NARRABRI Shire Council has thrown down the gauntlet to Whitehaven Coal, giving the mining company three weeks to come to the table with an "acceptable voluntary planning agreement" for Boggabri.
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Whitehaven has offered council a lump sum of $2.17m, or about $108,000 for each year the extended Vickery mine operates, to offset the impact it will have on local infrastructure and communities.
However, at a meeting in Boggabri, councillors voted to reject the offer and proposed a counter offer of $14.87m.
They also moved that if no acceptable offer was made by November 8, council would write a report outlining an assessment of community benefits, if any, from the project, in the absence of a VPA.
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Narrabri mayor Cathy Redding pointed out a public hearing on the Vickery project is still to be called by the Independent Planning Commission, and council would have to consider if the project would provide any benefit without a VPN.
A spokesperson for Whitehaven Coal said the company considers its "offer to be generous by industry standards".
However, councillor Ron Campey said Whitehaven's offer was "arrogant, offensive and shows contempt to the people of Boggabri".
"If Google is correct, [Whitehaven CEO] Paul Flynn's wages per year are in excess of the total VPA offered," Cr Campey said.
"I find it disappointing that we have to even deal with this rubbish that they are offering us."