A $600 million coal mine has been rejected by the New South Wales government. The South Korean state owned mining firm Kores hoped to get the permits for a mine in a key Central Coast electorate. However their plans of extracting 5 million tonnes of coal annually from Wallarah mine near Wyong may now come to nothing.
The mine which was to have employed 300 people was refused by Planning Minister Tony Kelly due to water and subsidence issues. He said that the Planning Assessment Commission had suggested it could go ahead with a significant number of conditions that could be worked out later on, and he believed there were too many uncertainties.
Wyong Shire Deputy Mayor Bob Graham who is on the side of the Australian Coal Alliance which opposes the mine said that the mine would have jeopardised the region's "precious" drinking water supplies. He added that 53% of their drinking water came from those valleys.
NSW Greens MP and mining spokesperson Cate Faehrmann also agreed with Planning Minister Tony Kelly’s rejection of the mine. Despite the timing of the announcement, she said that it was the right decision to be taken. The seat of Wyong, created in 1988, has always been held by Labor. Although it has been labelled as a possible Liberal gain in this years polls.