THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

OF COAL MINING ON THE MID-WESTERN

REGION OF NSW

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

IMPLICATIONS OF COAL MINING ON

THE MID-WESTERN REGION OF NSW

Robert Sroczynski 3290501

Faculty of the Built Environment UNSW

Bachelor of Planning Thesis 2013

i

Abstract

The Mid-Western region of New South Wales, which has been traditionally known for

agriculture, viticulture and tourism has seen substantial increases in coal mining investment,

resulting in a total of four coal mines, two in the last ten years, with another four proposed.

This thesis investigates the economic and social implications of the construction and operation

of these coal mines on Mudgee and surrounding settlements. Through an analysis of the

existing literature, as well as statistical data and interviews with industry and academic

professionals, it becomes clear that the Mid-Western region is experiencing a mix of positive

and negative impacts caused by coal mining. The greatest impacts have been on the economy,

employment, infrastructure, housing, community wellbeing and safety as well as non-resident

workers and their families. Overall, the evidence suggests that on balance the Mid-Western

region has benefited from the coal mining industry. However, more time is needed to fully

monitor and better ascertain the full implications of a range of impacts in the long term and

whether the positives always outweigh the negatives. In the meantime there needs to be changes

to the existing assessment framework for coal mines in NSW so as to further mitigate the

negative impacts and strengthen the positive impacts.

ii

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to give formal thanks and appreciation to my advisor Ian

Sinclair who provided substantial contribution to this thesis, pointing me in the right direction

and keeping me on track.

I would also like to thank Catherine Van Laeren, David Reid, Alison Ziller, Ben Harris-Roxas,

and all those who participated in the interviews, which provided me with substantial firsthand

information on coal mining, the planning system, and the potential impacts.

Lastly, I would also like to thank Richard Blake who helped me understand the geological

information relating to the formation of the Sydney Basin.

Front Cover: Coal train journeying through Wollar to the Port of Newcastle

Photo taken by Robert Sroczynski 2013©

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Table of Contents Abstract i

Acknowledgements ii

List of Figures iv

Introduction 1

Problem Setting 1

Problem Statement and Objectives 2

Methodology 3

Data Sources 4

Limitations 5

Structure 6

Chapter 1: Literature Review 7

Rural Development 7

Coal Mining Impacts on Rural Townships 8

Coal Mining as a ‘Temporary’ Rural Land-use 10

Chapter 2: Overview of the Mid-Western Region 13

Regional Overview 13

Location 13

Geology and Topography 15

Settlements 19

Socio-economics of the Mid-Western Region 23

Chapter 3: Economic and Social Impacts of Coal Mining on the Mid-Western Region 29

Impact on Regional Economy, Employment, Services and Infrastructure 29

Impact on Housing and Rental Availability and Affordability 48

Impact on Lifestyle, Community Safety and Wellbeing 56

Impact on non-resident work arrangements on workers and their families 62

Chapter 4: Coal Mining Assessment and Approvals in NSW 67

The Assessment and Approvals Process 67

Improving the Assessment and Approvals Process 75

Conclusion 79

Thesis Summary 79

Major Findings 79

Recommendations 82

Bibliography 83

Appendix 93

iv

List of Figures

Figure 1 Map of the Mid-Western LGA

Figure 2 Location of existing and proposed coal mines in the Mid-Western LGA

Figure 3 New South Wales Coalfields

Figure 4 Cleared plain near Wollar

Figure 5 Flatter terrain in the west of the Mid-Western region

Figure 6 Mid-Western region settlement hierarchy

Figure 7 Population of the Mid-Western region by town

Figure 8 The Wollar General Store

Figure 9 The abandoned Kandos Cement Works

Figure 10 Age pyramid of the MWRC

Figure 11 Growth in household income in MWRC

Figure 12 Growth in household income in NSW

Figure 13 Growth in household income in Wellington Council

Figure 14 Wollar Public Primary School

Figure 15 The below standard Ulan Road

Figure 16 The number of criminal offences reported to police in the MWRC from 2002 to 2012

Figure 17 Number of vehicles involved in crashes in the Mid-Western LGA and Wellington

LGA from 2004 to 2011

Figure 18 Heavy vehicle traffic on Ulan Road

Figure 19 Anti coal mine protest banners outside a residential rural property in Wollar

Figure 20 The MAC Narrabri

Figure 21 The NSW Mineral Exploration and Development Assessment and Approvals Process

for Major Mining Projects

1

Introduction

Problem Setting

Environmental and health concerns are a predominant planning conflict often central to the

assessment of many coal mines, and are the major focus of inquiry and scholarly literature. In

fact, there seems to be an inadequate amount of research into the holistic effects that coal

mining can have on rural townships in regional areas of New South Wales (NSW). While these

concerns are important, there is also an intrinsic need to understand the economic and social

impacts of coal mining that appear during the construction and operation of a coal mine. While

the mining of minerals and other resources, such as coal, lead and uranium, can promote

substantial economic growth, wealth and opportunity, mining can also result in unintended

consequences to the existing social and economic structures in the surrounding towns and

areas. A mine provides jobs, improvements in infrastructure and services, materials to support

other industries and a chance to create new wealth from the resources extracted from the

ground. However, mining can also cause environmental upheaval and degradation as well as

increased stress on limited infrastructure and services, housing affordability and availability,

existing social constructs, local economy structure and employment (Rocha and Bristow 1997).

The development of coal mines in NSW has had increased media coverage in recent years,

with much political and public debate surrounding the impacts of coal mines on the local

communities in which they operate. The decision by the NSW Land and Environment Court to

uphold an appeal to refuse a coal mine at Bulga has done much to publicise the potential for

mining to have a significant adverse impact on regional towns and the perceived shortcomings

of the current assessment and approvals process.

“The community should not have had to launch such a legal fight, but the state government and

the planning system failed to protect our rights - we had no alternative" (Lehmann 2013).

Research into the long term effects of coal mining near rural townships will allow planners to

anticipate these impacts and develop structures and plans to minimise the negative aspects and

foster the beneficial aspects. Currently, provisions within the NSW legislation planning

framework require consent authorities to consider the impacts a coal mine is likely to have on

the surroundings beyond the immediate site, including the consideration of social and economic

issues. Yet these less obvious local issues that are not so easily measured and observed are

often overlooked during the assessment process in favour of the overall ‘greater good’ the

2

development of a mine will bring to the state and national economies and industries. The

separation of the assessment process for coal mines in NSW between various government

departments can exacerbate the assessment process and lead to adverse economic and social

issues being overlooked and in some cases deliberately ignored.

Furthermore, the politics and priorities of the time can be a dominant factor in the determination

of a coal mine. It can be argued that the current system in place favours the development of

coal mines as they represent a substantial potential investment of capital benefiting the state

economy. This can be to the disadvantage of the interests of the local communities who may

be underrepresented in the decision making process due to their needs being seen as less

important. Thus, the essential question in coal mining assessment is balancing the benefit to

the many with the cost to the few.

Problem Statement and Objectives

The essence of this thesis is to explore the relationship between coal mining and the

surrounding townships in the Mid-Western region of NSW and determine whether the current

assessment and approvals process in place is effective in mitigating the economic and social

impacts concerning coal mining. The objectives of this thesis are to:

1. Examine the literature relating to the economic and social impacts of coal mining.

2. Determine what economic and social impacts are caused by coal mining.

3. Consider how planners and other professionals deal with the assessment of coal mines in

NSW.

4. Critically analyse the effectiveness of the current assessment and approvals process for

proposed coal mines in NSW.

5. Suggest improvements for the development of a better framework for assessing proposed

coal mines in NSW which addresses economic and social impacts.

3

Methodology

Literature review

A literature review was undertaken to contextualise the topic and assist to refine the key issues

and themes throughout chapters 4 and 5. The literature review was assembled to fulfil three

key functions for each of the topics mentioned. These are: to talk about the theories portrayed;

discuss the research methodology; and reveal any gaps or potential areas for further academic

research.

Qualitative in-depth interviews

Interviews were undertaken with key planning professionals, part-time academics and a coal

industry representative to gain professional opinion as to the effectiveness of existing

assessment provisions in mitigating social and economic impacts on the Mid-Western region

as well as a greater understanding of the impacts of coal mines.

Quantitative data

Statistical data gathered from government organisations was used to measure key demographic

and economic indicators in the Mid-Western region. These indicators were compared against

those from before the mine was developed and during the operation of the mine so as to

determine the effects of coal mining on the region and individual townships.

Case studies and fieldwork

Development applications for coal mines in the Mid-Western region were used for comparing

the perceived impacts determined during the assessment stage of development to the actual

impacts after the development had been completed and the coal mine was operational.

