AN Upper Hunter politician strongly criticised for supporting coal mine expansion projects says the former NSW Mine Subsidence Board needs to “get with the times” and compensate property owners with stranded assets because of coal mining.
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Upper Hunter Shooters Fishers and Farmers candidate Lee Watts said many owners were stuck in “no man’s land” where they were not eligible to have their properties acquired by mining companies, but mine impacts devalued them and potentially left them unsellable.
“The government has left these communities in the hands of mining companies, but the companies will only offer to buy properties which they are required to legally,” said Ms Watts, who said she was “not for or against mining, but the impacts have to be addressed”.
“I think mine projects have to be accountable for what they’re doing to people,” she said after meeting with Wybong residents “anguished” because of the impacts of Mangoola coal mine.
The former Mine Subsidence Board, established to assist and compensate residents affected by subsidence from underground mining, needed to change along with its name change to Subsidence Advisory NSW and compensate residents for the impacts of open cut mining, she said.
“I think it needs to be a body like that, and it would need legislation,” she said.
Peter and Julie Brown have not lived in their Muswellbrook home on another side of the Mangoola mine for the past six years because of noise.
“It’s still sitting there, unoccupied. It’s outside the acquisition zone but how can I sell it to somebody knowing how bad it is? I couldn’t do that to somebody else,” said Mr Brown.
The Browns were banned from making verbal complaints to the mine in 2015 after they called a community manager a “bastard”, and 10 months later an “idiot” after complaining about increased low frequency noise when the Department of Planning approved changes to the position of originally approved mine infrastructure. Reports found significant low frequency noise emissions from the plant.
“Of course we feel stranded. We’ve been living in town because we can’t live near the mine. We’ve got an asset we can’t do anything with,” Mr Brown said.
“Even if we could sell it we’d only get a pittance compared to what we should get.”
Mr Brown said the Mine Subsidence Board would not allow him to build his originally planned brick and tile home because of the potential for underground mining through the area.
“I’ve had that many government department people say how sorry they are that we’re in this situation, but once a mine is approved everything is black and white and you’re stuck,” Mr Brown said.
Ms Watts said it was “time for a more independent and flexible approach so that these families can move if they want to and not stay stuck one decibel below the legal cut off and be trapped in no man’s land,” she said.
“The government makes massive royalties each year from mining. It is a drop in the ocean for some of that to be spent buying out the neighbours most impacted by mining, and not leaving their futures in the hands of mining companies,” she said.
A spokesperson for Finance, Services and Property Minister Victor Dominello said Subsidence Advisory NSW’s primary function under the Coal Mine Subsidence Compensation Act 2017 was to provide a fair, efficient and sustainable compensation framework that compensates for damage caused by subsidence resulting from underground coal mine operations.
“Environmental impacts such as dust and noise and other indirect impacts of mining operations are beyond the scope of the scheme and are managed under separate legislative instruments administered by NSW Department of Planning and Environment,” the spokesperson said.
Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen did not respond to questions.
