The New South Wales government will introduce special legislation allowing the Mount Pleasant coalmine in the Hunter Valley to raise its output by about 32%, The Guardian Australia reports. The move comes less than two weeks after the high court ruled that an approved expansion of the mine, near Muswellbrook, was invalid.
Premier Chris Minns said the bill would let operator MACH Energy lift annual production by 4m tonnes to 16.5m tonnes until 2032, and that it was needed to protect 400 jobs before Christmas. He said the company had agreed to keep its permanent workforce until 2032. The Greens and the Lock the Gate Alliance condemned the plan as interference in the planning system and the courts, arguing the mine is already approved to operate for six more years.
Source: The Guardian Australia