Analysis of information

Written analysis of data derived from Environmental Impact Statements for coal mines and the

Mid-Western Regional Council as well as from the in-depth interviews is done by contrasting

the economic and social environment which was present before an increase in the development

of coal mines with the environment afterwards. The nature of the analyses is evaluative as it

seeks not only to respond to the research objective of examining the economic and social

impacts which are caused by coal mining but, also to inform on ways of improving the

assessment and approvals process to better address these issues.

4

Data Sources

In order to fulfil the objectives of this thesis a broad collection of written materials and expert

knowledge regarding the effects of coal mining was required. Such material included:

Academic journals

A broad array of journal articles were derived from a range of publications, including,

Australian Planner, Environment and Planning, Journal of Environmental Planning and

Management, Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, Journal of Planning History,

Journal of Planning Literature, Journal of the American Planning Association, Land Use

Policy and Mineral, Energy: Raw Materials Review and Journal of Rural Studies.

Specialist information

In-depth interviews were carried out with the following specialists:

Interviewee

number

Name Position/role

1 Catherine Van Laeren Director of Development and Community Services

at Mid-Western Regional Council

2 David Reid Managing Director of the Minnamurra Pastoral

Company

3 Ben Harris-Roxas Heath Section Chair at the International

Association for Impact Assessment

4 Alison Ziller Social planning consultant and a part-time

academic at the Universtiy of New South Wales

5 Confidential Coal mine employee in the Mid-Western region

6 Confidential Planning Consultant

7 Confidential Department of Planning and Infrastructure

representative

A copy of the Project Information Statement which was given to each interviewee can be found

in the Appendix.

5

Development application files and associated council and consultant reports

The majority of this material was accessed through the Department of Planning and

Infrastructure’s websites.

Planning documents and legislation

Mid-Western Regional Council planning documents and strategic plans, Mining Act 1992

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and State Environmental Planning Policies.

Newspaper articles

Predominately from the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and the Mudgee Guardian.

Statistics

Census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, crime data from the NSW Bureau of

Crime Statistics and Research, and vehicle accident data from the Centre for Road Safety was

used.

Limitations

Given the time and financial constraints for this thesis it was not practical to extend the scope

of research to include an in-depth assessment of all of the economic and social impacts that

may have resulted from coal mining on the Mid-Western region. While it would have been

useful to gain additional data from surveys and questionnaires distributed to the local

community, the constraints set on the length of this thesis meant that a more detailed analysis

of the impacts was not possible. Furthermore, the distance of the study area from Sydney meant

that it was not feasible to carry out constant fieldwork, with time spent there having to be

carefully planned and executed in order to gain the most information possible. The large size

of the Mid-Western region further compounded this issue, adding to the costs associated with

carrying out fieldwork.

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Structure

This thesis is comprised of a total of six chapters including this introduction.

Chapter 1 examines the literature relating to coal mine development and the associated

implications that such an intense land-use can have on surrounding townships.

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the Mid-Western region which will act as the area of focus

for the research into the impacts from coal mining development. It will investigate the

topography and geology as well as identifying the hierarchy of settlements in the region. The

economic, social and demographic profile of the region is also provided.

Chapter 3 offers an in-depth analysis of the wide ranging economic and social impacts that

coal mining has had on the Mid-Western region. The extent of the potential impact on the local

economy, employment, health and education services, roads, housing and non-resident workers

and their families is discussed against the backdrop of the region to better understand the

suitability of coal mining.

Chapter 4 presents the current process in NSW for assessing and approving the development

of coal mines. The effectiveness of this process is critiqued against the economic and social

impacts which are discussed in Chapter 3. Improvements to the assessments and approvals

process are then offered to address the economic and social issues inherent with coal

exploration and coal mine development.

The Conclusion examines the extent to which the economic and social implications of coal

mines impact the Mid-Western region, briefly examining the key findings and providing

recommendations for planning practitioners who are involved in the assessment and approvals

process for coal mines

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Chapter 1: Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the issues concerning coal mining as a rural

land-use. Broadly speaking, the topic covers the ways in which rural development occurs and

the social, economic and environmental impacts of coal mining on rural regional areas around

the world. This topic area is encapsulated through a series of primarily important issues and

relevant themes and concepts as depicted in a variety of scholarly literature which will form

the basis of this review, such as rural development, coal mining impacts on rural townships and

regions, and coal mining as a ’temporary’ rural land-use. As will become clearer, the literature

reviewed in this paper does not cover the entirety of the topic area, which has been deemed to

be pertinent. This has left some of the issues remaining unanswered, providing the foundation

for further research.

Rural Development

There is substantial literature on what ‘rural’ means, and what its significance is in an

increasingly urbanised society, with Denham and White (1998) illustrating that while the

proportion of the population in the United Kingdom that resides in urban areas is still ever

increasing, urban areas still take up a proportionately small amount of land. Read in isolation

from other sources on the notion of ‘rural’, the article is little more than a statistical analysis of

census data, however, when read with a much broader pool of relevant sources, Denham and

White set an important foundation on what rural areas essentially are. While Denham and

White (1998) focus on rural and urban statistics to define ‘rural’, Shuchsmith and Chapman

(1998) explore the notion of ‘rural’ from a sociological perspective and the negative effects

that rural living can have on individuals. Shuchsmith and Chapman (1998) help to show that

rural areas, aside from urban areas, can have their own set of social issues that arise from the

unique lifestyle.

The concept of development in rural areas, whether it be residential, commercial, industrial,

natural resource extraction, agricultural or infrastructure was a major literary focus in the 1980s

and earlier. Changes in the way rural settings were perceived during this period resulted in

new research being conducted. This was due to rural development beginning to extend beyond

those traditional notions of agriculture or resource based businesses to those of tourism,

recreation and niche manufacturers (Ward and Brown 2009). These traditional views expressed

in planning literature on development in rural environments have changed in the last 20 years,

from that of being a side note of ‘important’ urban development, to one of its own importance.

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Ellis and Biggs (2001) details the changing themes in the last half century, from community

development to small farm growth to integrated rural development to market liberation to

participation and finally to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Overall, Ellis and Biggs (2001)

have completed highly detailed and accurate research into changes to rural development.

The growing interest by governments and the private sector in developing regional and rural

areas is portrayed by Self (1990), who argues for a successful regional development policy,

debating the feasibility of investing in rural and regional areas. Self (1990) takes the view that

investment in rural areas is needed, “…investments in improved road and rail communications,

as well as contributions to the infrastructure costs…” (1990: 22). Furthermore, Chambers

(1983) takes the position that increasing development in rural areas increases the ability of

those who reside in these areas to participate in sharing their collective knowledge and

expertise to a wider set of society.

While these sources explain the reason to undertake rural development, they do little to explain

the reasons for there being underdevelopment in rural areas. The World Bank (1997) puts

forward that the reasons for the underinvestment in rural areas in developing countries is

because agriculture is a declining sector, the rural poor have little political power, urban elites

pursue policies that disadvantage the agricultural sector and resources have been concentrated

in the hands of the few. Further research is needed to determine whether the same reasons are

true for underinvestment in rural areas of developed countries.

Coal Mining Impacts on Rural Townships

A central theme that appeared from the literature is that the construction and operations of coal

mines has a multitude of positive and negative social, economic and environmental impacts on

rural communities. Cappie-Wood et al. (1979), while outdated identifies that coal mining will

always have negative impacts relating to environmental issues, urban expansion, conflicts with

rural industry and the transport and loading capacity. Franks et al (2010) gives examples of

coal mining case studies in the Bowen Basin and the commutative impacts on the surrounding

communities. The source draws conclusions from its research, such as “the expansion of coal

mining in the Bowen Basin has contributed to the generation of a number of cumulative

impacts, particularly pressure on social and economic infrastructure” (Franks et al. 2010: 301).

Bryceson and MacKinnon (2012), using an African context, examine the phenomena of mining

causing accelerated urbanisation in traditionally rural areas. This international perspective can

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be useful for both developing and developed countries as the concepts explored are transferable

between different sized economies.

A common theme that emerged from the literature was that the use of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) and

drive-in drive-out (DIDO) workers in the coal mining industry and housing them in out-of-

town work camps has created a culture of masculinity, encouraging alcohol and drug induced

violence and crime (Carrington et al. 2010; Carrington et al. 2011; Carrington et al. 2012;

Doukas et al. 2008; Storey 2010). As well as detailing a variety of social and economic impacts,

Carrington et al. (2011) discusses how these initial issues, such as housing unaffordability,

increased wages, and gender imbalance can result in subsequent issues, such as a rise in crime

and violence. “A sudden rise in disposable income can lead to higher rates of alcohol and

drug abuse, gambling and other forms of conspicuous consumption and indebtedness”

(Carrington et al. 2011: 340). Carrington et al. (2011) shows that rapid population increases in

small rural resident communities can lead to pressures on the existing social fabric. “It is the

relative scale and pace of socio-demographic change that can produce social disorganisation

and dislocation in communities” (Carrington et al. 2011: 339).

