Minns’ law change to counter Court ruling on Bowdens mine ‘cruel and will devastate the community’: Greens
The Minns Government is set to overturn a recent decision by the NSW Court of Appeal which stopped Bowdens lead and silver mine from proceeding by introducing a bill into Parliament this week, in a cruel move that will devastate the local community, says Greens MP and mining spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.
In August, the Court declared the Independent Planning Commission’s approval for the controversial Bowdens lead and silver mine at Lue, near Mudgee, void, on the basis that it failed to consider the impacts of a transmission line that would be crucial to providing power to the project.
“This bill is a cruel and unnecessary overreach by a government that is bending over backwards to please the mining industry at the expense of the public interest. It shows just how much this government has abandoned regional communities trying to protect their farms and livelihoods from destructive mining projects,” said Ms Faehrmann.
“The Bowden’s lead and silver mine requires a 66kv transmission line to be constructed to provide the necessary power required over the lifetime of the project. This transmission line comes with its own impacts to the environment and surrounding communities and it’s only reasonable that this be taken into account during the assessment process. That’s what the Court found.
“To please their mates in the Minerals Council, the Government is now introducing a bill that isn’t needed and that will further weaken this state’s planning laws. Recent reports suggest that the company may be preparing to submit a new development application to take into consideration the power supply necessary for the mine’s operations. So why doesn’t the government just let that take its course?
“The bill will also validate the development consent of Bowdens lead and silver mine. The tight-knit Lue community will be devastated by this, considering how much time and money they have invested in trying to protect their community from this toxic lead mine.
“Mining-affected communities are right to wonder what we even have planning laws in place for when they’re seemingly ignored at every turn.
“Avenues for communities to challenge destructive mining projects have already been largely stripped away by successive governments. The Government should respect the role of the judiciary rather than changing the law in mining interests favour whenever communities have a rare win in the courts,” said Ms Faehrmann.