The NSW Land and Environment Court’s decision to stop the Rocky Hill coalmine on the basis that greenhouse gas emissions from the project would contribute to climate change will be “profoundly influential”, a lawyer who represented Gloucester residents believes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Environmental Defenders Office lawyer David Morris said the historic judgement delivered in Sydney on Friday would have broader legal implications beyond the Gloucester project.
“This is a case-specific judgement that relates to the Rocky Hill Project at Gloucester but the remarks the chief judge made in respect to climate change as well as its social impacts have much broader importance,” Mr Morris said.
“I would have thought any future decision-maker on fossil fuel projects would bear his reasoning closely in mind in determining whether or not a new fossil fuel project should be approved.”
The mine’s proponent, Gloucester Resources, had sought to overturn a decision to reject the mine because of its impact on the Gloucester community and the surrounding environment.
The judgement followed last year’s hearing, which was partly held in Gloucester to allow residents to give a first-hand account of how they would be affected by the mine.
In addition to noting the project would have significant adverse social impacts on the community, Justice Brian Preston also found the mine would directly contribute to climate change.
“The construction and operation of the mine, and the transportation and combustion of the coal from the mine, will result in the emission of greenhouse gases, which will contribute to climate change,” Justice Preston said as part of a 200-page judgement.
“In short, an open cut coalmine in this part of the Gloucester valley would be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
READ MORE:
When fully operational the mine would have contributed 37.8 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions.
Justice Preston ruled that the impact of the mine’s emissions should not be considered in isolation.
“It matters not that the aggregate of the project's greenhouse gas emissions may represent a small fraction of the global total,” Justice Preston said.
“The global problem of climate change needs to be addressed by multiple local actions to mitigate emissions by sources and remove greenhouse gases by sinks.”
Groundswell Gloucester spokeswoman Julie Lyford was among more than a dozen Gloucester residents who travelled to Sydney for Friday’s judgement.
She said the group hoped a solar farm would be built on the proposed mine site.
Groundswell Gloucester has called for a royal commission into how the state government and its departments treat mining-affected communities.
“It’s unacceptable,” she said.
“The revolving door of politicians and people in the mining industry who go back and forth is well documented.
“When people have trust in their government to protect them and look after their environment and when they lose faith in the people who are meant to serve them it’s massive.”
Ms Lyford said battling AGL’s proposed coal seam gas mining project and later the Rocky Hill project had taken a massive toll on many within the community.
“We have had people who have been hospitalised because of what these industries have wanted to do their backyards. Young kids who go to school and they are really sad about mum and dad who are not coping,” she said.
NSW Minerals Council and Gloucester Resources were reviewing the judgement last night.
Minerals council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the judgement included “what appears to be a range of different reasons for the outcome.
“However, we don’t believe this is in any way a ‘landmark case’ given the Department of Planning had already recommended against the approval of the project."
Doctors for the Environment Australia chairman Dr John Van Der Kallen said the court ruling was an important win for community health.
“It has now been recognised by the court that climate change is real and impacts on human health. Any more fossil fuel developments will increase greenhouse gas emissions and worsen climate change,” he said. “We are seeing the health impacts due to climate change every day.”