As the effects of FIFO and DIDO workers in the coal mining industry have become

increasingly apparent and widespread over the past 15 years, the variety of literature focused

on the use of these practices has grown. Storey (2010) suggests that as mining investment in

Australia has significantly increased since the modern mining boom took off in early 2000, the

once isolated problem of using FIFO and DIDO workers and housing them in out of town work

camps, is now being experienced by townships across Australia. As the literature suggests, this

is a departure from previous FIFO practices which had been traditionally confined to the far

off regions of outback Australia (Storey 2010). Such is the severity of those affected, the House

of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia commissioned a report, ‘The

Cancer of the bush or salvation for our cities? Fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out workforce

practices in Regional Australia’, which provided recommendations for reducing the impacts of

such practices on existing towns (Commonwealth of Australia 2013a).

Gillespie and Bennett (2012) discuss how there is a need to integrate the assessment of

environmental, social and cultural impacts that result from coal mining, as opposed to the

system currently employed which involves assessing the three in isolation. The source agrees

that while coal mining has some positive benefits to rural communities, such as job creation

and infrastructure, there are a number of environmental, social and cultural impacts that need

10

to be assessed and addressed with each proposed coal mine. Rolfe et al. (2007) explores the

view that coal mines can on one hand foster improvements in social conditions and on the other

hand create offsetting economic and social consequences.

The idea that “as agriculture declines in importance, coal mining in particular is increasing

in importance…[causing] crucial economic and social effects, increasing social and cultural

divisions in the community” is explored by Perlgut and Sarkissian (1985: 14). This leads to

more questions such as: is the government doing enough to ensure that the social, economic

and environmental issues being adequately assessed in the planning process? A few of the

sources identify conflict resolution strategies for mine management, which would help to

reduce long term negative impacts on rural communities (Hilson 2002).

Coal Mining as a ‘Temporary’ Rural Land-use

A central theme that emerges from the literature is that coal mining and mining in general is a

‘temporary’ rural land-use. Increased participation by the coal mining industry is needed during

mine downscaling and closure to reduce the negative impacts on the region.

The World Coal Institute makes a poignant remark, stating that “…mining is only a temporary

land use. Mine rehabilitation means that the land can be used once again for other purposes

after mine closure” (2005). It is for this reason that the majority of literature that exists about

the rural development of coal mining explores the impact on these rural areas when individual

coal mining operations cease (Acquah and Boateng 2000; Morrey 1999; Rocha and Bristow

1997; Warhurst et al. 1999). Morrey (1999) mainly focuses on the economic reasons for coal

mine closure, however, included in the aims and objectives of mine closure are the need to

maintain appropriate levels of air quality, the protection of surface and groundwater resources,

and the reclamation of land for agricultural or ecological production. Furthermore the need to

include objectives for socioeconomic factors and cultural resources as planning components

for the mining industry is addressed. Morrey (1999) cites the World Bank and Berlin

Guidelines for operations closure. It should be noted that a large focus of Morrey’s (1999)

article is that there are financial, incentive driven mechanisms to promote ongoing mitigation

which can reduce expensive remedial work needed once coal extraction operations have

ceased.

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Rocha and Bristow identifies that mining has a significant impact on the natural and human

environment and that there are long term effects that result from mine downscaling and closure

on human beings and their society (1997: 15). Rocha and Bristow (1997) go on in the article

to give examples of the effects that mine downscaling have on communities, such as direct job

retrenchment for locals and indirect job losses as a result of businesses which rely on services

to the mine’s employees. Equally so, “Mining can also contribute to the process of creating

sustainable economic development by making provisions for the socio-economic well-being of

the communities affected once the mineral resources are depleted” (Rocha and Bristow 1997:

16).

Practical solutions to these negative impacts of mine downscaling and closure are presented by

Rocha and Bristow, such as reskilling the mine workforce, establishing small and medium

businesses, continued utilisation of infrastructure, and fostering tourism (1997: 18-19). Instead

of only focusing on the negatives, it provides answers to the problems. Warhurst et al (1999)

further examines, in great detail, the impact of mine closures on individuals and the community

and then conducts an analysis of best practice and future trends in coping with closure.

Conversely, Acquah and Boateng (2000) focused on the environmental impacts in Ghana for

mine closures, giving little attention to the possible socio-economic and cultural impacts. The

only reference to impact to the community being:

“Long after the mine has closed certain social changes introduced into

nearby communities will continue to operate and amenities such as

infrastructure for potable water will begin to break down. The

company will undertake to train the youth in the communities to

establish small-scale enterprises so that when the mine has closed

these communities will not disintegrate.” (Acquah and Boateng 2000:

27).

It is to be noted that Warhurst et al. also conducts an analysis of constraints for transferring

best practice, coming to the conclusion that, ”Many of the practices are contingent on the early

warning or identification of closure” (1999: 24). It is important that this article includes the

constraints and limitations to reducing socioeconomic impacts of mine closures as it gives

grounding and a sense of reality to the source.

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Lockie et al is able to illustrate the negative impacts associated with a temporary land-use such

as a coal mine, by employing the resource community cycle:

“The resource community cycle draws explicit attention to the interplay

between economic growth and decline, workforce and infrastructure

decision-making, population dynamics and social capital. In doing so,

it shows decisions made prior to the implementation of a project have

ongoing ramifications that, in the New Zealand case, have been shown

to impact on a community's ability to cope with and move on from

periods of economic stagnation in particular resource industries”

(2009: 331).

Lockie et al. (2009) further state that if appropriate measures are not implemented by the

mining company then as the mine winds down and eventually closes, the single industry culture

resists change, resulting in a period of recession or depression in the community.

The array of issues surrounding the concept of coal mining as a rural land-use, such as the ways

in which rural areas are developed and the social, economic and environmental impacts that

coal mining has as land-use on the rural environment, and the long term issues resulting from

coal mining being a ‘temporary’ rural land-use are divulged into in varying degrees of detail in

the explicit research cited. There is a lack of qualitative research literature regarding the

perceived impacts of coal mines from the perspective of rural communities. Further qualitative

research is needed to be carried out in order to assist in answering whether coal mining is a

suitable, sustainable land-use in rural environments. As the literature explored in this review

suggest, there are a multitude of social, economic and environmental longevity issues that come

about as a result of coal mining exploration, development and closure, as well as there being

an inverse connection to the long term security of agricultural industrial activities. The extent

to which these issues identified in the literature have impacted on the Mid-Western region will

be discussed later in Chapter 3.

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Chapter 2: Overview of the Mid-Western Region

It is important to understand the Mid-Western region of NSW in order to fully comprehend the

implications of the development and operation of coal mines. This chapter will introduce the

Mid-Western region, including its topographical and geological characteristics and its location

in relation to the rest of NSW. The historic changes in social, economic and environmental

aspects, as too the changing demographics, will be explored in order to better appreciate the

contemporary economic and social issues facing the region and how these have changed over

time. Additionally, there will be an overview of the differing purposes of the centres within the

region, as well as the socio-economic makeup of the region as a whole.

Regional Overview

Location

The Mid-Western region is located in the central west of NSW being approximately 250km

from the centre of Sydney and for the purposes of this thesis incorporates the area identified

within the Mid-Western Regional Council (MWRC) Local Government Area (LGA). “The

Council area stretches from the Wollemi National Park in the east to Lake Burrendong in the

west, and from the Goulburn National Park in the north to the Macquarie and Turon Rivers in

the south”, and, according to the MWRC, the LGA encompasses an area of 9,000km² (MWRC

2010a:3). The LGAs surrounding the Mid-Western region are Warrumbungle LGA to the

northwest and Upper Hunter LGA to the northeast, Wellington LGA to the west and

Muswellbrook LGA to the east, Cabonne LGA to the southwest and Singleton LGA to the

southeast, and Lithgow LGA to the south. In March 2004 there was a redistribution of the

boundaries of some NSW LGAs and an amalgamation of others. The new Mid-Western

Regional Council comprises 100 per cent of the former Mudgee Shire, 70 per cent of the former

Rylstone Shire and 10 per cent of the former Merriwa Shire (Wells Environmental Services

2006a: v). Figure 1 below illustrates the boundaries, settlements, surrounding LGAs, defining

natural features of the Mudgee region, as well as locating the region in the context of NSW.

The significance and current role of these settlements will be discussed in greater detail in the

Settlements section of this chapter.

14

Figure 1: Map of the Mid-Western LGA (Source: Adapted from MWRC 2010a:3)

15

Figure 2 below plots the existing coal mines within the Mid-Western LGA, Ulan (1982),

Moolarben (2010), Wilpinjong (2006), and Charbon (1980), as well as the proposed coal

mines of Mt. Penny (2013), Cockatoo (2016), Cobbora (2014), and Inglenook (2016). As

shown in Figure 2, the majority of the existing and proposed coal mines in the LGA are

within 60kms of Mudgee.

