Police arrested an 84 year old Member of the Order of Australia recipient after he locked himself to the gates of the Boggabri Coal haul road on Tuesday.
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‘Birdwatcher’ Russ Watts stopped coal haulage operations at the mine site for six hours before he voluntarily unlocked himself from the gate and attempted to leave the site.
Mr Watts was then arrested and taken to Narrabri Police Station, where he was charged with obstruction.
Mr Watts, who was previously made a MOA for his work in eco-tourism, said he was protesting the planned major expansion at the mine which would have devastating impacts on biodiversity in the Leard State Forest.
He was joined by a number of adults and children from local farming families, who positioned themselves across the road, while Mr Watts chained himself to the gate. The group refused a request from mine management to move to a safer position on the side of the road, but despersed following Mr Watts arrest.
Mr Watts said the mine, along with the recently approved Maules Creek mine nearby, would destroy Leard State Forest which “is a haven for birds and other wildlife and a public area that is important for recreation and the quiet enjoyment of nature.”
“I’m not against coal mining, but I can’t accept the way that governments have manipulated the laws to suit the mining industry and given them free rein to destroy the environment” Mr Watts said.
“The area where I was protesting yesterday is a special bird-watching area because it is one of the last intact remnants of bushland in the heavily cleared Wheat-Sheep Belt.”
He said, as a bird-watcher, he appreciated that Leard State Forest, where these mines are being developed, is a priceless natural asset.
“I feel that I can’t stand by and watch a public forest destroyed for open-cut coal mining when it is such a valuable resource to teach people about the unique values of the Australian bush.
“I have worked hard during my life to develop local bird routes to encourage people to interact with nature and it is terrible that the NSW Government can condone the destruction of an area that is home to as many as 21 threatened species of bird.
“It seems that there are no areas that are off-limits to coal mining companies and that even our last, most precious wild places are up for grabs.”
It was the second day of protest in the area after two men yesterday scaled the coal-crushing plant at the Boggabri Coal Mine, halting operations for 9 hours, before they too descended and were arrested.
Boggabri Coal General Manager of Operations, Ken Mclaren, said yesterday’s protest was the fourth such interuption by the same group of people since April this year.
“These people are putting themselves in dangerous situations to interrupt the operations of a legitimate business,” he said.
“It is our responsibility to remove these people safely so that we can resume our normal operations.”
He said the company employs about 450 people and many local businesses benefit from supplying the mine’s operations and staff.
”[The protesters’] actions are highly irresponsible,” Mr McLaren said.
“They are deliberately putting the business under pressure and the knock-on effect is that they are also putting our staff, suppliers and customers under pressure.”
“We are happy to discuss our plans with stakeholders who are genuine about the best interests of the whole community but they also have to appreciate we operate a legitimate business and have responsibilities to our staff, suppliers and customers.”