The opening of the new Maxwell coal mine near Muswellbrook last week has drawn criticism from the state’s peak environmental body, which says it undermines the State Government’s own climate commitments.
Nature Conservation Council CEO Jacqui Mumford said the Minns Government was trying to have it both ways on climate policy.
“The Minns Government is trying to walk both sides of the street by saying it’s pro-climate action but also supporting coal expansions at the same time,” she said, adding that the government could not meet its legislated emissions targets while the coal industry kept expanding in New South Wales.
Ms Mumford pointed to a recent report card by the NCC, that gave the government mixed results on climate action, singling out its refusal to accelerate the closure of coal mines and a continued rise in land clearing as key failings.
She also raised concerns about the lack of formal planning to support coal workers as mines close, saying decisions were effectively being left to mining companies based on profitability rather than to government policy, such as the news of the Ashton mine closure by 2028. Ms Mumford called on the government to push its Future Jobs and Investment Authority legislation through Parliament to give affected communities certainty.