Figure 2: Location of existing and proposed coal mines in the Mid-Western LGA (Source: Van Laeren 2012)

Geology and Topography

As this thesis concentrates on the economic and social implications of a specific land-use, coal

mining, it is important to ascertain the geology of the region to understand why it is suitable

for both mining and agriculture/animal grazing. According to the NSW Department of Trade

and Investment (DTI), some 60% of NSW is covered by sedimentary basins, comprising of

gas, minerals and/or coal (2013). Figure 2 below identifies some of the different coalfields of

NSW within their respected sedimentary basins, including the Western Coalfields which is the

location of the Mudgee region. As the map illustrates, the vast majority of the coal reserves in

NSW are located within this 500 kilometre ‘Sydney – Gunnedah –Basin’.

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Figure 3: New South Wales Coalfields (Source: NSW Department of Trade and Investment 2013a).

The Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) is the primary geoscience agency for

the NSW DTI, which provides information to not only the government, but also the exploration

and mining industries and the wider community regarding the state's geology. The GSNSW

prepared a report, The Geological Evolution of New South Wales - A Brief Review, which

details the geological evolution of NSW based on plate tectonics (Scheibner 1999). The report

details that during the late Carboniferous to Triassic period (330 – 205 million years ago), a

continental rift formed west of the New England region leading to volcanic activity and

eventually forming a large transitional ‘Sydney Basin’. This basin slowly filled up with organic

sediments, most likely from a series of swamps or large still to slow moving bodies of water.

Over time tectonic movements in the region caused mountain building, loading the region with

17

a lot more rock which transformed it into the ‘Sydney – Gunnedah – Bowen Basin’ more or

less seen today. During the mountain building and subsequent downwards pressure, the organic

sediment was compacted over millions of years, eventually forming coal. As the report

concludes, “the [resulting] coal measures of the foreland basin, the ‘Sydney – Gunnedah –

Bowen Basin’, contain the main black coal deposits in Australia” (Scheibner 1999: 27-28).

This process has led to a diverse geological make-up that is well suited to coal extraction as

well as mineral extraction due to the large volcanic activity in the region, “The widespread

igneous activity and metamorphism in the New England region produced a large range of tin,

tungsten, molybdenum, antimony and gold deposits” (Scheibner 1999: 28). Due to the

continent of Australia forming, comparably much earlier than the other continents, there has

been a lot of soil weathering and leeching, making much of Australia’s soil nutrient poor.

Previous mountain building and successive volcanic activity in the Mudgee region has made

the soil rich in minerals, greatly increasing the ability to support plant growth and sustain

agriculture and intensive animal grazing (Chapin III et al. 2011: 6).

The geological transformation of the region has led to large coal reserves in the northeast,

where three existing coal mines, Ulan, Moolarben and Wilpinjong are located. According to a

geological overview written by the GSNSW, “There are many areas where cumulative coal

thickness is well in excess of 20 metres, and numerous individual seams with reservoir

thickness greater than 2 metres” (NSW Department of Trade and Investment 2013b). The

effect that the presence of these minerals and coal has had on the regional economy will be

discussed in the Socio-economics section of Chapter 2.

The Great Diving Range runs through the Mid-Western region, dividing the region between

the central-west catchment in the west and the central rivers catchment in the east. The Ulan,

Moolarben and Wilpinjong coal mines are spread between these two catchments. Many of the

settlements in the region rely on the groundwater extracted from rivers, lakes and aquifers from

these catchments as their principle water supply. There has been a continued demand for

surface water by residents, agriculture and industry coupled with reduced rainfall. This has led

to significant pressure on the water catchments, “The demand for groundwater extraction,

particularly for irrigation, is increasing and placing additional pressure on aquifers and

ecosystems” (CWCMA et al. 2012: 44). Many of the Councils within the CWCMA are

currently preparing Integrated Water Cycle Management Plans to address water policy issues

18

through initiatives such as stormwater management, recycling and reuse of water, demand

management, and more holistic water restrictions (CWCMA et al. 2012).

According to the Central West Catchment Management Authority (CWCMA) there are three

types of landforms found in the Mid-Western region, “Broadly, these can be grouped into

tablelands, slopes and plains, reflecting the influence of the Great Dividing Range in the east

through the slopes to the floodplains of the west and the north-west.” (CWCMA et al. 2012:

12). Since European settlement began in the early to mid-19th Century many of the plains in

the region have been cleared of trees and natural vegetation for animal grazing and agriculture

(Department of Sustainability Environment Water Population and Communities (2010). This

has left isolated sections of dense wooded areas in the east and south of the region, generally

where the elevation is higher and the land less suitable for clearing, such as on steep slopes and

on and around rocky outcrops. Figure 4 below shows an example of a cleared plain in the

northeast of the region and the surrounding slopes and peaks of the Great Dividing Range

which have been left uncleared, making them a habitat for fauna. The coal mining in the region

has generally been limited to these plains in the east, as the level of excavation needed to reach

the coal seems is less extreme and therefore more economical on the flat terrain.

Figure 4: Cleared plain near Wollar (Source: Sroczynski 2013a)

19

Figure 5 below demonstrates the typical topography of the region as you move further

northwest from the Great Dividing Range. As the landscape levels out, the proportion of land

devoted to large natural wooded areas is far less than that of the eastern and southern parts of

the Mid-Western region.

Figure 5: Flatter terrain in the west of the Mid-Western region (Source: Sroczynski 2013b)

Settlements

According to the Mid-Western Regional Council Comprehensive Rural Land Use Strategy

there are 19 settlements in the Mid-Western region ranging from large centres, consisting of

hundreds of dwellings, to small villages having only a small grouping of dwellings (2010).

Each of these settlements provide services and amenities to the residents of the Mudgee region

specific to their importance, proximity to other settlements, and population. A summary of the

settlement hierarchy for the Mid-Western region can be seen in Figure 6 below. Figure 7 below

illustrates the proportion of the regional population that reside in each settlement.

20

Figure 6: Mid-Western region settlement hierarchy (Source: Mid-Western Regional Council 2010b: 16)

21

Figure 7: Population of the Mid-Western region by town (Source: Mid-Western Regional Council Business and

Economic Profile 2010a: 5)

The largest centre in the region is Mudgee, sitting at the top of the settlement hierarchy, with a

population of 9,830 and approximately 4,346 dwellings (ABS 2011a). Mudgee acts as a district

centre for the LGA, providing much of the larger retail, health, education and employment

services, and entertainment for the surrounding area. The centre is the home to the Council

chambers and offices, a public high school, several pubs and a range of retail stores and

machinery facilities. However, due to its limited size and development, Mudgee relies on the

regional centres of Dubbo, Orange, and Bathurst in the surrounding regions, which act as the

principal points for business, government, education and health services.

The smaller centres in the region which support Mudgee are Gulgong, Rylstone and Kandos,

with populations of 1,866, 624, and 1,284 respectively (ABS 2011a). These towns act as local

centres for different parts of the LGA, providing services which are needed on a more regular

basis, such as limited retail, food, educational services, entertainment and groceries. As well as

Gulgong providing these services, it also serves a cultural and historical function, having

retained much of its original buildings and architecture. This retention of such historical value

has led to Gulgong becoming a tourist attraction to those visiting Mudgee or travelling through

the region. Rylstone and Kandos too have historic value, but also provide health and

educational service. For example, Rylstone has a hospital, while Kandos has a high school. As

the two towns are relatively close to one another, being 6.9km or 7 minutes by vehicle, each

provides a range of services that can be shared between the residents of each of the towns.

22

The villages of Bylong, Birriwa, Charbon, Clandullar, Goolma, Lue, Hargraves, Hill End,

Ilfrod, Pyramul, Sofala, Turill, Ulan, Windeyer, and Wollar have varying populations and in

some cases consist of just several dwellings (ABS 2011a). These villages act as a limited local

point, in some cases having a public primary school, general store, and/or pub. Figure 8 below

shows the Wollar General Store, which is an example of one such local shopping facility. As

the means of fast and convenient transportation has become more available over the last 150

years, the significance of these villages has declined. Furthermore, these areas have become

less populated as people have migrated to larger centres and cities in search of employment. In

some instances this has resulted in villages becoming abandoned and converting into localities,

rather than settlements. These small rural localities are scattered throughout the region acting

as a central point for the local community. They generally do not have any retail or services

other than a hall, church or bushfire facilities.

Figure 8: The Wollar General Store provided petrol, diesel and limited grocery products (Source: Sroczynski

2013c)

23

Socio-economics of the Mid-Western Region

The Mid-Western region has a diverse economic and social fabric with a strong multilayered

economy which has sustained a high level of economic and population growth as well as a

solid community bond. Much of the data on the socio-economics of the region have been

sourced from the 2011 Census. The Mid-Western Regional Council Business and Economic

Profile (2010a) has also provided a plethora of useful data on the social and economic makeup

of the region. It is important to understand the demographics of the region over a relative period

of time, such as over three consecutive Censuses, so that changes resulting from the

development of the coal mines can be clearly isolated and identified. These changes in the

measurable data will be analysed in greater detail in Chapter 3.

