Environmental group Lock the Gate Alliance is calling on the State Government to urgently pass legislation protecting coal workers, following revelations the Independent Planning Commission is seeking further information from the owners of Hunter Valley Operations coal mine about transition timeframes.
The Independent Planning Commission has asked the joint Glencore-Yancoal venture to detail the shortest time period it considers necessary to implement an orderly transition, and has written to the Department of Planning seeking a four-week extension to the deadline for determining the mine’s expansion application.
The Independent Planning Commission’s request comes days after NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully told budget estimates that global demand for coal was changing, and more than half of the state’s operating coal mines were expected to close by 2035.
Lock the Gate are calling on the government to work with Parliament to pass the Future Jobs and Investment Bill 2025, which passed the Lower House in March but has not yet progressed further.
