers and protecting our kids' future aren't competing goals. Mount Pleasant workers deserve real security, not to be used as leverage in a fight over production targets. Parents across NSW want a Government that backs families, not one that bends the law for a coal company," Mr Seton said.
Parents for Climate calls on the Minns Government to scrap the Mount Pleasant bill and uphold the High Court's ruling. Parents across NSW are asking for a fair deal for our kids. Add your name: https://www.parentsforclimate.org/a_fair_deal
Media contact: Nic Seton, CEO - media | [email protected]