According to the Mid-Western Regional Council Business and Economic Profile the major

industries of the Mid-Western region are agriculture, mining, tourism, and viticulture (2010a:

3). The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census data for Industry by Employment for the

MWRC lists the following industries as having the highest employment in descending order:

Mining – 1,311 (13.95%)

Retail Trade – 1,045 (11.12%)

Agriculture, forestry and fishing – 878 (9.34%)

Healthcare and social assistance – 862 (9.17%)

Construction – 762 (8.11%)

Accommodation and food service – 754 (8.02%)

Education and training – 676 (7.19%)

This employment by industry census data supports the Business and Economic Profile,

showing that these sectors listed above provide goods and services, as well as technical skills

directly or indirectly to the mining, tourism and/or agriculture/viticulture industries. Whilst

coal mining has grown in economic importance over the last 10 years in the Mid-Western

Region, tourism, agriculture and viticulture still contribute a large part to the regional

economy. According to the Business and Economic Profile, more than 460,000 tourists visit

the region annually with 600 businesses in the Mid-Western Region involved in the tourism

24

industry (MWRC 2010a: 8). Furthermore, “Approximately 38 percent of registered

businesses in the Region are part of the agricultural sector”, contributing $50.5M in gross

value production in 2006 (MWRC 2010a: 9). Also, while the viticulture industry has adapted

to the worldwide over supply of grapes by reducing wine production, it remains a strong

sector helping to attract tourists and investment into the area (MWRC 2010a:9).

The present-day significance of the mining sector in the region can be best demonstrated by

looking at its growth between 2001 and 2011. During this period those employed in the

mining industry has grown by approximately 231%, which is 23% annually (ABS 2011a).

This is in contrast to the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry which has declined by

approximately 33% over the past 10 years, which is -3% annually (ABS 2011a). This shift is

possibly indicative of an increase in the number of residents being employed by the mining

industry in the region through the development of the coal mines post 2001.

Two large employers in the region have closed in the last 10 years, the Mudgee Regional

Abattoir closing in 2003 with the loss of 230 local jobs and the Kandos Cement Plant closing

in 2011 with the loss of 98 local jobs. The effects of these closures have had the greatest

impact on the Kandos area, with the Western Advocate Newspaper reporting that the plant

closure will have a devastating impact on Kandos and the surrounding region in the long term

(2011). Nevertheless, the unemployment rate in the LGA is 5.6% and 5.9% in the rest of

NSW, suggesting that there is still excess capacity in the job market for employment in the

region (ABS 2011a). The economic and social impacts of the abovementioned industry shift

being experienced in the region will be discussed further in Chapter 3.

The demographics of the MWRC typify the standard rural regional area of NSW, highlighting

the many issues facing these non-metropolitan areas. A selected summary of statistics taken

from the 2011 Australian Census shown below highlights key information for the Mid-Western

region:

Median age of persons (years) – 41

Median total household income ($/weekly) – 938

Median mortgage repayment ($/monthly) – 1,551

Median rent ($/weekly) – 200

Average household size – 2.4 persons

25

Figure 9: The abandoned Kandos Cement Works (Source: Sroczynski 2013d)

The ABS data for the LGA shows that the majority of the MWRC population is of Australian

birth, being 84.88%, with the next highest proportions being from the United Kingdom, 3.13%;

New Zealand, 1.04%; and Germany, 0.41% (2011a). This is reflected in the language spoken

at home with 91.65% of the population speaking only English and 0.29% of the population

speaking German. Additionally, 79.37% of the population identifies with the Christian faith,

reflecting the European cultures from which the majority of the LGA originated. Concerning

education, approximately 13% of the population have undertaken some level of higher

education beyond school, ranging from Certificates to Post Graduate Degrees.

As can be seen in Figure 10 below, the greatest proportion of residents in the LGA are those

aged between 45 and 84 years, comprising 42.5% of the population compared with 38.2% of

the NSW population, with the medium age being 41 and 38 respectively (ABS 2011a). While

the number of children aged under the age of 15 is 20.6% in the Mid-Western LGA and 19.3%

of the NSW population, the proportion drops to 10.8% for those 15 to 24 years of age in the

Mid-Western LGA and 12.9% of the NSW population. The large drop in the number of

26

teenagers and young adults in the Mid-Western LGA suggests that children leave the region

when they are of an age to do so, possibly to attend at higher education institutions or to find

employment in the larger regional centres or capital cities.

Figure 10: Age pyramid of the MWRC (Source: ABS 2011a)

The family composition of the Mid-Western Region is summarised in the table below, which

shows that couple families with children make up the largest proportion, being 44.8% of the

population which is lower than the rest of NSW, which is 48.4%. Couple families with no

children make up 39.7% of the Mid-Western region’s population, compared to the rest of NSW

which is 34.4%. That the proportion of couple families with no children is higher than the rest

of the state and the proportion of couple families with children is lower than the rest of the state

supports the earlier statement in which the children leave the LGA once old enough, leaving

an older population, with less teenagers and young adults.

The differences between the growing larger centres such as Mudgee, Gulgong, Rylstone and

Kandos and the smaller declining settlements can be quite extreme. These socio-economic

differences between different types of settlements in the region can be exemplified using the

example of the village of Wollar. Wollar is a small village located 48 kilometres from the town

of Mudgee with a population of 260, including the surrounding gazetted area (ABS 2011a).

Lynne Robinson a former Wollar local and Mudgee Historical Society research officer said the

-5.0% -3.0% -1.0% 1.0% 3.0% 5.0%

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74

75-79

80-84

85+

Axis Title

Age

Females Males

27

town was, “Once a bustling commercial hub servicing large pastoral leases in its heyday from

the late 1800s to the mid-1900s” (cited in Noone 2011).

Past its heyday, Wollar now has only a general store which also serves as a petrol/diesel station

and a public primary school with, “Only seven pupils at the school…and five of those are from

one family” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16 August). Interviewee 5, who was a landowner in

the Wollar area and now an employee a local coal mine in the region, believes that Wollar has

been declining for the last 50 years.

“…an area which has been declining ever since I’ve known it and quite

rapidly. When I first knew it, it had 50 members in the tennis teams, it

had a full cricket team with many more reserves. The school had 15

people, etc., etc. And there was a dance every month in the hall. But if

you had a closer look at it, they were all the older people still. Well as

they died out, the younger ones moved away. So by the time we came

along, one of the first things I had to organise for Wollar was pay for

the insurance on the hall because the locals couldn’t do it. And it got

down to the stage where it was really battling… Basically, your three

main types have been your older people that have been associated with

Wollar for a long time. There are very few of those left. Then you had

people who came in; old people who could not afford anywhere else, so

they bought in Wollar because it looked like a nice little place. And then

you had the people come in…the [19]70s, [19]80s and [19]90s. A lot

of those were people trying to escape the Vietnam War. And so you had

a big drug culture. Not doing any harm, but they lived in their own little

world…And because Wollar was so far out nobody took any notice of

them...” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm., 25 August).

Some of the reasons for villages such as Wollar experiencing negative population growth and

a withdrawal of services, has already been briefly discussed in the Settlements section of this

chapter, such as improvements in transportation and search for employment. However, as

Interviewee 5 mentioned in the interview quoted above, the changing demographics and social

issues have had a significant effect on the village.

28

With the opening of the Wilpinjong Coal Mine in 2006, the majority of the surrounding land

was purchased by the mining parent company, Peabody, including the majority of village of

Wollar. David Reid, the Managing Director of the Minnamurra Pastoral Company which has

large land holdings in the surrounding region and has worked closely with a local coal mine

suggested in an interview that the mining company was trying to revive the village.

“[The mining company] were quite open about their concerns about

the effect they would have on Wollar as a village and they were trying

to make sure that the whole thing didn’t close down…So they bought up

a lot of the houses there and did them up so that people could rent. A

lot of the miners live there now” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16

August).

Having familiarised the reader with the Mudgee region’s location, geography, and basic socio-

economics it is important to investigate the effects that the development of the Ulan,

Wilpinjong, and Moolarben coal mines in the region have had on the towns and smaller

settlements. Chapter 3 will investigate, specifically, the social and economic impacts that have

resulted from the development and continued operations of these coal mines on the surrounding

Mudgee region, including the impacts of supply and demand. Further to this it will explore

what effect the running down and eventual ceasing of mining operations could have on the

towns and settlements in the region.

