“THE NSW Government must act now to provide certainty and protect the critical equine cluster that is of state, national and international significance,” Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association president Dr Cameron Collins said.
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Thursday’s announcement by Anglo American that it intends to develop a further plan for the rejected Drayton South mine is not only riddled with inaccuracies but raises serious questions about a planning system that allows companies to submit numerous mine plans for a project that has been comprehensively rejected, he said.
“It is clearly not in the public interest.
“In its press release, Anglo American says this decision is not about Anglo, it is about the people of NSW who will miss out.
“But the government’s independent experts – all 12 of them – taking into account all the economic, social and environmental impacts unequivocally concluded that the Drayton South mine was not in the public interest and not in the interest of the people of NSW.
“Anglo American is quoted in an article in Thursday’s Australian Financial Review as saying that the original design for the mine plan was not Anglo’s, it was the horse stud’s design.
“This is not true.
“The author of that article should check his facts and present more balanced reporting.”
Dr Collins said Anglo American has stated it is a mine extension project, but he rejects that theory.
“It is not,” he said.
“It is a new mine on a new title many kilometres away from their current mining operations at Drayton North.
“Anglo American says this particular lease has been around for decades ‘long before the horse studs operated here’.
“This statement conveniently ignores that horse breeding has been in this area and on these particular studs since the 19th century – a fact that has been communicated tirelessly and officially by our industry and experts throughout this process.
“Anglo American continues to suggest that the Drayton South decision was just about two horse studs.
“This either misunderstands or purposely misrepresents that one new mine, Drayton South, will impact the entire equine industry in the Hunter Valley, and result in the demise of Australia’s premier thoroughbred breeding industry and the second largest in the world.
“This finding is one of the reasons why the NSW Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) refused the Drayton South project.
“It is sensationalism at its best to suggest that any concessions made by Anglo American is a subsidy to the two studs.”
Dr Collins said it was a decision about sustainability and economic diversity.
“About one mine versus the demise of entire industries – tourism, wines and thoroughbreds,” he said.
“It is a decision about a fading industry versus a sustainable future.
“Anglo American is quoted as saying that it will now fully address the PAC’s specific concerns but throughout this entire process they have been adamant that to do so would render the project unviable and uneconomic.
“However, earlier this month, Anglo American Plc CEO Mark Cutifani announced the company’s plans to sell stakes in or exit its Australian thermal coal operations.
“Where does this leave Drayton South?
“We have been through a thorough, scientific and evidence based process.
“A process that was transparent and predictable.
“What Anglo does not like is the outcome.
“Our industries and our community have had enough uncertainty.
“It is time the government delivered on its election promise to protect strategic agricultural land and water resources and resolve land use conflicts.
“It is time the government put an end to all the uncertainty and legislated to protect our nationally and internationally significant industries, the 640 jobs directly at risk as a result of this project and the hundreds of thousands of people our industries employ nationally.”