Liverpool Plains farmers protesting the approval of the Shenhua Watermark Coal mine will have a final chance to put their concerns to Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
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Under Commonwealth law, the minister has the final say on determining whether the $1 billion mine passes the required benchmarks under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The project has already won state government approval, having been signed off on by the Planning Assessment Commission.
Mr Hunt’s office has confirmed he will visit the area, but could not provide an exact date.
He is due to make his decision based on advice from the Department for the Environment and Independent Expert Scientific Committee by March 13, however an office spokesperson said “for legal reasons, we cannot predict or comment on when a decision will be made”.
The visit comes following pressure from Liverpool Plains farmers who have been left devastated by the latest round of approvals.
This week, they took their fight to Member for New England Barnaby Joyce’s Tamworth electorate office to express their anger over the project and ask him to intervene.
Mr Joyce, who is opposed to the open-cut mine, has been holding discussions with Mr Hunt and assured farmers he was helping their cause.
“My purpose is to try and do something to try and stop it,” Mr Joyce said. “When he [Mr Hunt] does come up, I want to talk about how the process goes under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Is there a real detriment to the hydrology of the area, or related downstream effects?
“I want to make sure the message he gets is succinct, cogent and the people there deliver enough detail.”