29

Chapter 3: Economic and Social Impacts of Coal Mining on the Mid-

Western Region

The beginning of the resources boom in Australia during the mid-2000s started a significant

endeavour to expand the coal mining production capacity of NSW through the development of

new coal mines and the expansion and/or recommissioning of existing coal mines across the

state (Bishop et al. 2013). The race to benefit from this resource boom resulted in a range of

widespread economic and social impacts on the regional communities that would have to

support these mines. The Mid-Western region, which has been traditionally known for its

agriculture and viticulture, is one such area that has seen dramatic positive and negative impacts

brought on by the mining boom. This chapter will investigate the economic and social impacts

on the Mid-Western region through an analysis of quantitative data from ABS statistics and

qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews undertaken with key industry and planning

professionals. These impacts experienced by the Mid-Western region have been separated into

four key sections. The first section explores the impact on the regional economy, employment,

services, and infrastructure. The second section delves into the impact on housing and rental

availability and affordability. The third section examines the impact on lifestyle, community

safety, and wellbeing. The final section will look at the impact on non-resident work

arrangements on workers and their families.

Impact on Regional Economy, Employment, Services and Infrastructure

The construction and operation of coal mines in the Mid-Western region has resulted in a

number of positive and negative economic and social impacts on the regional economy,

employment services, and infrastructure. The rapid expansion of the resource extraction in the

region from two coal mines, Ulan and Charbon, in the 1980s to currently four mines and

another four proposed, has led to a changes in the regional economy, shifting some investment

from agriculture and viticulture, to mining and its various supporting industries and services.

This shift in the regional economy has led to increased pressures on roads, rail, water,

electricity, and health and education services, while at the same time improving employment

opportunities for a large number of the local population. There is an ever growing need to

balance and mitigate the adverse impacts with the advantageous impacts that can be attributed

to the coal mines in the Mudgee region. This section will identify and discuss these impacts of

30

the coal mines in the Mudgee region by concentrating on statistical changes and information

obtained from key literary and primary sources. Table 1 below lists the main coal mining

impacts in the Mudgee region which will be discussed throughout this chapter.

Table 1: Examples of coal mining impacts

Source: Adapted from Franks et al. 2010

The Moolarben and Wilpinjong coal mines started operating post 2004 and between then and

2012, there has been a trend taking place across Australia in which:

“Mining’s contribution (in terms of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP)

has doubled [in Australia],

Australia’s mining exports have doubled in nominal terms, but only by

40 per cent in price adjusted or volume terms.

There have been unprecedented levels of investment in new mining and

energy developments (and related infrastructure) resulting from the

strong profits in mining industries.

The strong FIFO/DIDO demand has lifted revenue growth in the

accommodation and domestic (regional) aviation industries” (Pham et

al. 2013).

Examples of Negative Impacts Examples of Positive Impacts

Price inflation (e.g. housing and rents) and

the disproportionate impacts on residents

not employed in the mining industry.

Increased employment and economic

investment.

Overloading of existing social services (e.g.

childcare, healthcare and education).

Regional and community development

benefits from mine community investments.

Reduced water quality (e.g. saline discharge

into rivers).

Local business development from mine

procurement.

Reduced water quantity (groundwater draw

and water table impacts from multiple

mines and industries).

Greater royalties and taxes to the State

Government and increased rates to the Mid-

Western Regional Council.

Traffic congestion and road surface

degradation.

Road and infrastructure upgrades.

Lack of State Government investment in

services and infrastructure upgrades.

Population increases that create a critical

mass for better services and infrastructure

(e.g. schools, and sporting teams).

31

The socio-economics section in Chapter 2 briefly discussed the shifting economy of the Mid-

Western region and how the coal mines are contributing to an increasingly large part of the

economy in terms of employment, investment and production. During the period between 2001

and 2011, those employed in the mining industry grew by approximately 231%, compared to

the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry which has contracted by approximately 33% (ABS

2011a). According to David Reid, this change is a result of the ability of the mining industry

to induce employment with more attractive remuneration packages from those offered by the

agriculture sector. “The mines pay much higher wages which agriculture could never match,

so there has been a movement away [from the industry]…It makes it very hard for properties

in the area to find young people who are prepared to work” (2013, pers.comm., 16 August).

David Reid goes further, concluding that this is not isolated to only agriculture, but is a common

theme across many industries in the region, “…tending to push wage levels higher which makes

it hard to contain wage bills” (2013, pers.comm., 16 August). He gives an example of the

difference between the wages that he is able to offer to employees on his cattle farm from those

being offered by the mining companies in the area.

“We had a stockman who was earning $50,000 or $60,000 a year with

us, he got a job [with the mine] and was easily putting away $120,000

a year [$2,300 per week] after tax. So more than double what we could

pay” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16 August).

Figure 11 below shows that the number of household incomes in the MWRC earning above

$2,500 per week has grown from 2.60% in 2001 to 21.34% in 2011, equating to a seven fold

increase. When this is compared with the proportion of households in NSW earning above

$2,500 per week, as seen in Figure 12 increasing from 6.67% in 2001 to 28.22%, this does not

seem abnormal. However, when the wage increases in the Mid-Western LGA are compared

with a largely agricultural economy like that of the Wellington LGA, which has no coal mines,

isolated conditions which have led to this wage increase in the Mid-Western region become

clear. Figure 13 below shows the proportion of households earning above $2,500 per week in

the LGA of Wellington Council increasing from 1.28% in 2001 to 10.08% in 2011, which is

almost 12% lower than the rise in income of those living in MWRC over the last 10 years.

32

Figure 11: Growth in household income in MWRC (Source: ABS 2011a)

Figure 12: Growth in household income in NSW (Source: ABS 2011b)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2001 2006 2011

Total Family Income for MWRC per Household

(Weekly)

Less than $799 $800 - $1,499 $1,500 - $2,499 More than $2,500

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2001 2006 2011

Total Family Income for NSW per Household

(Weekly)

Less than $799 $800 - $1,499 $1,500 - $2,499 More than $2,500

33

Figure 13: Growth in household income in Wellington Council (Source: ABS 2011c)

That there has been such a large increase over the last 10 years in the number of workers in the

Mid-Western region employed in the mining industry suggests that this rise in higher incomes

is due to this growing sector, which is able to offer significantly higher wages than other

traditional regional industries due to the mining industry’s ability to attract investment dollars

(Pham et al. 2013).

While this large increase in the number of households in the MWRC earning over $2,500 per

week has benefited those on higher incomes, it has in some instances had disproportionate

impacts on those households on low incomes. Interviewee 5 submitted that there have been

those within the Mudgee region who have capitalised on this ‘new wealth’, by charging

customers comparably higher prices than those regional centres that are not directly supporting

the coal mines. However, he raised the question of whether this is necessarily caused by the

mines or rather the greed of people that will exploit what the mine has brought in.

“A classic example of that is the other day I had ordered for my Ute a

new side vision mirror. My local mechanic rang me back, laughed and

asked if I wanted to pay $145 or $195? I said that’s obvious isn’t it?

Well for $145 he could get it in from Dubbo and for $195 he could get

it in from Mudgee” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm., 25 August).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2001 2006 2011

Total Family Income for Wellington Council per

Household (Weekly)

Less than $799 $800 - $1,499 $1,500 - $2,499 More than $2,500

34

According to a survey of Australian residents by SBS News, 42% of people who were surveyed

agreed that, “The mining boom has driven up the cost of living”, while only 8% disagreed (SBS

2012). Even though those surveyed by SBS are a sample of the general Australian population,

it does represent a common sentiment of those living in settlements effected by mines and their

economic impact.

The effect that the coal mines have had on the various industry sectors in the Mid-Western

region which has led to a higher cost of living is given in the Wilpinjong Coal Project

Environmental Assessment Report prepared by Gillespie Economics (2005, Appendix I). The

report estimated that there would be $244M in annual direct and indirect regional output or

business turnover; $158M in annual direct and indirect regional value added; and 14M in

annual household income. This is a substantial injection of cash into the regional economy that

can benefit a number of different sectors throughout the regional economy.

The report detailed the most probable flow-on impacts on the regional economy from the

construction and operation phases of the Wilpinjong Coal Mine. These flow-on impacts are

transferable between the different coal mines in the region due to the similar principle nature

of their construction and operation. The sectors most impacted by the Wilpinjong Coal Mine

are likely to be cement manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, road transport and

accommodation (Gillespie Economics 2005: 16). Gillespie Economics breakdown of which

sectors would be impacted on during the construction and operation phase is given below:

“Production-induced employment impacts during the construction

phase would mainly generate demand for employment in the:

services sectors (predominantly other property services, legal,

accounting and business management sector, scientific research,

technical and computer services and other business services);

wholesale and retail trade;

manufacturing (predominantly cement lime and concrete slurry

manufacturing, structural metal products manufacturing and

fabricated metal products manufacturing); and

transport sector (predominantly road transport…

35

Consumption-induced employment flow-ons from the construction

phase would mainly generate demand in the:

wholesale and retail trade sectors; and the

services sectors (education, health, community services and other

services” (Gillespie Economics 2005: 17).

