Rule it out Government to oppose proposal for coal exploration in Hawkins area

By Laura ChungUpdated November 3, 2021 â€" 1.59pmfirst published at 12.49pm

Two areas near the western edge of the Wollemi national park flagged for coal exploration could be saved after NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole indicated he planned to stop the controversial proposal.

The 32,700 hectares of land in the Hawkins and Rumker areas, north of Rylstone near Mudgee, had been earmarked as coal exploration zones, but community groups argued the areas held cultural heritage significance and should not be touched.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole will move to stop a controversial coal project in the Hawkins and Rumker areas.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In budget estimates on Wednesday, Mr Toole, also the local MP for the area, said he intended to take “a proposal to my colleagues to rule it out”.

"I take that view because of what I've seen already shows that there are issues around commerciality of the project and also there are social issues around the project," he said.

“This still fits in line with our government’s commitment to the future of coal statement, acknowledging that coal needs to be put into those areas that are appropriate. But, I can tell you now, I’ll be taking a proposal to my colleagues to rule it out.”

The move appears to be one of the first public reversals of former deputy premier and national’s leader John Barilaro’s policies. Mr Toole replaced Mr Barilaro last month.

In July this year, the NSW government released its Strategic Statement on Coal Exploration and Mining which identified 14 areas near existing developed coalfields that should be considered for future development.

The areas included the Hawkins, Rumker and Ganguddy-Kelgoola regions, which were all identified as having the potential to be released for coal exploration.

Anti-mining lobby group Lock the Gate Alliance commissioned a report by EarthScapes Consulting in June which found 45 Aboriginal heritage sites within the three sites.

The report also found 22 threatened fauna species and six threatened flora species including the koala, the critically endangered regent honeyeater and the endangered spotted-tailed quoll.

Mr Toole said it would be pre-emptive to say whether the nearby Ganguddy-Kelgoola region would be discarded and was awaiting further information on the project.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who raised the question in budget estimates on Wednesday, said the move was “wonderful news, particularly as world leaders gather at COP26 in Glasgow and the UN calls for an urgent phase out of fossil fuels. I am now calling on the NSW government to protect this culturally rich and environmentally significant area by adding it to the national parks estate”.

Lock the Gate Alliance NSW spokesperson Nic Clyde said he hoped the decision foreshadowed a more serious move away from opening new land to coal mining from the Perrottet government.

“Ripping apart the farming and tourism-focused district of Rylstone for coal never made any sense,” he said.“It would have transformed this beautiful region that rests against the western flank of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area into the type of moonscape we now see in places like the Upper Hunter.

“We’re extremely grateful [Mr] Toole has listened to his constituents in the local region.”

The Wilderness Society manager of policy and strategy Tim Beshara, which has campaigned against the project, said the plan should never have been proposed in the first place.

“This never should have gotten this far, it never should have been proposed in the first place,” he said. “It is such an intense relief to see some thoughtfulness and common sense creeping into policy around fossil fuels and we thank the minister for making this call.”

“We hope the NSW government will keep their eyes open as they consider the fate of the adjoining regions. We don’t want this to be a brief relapse into sanity.”

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