The State Government will today introduce legislation to protect up to 400 jobs at MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coal mine near Muswellbrook, saying it will give workers and their families certainty ahead of Christmas.
The Mount Pleasant Mine Bill 2026 follows the High Court’s judgment on the mine’s 2022 Independent Planning Commission consent. With the mine’s planning application returned to the Land and Environment Court following a High Court ruling, the Government says workers will not need to be stood down while the process plays out.
The bill will allow the mine to continue operating in line with its current production and workforce profile, producing up to 16.5 million tonnes a year until 2032 or until a new consent is granted. MACH Energy would be required to enter a Jobs Guarantee Agreement securing the jobs of all permanent workers, and the consent would not take effect until it is signed. The company would report quarterly on permanent workforce levels, with significant fines for reductions made without Ministerial approval, and the Minister for Natural Resources would hold a last-resort power to direct mining to stop if the guarantee is breached.
The bill also imposes new scope 3 emissions conditions consistent with those applied to the Hunter Valley Operations mine, including limiting coal exports to countries with emissions reduction policies in line with the Paris Agreement. The Government says it is developing an appendix to its NSW Coal Industry 2026-50 policy document to carry its scope 3 framework through to future coal mine applications.
The Government says coal mining directly employs around 25,000 people across NSW, including around 15,000 in the Hunter, and that the region’s 19 coal mines contributed $16.4 billion to the state’s economic output and more than $1 billion in royalties last year.
Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said they couldn’t just stand by.
“Where there is uncertainty because of decisions made under old frameworks, our Government has shown we are willing to step in,” she said.
“While MACH Energy works through the court process, we need to make sure the mine’s workers keep their jobs.
“This is about backing working people and backing the Hunter communities that have helped power our state for generations.”
The plan has been criticised by the community group that won the High Court case, the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, which has described it as an inappropriate use of the legislative process.
A YouGov poll commissioned by Lock the Gate Alliance and the Sunrise Project, released this morning, found 54 per cent of NSW voters think the planning process should continue, with 16 per cent backing a special law.
Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator, Georgina Woods said it’s political overreach.
“NSW voters expect the Minns government to respect a High Court judgement and the rule of law, not override the planning process and pass special laws for multinational coal corporations,” she said.
“There’s a huge difference between looking after people who work in coal mining and doing favours for the companies making profits out of the Hunter. This company threatened to sack their workforce and the Premier rewarded it with special treatment.”