“The sectors most impacted by output, value-added and income flow-

ons during the mine operation phase are likely to be the:

services to mining sector which consists of businesses engaged in, among

other things, exploration or parts of mining operations on a fee or contract

basis;

agricultural and mining machinery manufacturing sector which consists

of businesses engaged in, among other things, construction, earthmoving

and mining machinery;

electricity supply sector which consists of businesses engaged in the

generation, transmission or distribution of electricity;

wholesale trade sector which consists of businesses engaged in wholesale

trade;

retail trade sector which consists of business engaged in retail trade;

rail and road transport sectors which consists of businesses engaged in

operating railways for the transportation of freight or passengers and

businesses engaged in, among other things, the transportation of freight

by road;

other property services sector which includes business involved in renting

and leasing assets including machinery, equipment, motor vehicles, real

estate, airplanes, etc; and

legal, accounting, marketing and business management services sector

which includes businesses that provide legal services, accounting services

or business management services including environmental consultancy

services and personnel management services” (Gillespie Economics 2005:

23).

36

However, as the report concludes, there are limitations to the number of locals that are able to

be employed in the coal mines due to the specialist nature of the skills and education required

for coal mining and associated services (Gillespie Economics 2005: 21). Also, the fact that the

report lists a number of services which could be sourced locally, increasing employment in the

region, should be viewed with some scepticism. The reality of large multi-national corporations,

which own and operate the mines using, for example legal, accounting and marketing services,

sourced from within the Mid-Western region is highly unlikely given the large amounts of

money involved.

Gillespie Economics estimated that around 50% (around 250 direct and indirect jobs) could be

sourced locally in the region, with the remainder coming from workers who will need to migrate

into the region (2005: 21). However, as Interviewee 5 stated, the mines tried to locally source

as many of its workers as possible. “…we would have no problem with a locally sourced labour

force to work in the mines. Which is what we set out to do” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm.,

25 August).

While there may be large capital investments during the construction and operation phases of

the coal mines in the Mid-Western region, the cessation of operations for the mines, if handled

poorly, can result in large economic and social problems. The scale of the regional economic

impact during this running down and cessation phase of the coal mines would most likely

depend on whether the mine workers and associated workers and their families would leave

the region. According to the Wilderness Society who commissioned The Economic Impact of

the Woodchipping Industry in South Eastern NSW, where workers who had been displaced in

the region remained, the consumption-induced flow-ons of the decline could ultimately be

reduced through the sustained consumption expenditure of those who remained in the region

(Economic and Planning Impact Consultants 1989). The decision by workers to remain or

move at the running down and cessation of the coal mine would be affected by the prospects

of gaining other employment with similar wages in the region compared with other regions,

the likely gain or loss associated with homeowners selling, and the quality of lifestyle in the

region (Economic and Planning Impact Consultants 1989).

However, as mentioned above, due to the specialised skills and education requirements needed

for working in coal mines it would be difficult to accurately determine the number of coal

workers that would remain in the Mid-Western region after the closure of the mines due to

limitations in finding similar work. Ultimately, if the running down and cessation of the coal

37

mines happens during a period when the region is experiencing growth in a diversified

economy, which has other development opportunities, the impact on the economy and

employment would be less (Sorensen 1990). Conversely, if the region becomes too reliant on

the coal mining industry, then mine closures could result in direct job retrenchment for locals

and indirect job losses as a result of businesses which rely on services to the mine’s employees

(Rocha and Bristow 1997: 15). Presently this does not seem likely to occur due to the strong

agriculture, viticulture and tourism industry in the region which is independent of the mines.

While the overall impact on the economy and employment caused by the coal mines in the

Mid-Western region has had positive and negative consequences, the changing economy and

demographics of the region has also impacted on health services. The health services in and

around Mudgee have been placed under increased pressure during the construction and

operational phases of coal mine developments. This has caused workers and their families to

migrate to the region to work for the coal mining industry, leading to a 3.1% increase in the

population in Mudgee and 2% increase in the overall population of the MWRC between 2011

and 2012, compared to 1.1% in the rest of NSW (ABS 2013).

Mudgee Hospital is the largest health facility in the MWRC, offering medical services

including Gastroenterology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Infectious Diseases, Kidney,

Medicine, Maternity, Neurology, and Ophthalmology. According to the My Hospital website,

Mudgee Hospital has less than 50 beds and experienced a total of 3,258 admissions during the

2011 – 2012 period (Commonwealth of Australia 2013b). Since the permanent closure of the

Gulgong Hospital in 2010 due to asbestos being found, Mudgee Hospital has become the only

health facility for nearly 4,000 people in Gulgong and the surrounding townships, who must

now travel further to receive medical treatment and care (Keene 2010). According to the 2011

– 2012 NSW Health Budget, $7M has been put towards the construction of a multi-purpose

health facility at Gulgong, to be completed in 2014. (NSW Government 2013: 8). This new

health facility will assist in providing medical care to Gulgong, while easing the pressure on

Mudgee Hospital. Having two medical facilities in the area will help to reduce the potential

impact on health services caused by the MAC Group Temporary Workers Accommodation for

the coal mines which is proposed near Gulgong. The issues with the proposed MAC

development will be discussed the ‘Impact on non-resident work arrangements on workers and

their families’ section of this chapter.

38

The coal mining sector has placed added pressure on General Practitioners (GPs), especially in

Mudgee. The doctor listing website, Doctoralia, lists 11 GPs in Mudgee, belonging to either

the Mudgee Medical Centre or the South Mudgee Surgery. These GPs are in constant demand,

with many residents in the area having to wait extended periods of time for a consultation. The

‘Response to Submissions’ in the Wilpinjong Coal Project Environmental Assessment Report

highlighted this issue in 2005, “There is an existing shortage of General Practitioners in

Mudgee and this may be accentuated by the Project-related population increase” (Excel

Resource Strategies: 71). The Mid-Western Regional Council Local Services Assessment

completed by Manidis Roberts also stated that there was an issue with the number of GPs in

the Mid-Western region, “Difficulties in attracting and retaining General Practitioners (GPs)

in the region, as with other rural areas. Further, the number of GPs in the region nearing

retirement age confounds this issue” (2012: 73).

The lack of GPs in the region can be further compounded during the construction of the coal

mines, as workers are constantly rotating in and out of the region. Catherine Van Laeren, the

Director of Development and Community Services at MWRC described this issue in an

interview stating,

“The other issue is the health footprint that these people have. They are

not one person. They change over all of the time. The have multiple

footprints on the health services. It is different if your doctor sees you

three or four times. But if they are seeing three or four different people,

then that is a different workload. We already have stretched health

facilities here and GPs” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

The inquiry into the use of ‘fly-in, fly-out’ (FIFO) workforce practices in regional Australia

entitled Cancer of the bush or salvation for our cities? Fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out

workforce practices in Regional Australia which was prepared by the Parliament of the

Australia’s House Standing Committee on Regional Australia details the impact that non-

resident mine workers can have on the health services of a community.

“The Shire of Yilgarn, in southern Western Australia noted that FIFO

workers were placing a considerable burden on the local general

practitioners, particularly when managing workplace accidents and

emergencies…The increasing workload burden on doctors is impacting

39

on doctor-patient relationships and there were some implications made

that medical staff did not have the capacity to proactively manage the

health of residents…Not only does a FIFO workforce place a burden

on medical service providers, it restricts access to these services for

local residents” (Commonwealth of Australia 2013b: 61-62).

Andrew Gee MP, the Member of Orange made a submission to the Inquiry into Economic and

Social Development in Central Western New South Wales, stating that, “In some towns such as

Mudgee…it can take 4 to 6 weeks to ever see a GP. There is clearly a GP shortage in the

Central West” (2012: Submission No. 62). This can be very stressful for the entire community

and could lead to health problems as residents may choose to not wait and decide not to seek

medical treatment altogether or move to other areas that have better health services. “A decline

in Medical Services is a fundamental reason why towns go into decline. The sick and elderly

are given no choice but to move to localities where such services exist” (Gee 2012: Submission

No. 62).

The MWRC also made a submission to the Inquiry which made the point that the health

services in the region were having difficulties attracting and retaining doctors to meet demand

even before the development of the Moolarben and Wilpinjong coal mines, the development

of which has exacerbated the issue.

“In the Mid-Western Region, there are often occasions where access to

medical services is inadequate. While not a unique experience across

rural and regional areas, it is the case that it can take weeks to secure

an appointment with a doctor…A feasibility study into medical services

across the region was completed in 2006 and highlighted critical

shortages in a number of areas, particularly in relation to the number

of medical practitioners in Mudgee, Gulgong and the Rylstone region”

(MWRC 2012: Submission No. 10).

