BARRY O’Farrell made a “mistake”, displayed “poor judgment” and made an “ill-considered promise” that the Liberal Party would stop Wallarah 2 coal mine from going ahead on the Central Coast/Lake Macquarie border, parliamentary secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast, Scot MacDonald said after the mine was approved on Wednesday.
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“I’m disappointed that I’m having to deal with an ill-considered promise by Barry,” Mr MacDonald said on Thursday after the NSW Planning Assessment Commission green-lighted the controversial project despite acknowledging the risk of serious and irreversible damage to the Central Coast’s water catchment was real.
“I think it was poor judgment, a mistake.”
The Korean Government-backed Kores underground coal mine “has merit”, he said.
This is despite strong public criticism of the commission’s acceptance of water catchment risk.
“Any potential loss to the water availability from the aquifer of the Central Coast water supply would be compensated by the applicant providing 300 megalitres a year of treated water to the catchment,” the commission said.
Long-time Wallarah 2 critic and Australian Coal Alliance founder Alan Hayes said it was disgraceful that a potential annual 300 megalitre a year mine water discharge could be described as “compensation”, or that the community should be expected to accept mine water into its catchment area.
“The whole community’s upset about this and we won’t be just laying down and giving up. We’ve stopped this mine twice. We have solid grounds to challenge this in court and that’s what we will be doing,” Mr Hayes said.
During election campaigning in 2009 and 2011 Mr O’Farrell reiterated “the Liberal Party’s opposition to the (Wallarah 2) coal mining proposal and our determination, in office, to prevent it from going ahead”.
At a community Cabinet meeting in 2011, in response to questions about the mine, the then Premier O’Farrell said: “We are not going to allow any form of land use threaten water supply anywhere in NSW.”
In 2006 the then Gosford MP and opposition planning minister Chris Hartcher issued a press release to Yarramalong and Dooralong residents after the Wallarah 2 mine was proposed.
“A NSW Coalition Government will not permit any coal mining in the water catchment district. Accordingly a NSW Coalition Government, elected at the March 2007 state elections, will ensure, by amendment of any mining lease or mining exploration permit, that the coast’s water supply is protected,” Mr Hartcher wrote.
“If necessary, special legislation will be introduced into the parliament to protect the Wyong water catchment.”
In October, 2011 – seven months after the O’Farrell Government was elected – Kores said it planned to re-lodge its Wallarah 2 proposal. A day later a spokeswoman for the then Premier Barry O'Farrell told the Newcastle Herald the Government had to consider all development applications on their merits, including any application from Kores.