Massive win for Mudgee as Court Declares Bowdens Mine Approval VOID
Today’s decision by the NSW Court of Appeal to declare the approval for the controversial Bowdens lead and silver mine at Lue, near Mudgee, void, is a massive win for the local community that has been fighting to stop the mine for years, said Greens MP and mining spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.
For the past four years, the Mudgee Region Action Group has spearheaded a campaign against the project, which would have resulted in the clearing of more than 300 hectares of native vegetation, including Koala habitat and risked polluting local waterways.
Today, the NSW Court of Appeal ordered that the Independent Planning Commission had failed to consider the impacts of a transmission line that would be crucial to providing power to the project. Accordingly, the mine’s approval was overturned and construction, slated to commence this year, cannot proceed.
“This is absolutely sensational news for the Lue community, who have been fighting for years to protect their beautiful village from the potentially devastating impacts of a toxic lead and silver mine,” said Cate Faehrmann.
“The community should never have had to wage this battle in the first place. The area proposed for the mine is habitat for some of our most precious threatened wildlife including endangered Koalas, Spotted-tailed Quolls and critically endangered Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots.
“Anyone with common sense would think that a massive toxic lead mine should not be built right in the heart of Lue, in a wine and tourism hotspot, within just 2km of the local primary school.
“This decision sends a message to the NSW Government that our communities will continue to fight against dangerous mining projects that impact our people, land and waterways.
“The Government must now step in and ensure this highly productive, culturally significant and ecologically sensitive region is protected in perpetuity from any exploration or mining,” said Cate Faehrmann.