Apart from the royalties they pay to the NSW Government, some coal mining companies do

contribute funds to the community to try and mitigate the impact that the construction of the

coal mines and ongoing employment have on the Mid-Western region. Interviewee 5 gives the

following example of a coal mine directly supporting the health services in the region:

40

“When you look at the health services, mining doesn’t have to

contribute anything, but we actually have and continue to do so…Out

of nowhere I got a call telling me about a fundraiser being organised

raising $100,000 for the [Mudgee] hospital for urgently needed

equipment. They were getting nowhere. It was going to fail. So I talked

to the General Manager [of the mine] and we pumped $10,000 into it.

We did that in three days. It gave it traction and I think that they raised

$90,000 in the end. And we ended up doubling our contribution [to

$20,000]” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm., 25 August).

While the coal mining company contributing $20,000 to the hospital fund raising project is a

good thing for the community, it might be better spent on funding GP clinics in the region. As

the anecdotal evidence has shown, there has been a direct impact on this type of health service,

which could be attributed to the increased employment in the coal mines. As GP clinics do not

receive the same level of capital funding from State governments, instead generally relying on

private investment for the purchase or lease of the premises, fit-out, and medical tools and

devices, this would be more appropriate in reducing the impact on health services caused by

the coal mines.

Contrary to health, there is not the same issue with primary and secondary schools exceeding

capacity in the region. Data taken from the My School website and the 2001, 2006 and 2011

Censuses showing that enrolments in the primary and secondary schools across the Mid-

Western region have been decreasing. Between 2001 and 2006 the number of enrolments in

primary and secondary schools decreased by 10.1% in the Mid-Western LGA and decreased

by 3.3% in the rest of NSW. Between 2006 and 2011 the number of enrolments in primary and

secondary schools decreased by 5.2% in the Mid-Western LGA and increased by 1.7% in the

rest of NSW. The census data for the Mid-Western LGA and the rest of NSW is presented in

Table 2 below. The exception to the above trend is the Mudgee High School, with the My

School website showing that enrolments have overall increased by 73 students between 2008

and 2012 (ACARA 2013). Although, it should be noted that enrolments have been falling since

2010 (ACARA 2013). The overall increase in enrolments could be attributed to the addition of

51 couples with children to the Mid-Western region between 2006 and 2011, some of whom

may have migrated to the region for employment in the coal mining industry.

41

Table 2: Number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools as a percentage of the population

Census Year Mid-Western LGA NSW

2001 17.78% 15.99%

2006 16.18% 14.95%

2011 14.59% 14.38%

Source: ABS 2011a

The Wilpinjong Coal Project Environmental Assessment Report prepared by Martin &

Associates states that,

“There is a considerable number of schools in the primary study area

which have adequate capacity to service current projected population

demand. All of these schools have capacity to absorb increased

enrolments, are all well resourced and enjoy strong community

support...there is considerable capacity in the system to enrol

additional students both within the urban and surrounding rural areas”

(2005, Appendix J: 16).

The report by Martin & Associates and the decrease in the number of children aged 5 to 19 by

9.47% in the 2001 – 2011 period suggests that the coal mines have had minimal to no impact

on the educational services of the Mid-Western region in terms of increased pressure on

financial resources and teaching staff (ABS 2011a). In fact, it could be argued that increased

mining employment in the region, with miners and their families migrating to region, has

bolstered falling enrolment numbers in primary and secondary schools, keeping open,

especially, the smaller primary schools in the area for future generations of students. Figure 14

below shows the Wollar Public Primary School which has only seven students.

While there may not have been a substantial impact on educational services in the Mid-Western

region, the most significant and noticeable impact has been on the roads running between

Mudgee and the coal mines caused by the increased traffic and freight associated with the coal

mines in the region. This increase in traffic and freight combined with a lack of long term

funding from the MWRC, NSW Government and mining companies operating in the region

has been debated extensively, making it a contentious topic for MWRC and the coal mining

sector. There are two competing points of view on the issue of roads in the Mid-Western region.

One being that MWRC should not have to contribute anything to the upgrading of the Ulan

42

Road and the Ulan Wollar Road, and the other being that the coal mining companies should

have to contribute an equal shared proportion.

Figure 14: Wollar Public Primary School (Source: Sroczynski 2013e)

The MWRC is unable to exclusively fund upgrades to the Ulan Road and Ulan Wollar Road,

being responsible for the maintenance of approximately 601.3km of sealed and unseals roads.

(Manidis Roberts 2012: 46). The 2012- 2013 Budget for the MWRC stated that total operating

costs for roads, was $10,632,000, which accounts for 20% of the total operating budget for that

period (MWRC 2013). More is spent on roads than community services and education, public

order and safety, and recreation and culture combined (MWRC 2013). Roads represent a very

large expense and therefore must allocate capital work projects prudently, where they are most

needed. The Mid-Western Regional Council Local Services Assessment has identified Ulan

Road and the Wollar Bylong Road, which service the existing as well as proposed coal mines,

as the most urgently needed upgrades (Manidis Roberts 2012: 49). Table 4 below lists five

roads that should be upgraded in the Mid-Western LGA to reduce the impact on traffic and

freight caused by the coal mines in the region.

43

Table 3: Potential road upgrades which would ease the impact from coal mines in the region

Road Works required Estimated capital cost

Ulan Road 45km of road to be upgraded $31M

Cope Road 22km of road to be upgraded $8M

Ulan Wollar Road 8.8km of road to be sealed $5.7M

Wollar Bylong Road 22km of road to be sealed $31M

Bylong Valley Road Road widening and straightening $2M

Source: Adapted from Manidis Roberts 2012: 49

Traffic counts done by Manidis Roberts showed that the annual average traffic for Ulan Road

was 1,321 in 2002 and 2,500 in 2011, almost double the amount of traffic. The expansion of

the Ulan Coal Mine and the construction of the Wilpinjong and Moolarben coal mines during

this period is the most likely cause of this increase in traffic on Ulan Road. Andrew Gee MP in

his submission to the Inquiry into Economic and Social Development in Central Western New

South Wales stated that, “The increase in mining activity has also placed a strain on local

roads such as the Ulan Road at Mudgee. This road is heavily used by the mining industry

(benefitting the whole state) yet the Mid-Western Regional Council struggles to maintain and

improve it” (2012: 4). Figure 15 below shows the state of the Ulan Road, near the entrance to

the Ulan Coal Mine. It was observed during field research that due to the inadequate road width,

the majority of drivers travelled along the centre of the road, only returning to the correct side

to let oncoming traffic pass. This practice could result in road accidents occurring which will

be discussed in the ‘Impact on Lifestyle, Community Safety and Wellbeing’ section of this

chapter. The proposed upgrade would widen the road and seal the shoulders around curves to

satisfy the Australian Standards.

44

Figure 15: The below standard Ulan Road (Source: Sroczynski 2013f)

Both MWRC and the three coal mines which have access to Ulan Road agree that the mines

have put increased pressure on the road in terms of traffic and freight. Where they differ is how

they each propose to mitigate the issue. According to Catherine Van Laeren, MWRC does not

have the revenue stream to implement a major upgrade to the Ulan Road,

“Ulan Road is a great example in terms of growth. It’s a very

immediate growth, so you need to immediately respond in terms of

infrastructure provision. And you are working off of a very small rate

base. It is a small community. Where a big Council, like Dubbo and

Sydney has a lot bigger rate base/capital base to work off of, we have

to leverage off of a very small rate base. We lobby Resources for

Regions money or Regional Development money to try and bolster our

infrastructure as much as possible” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm.,

22 August).

45

The problem with trying to secure funds from the NSW Government is that they are not as well

informed as to the needs of the local area as MWRC are, “We find that it is difficult to get the

State government to recognise all of the impacts that this community is experiencing (Van

Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August). When development proposals for coal mines are put

on exhibition MWRC is able to communicate with the Department of Planning and

Infrastructure (DP&I) on an informal basis, but the only solid information they can really

contribute is by making a submission like anyone else. This can result in the DP&I heavily

relying on reports commissioned by the applicant for the proposed coal mine. A reality of this

process is that the independence of the information given in these reports can sometimes be

questionable. “…Council argued that their consultants, the mines consultants were not

independent, and therefore were not realistic…” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22

August). This issue of independence of reports will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 4.

The impact on Ulan Road being caused by the three coal mines brought about negotiations

between the coal mines and the MWRC in order to come to an agreement as to who should

fund the road upgrade. The negotiations failed in the end because MWRC was of the view that,

“Council had already provided a road to the mines and was adequate. If you took all of the

mine traffic away, that was all Council was going to provide.”, and the coal mines were of the

view that they pay their rates, taxes and royalties and shouldn’t have to pay more than 50% of

the cost to upgrade the road.

“They [the mines] pay their [vehicle] registration, their fuel taxes,

etc…Every year we put in $250,000 to Council. We just give it to them

and say do what you like with it. Our land, we pay agricultural and coal

rates on all our land that we own. They [the Council] do very nicely out

of that for obvious reasons” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm., 25

August).

Interviewee 5 also puts forward the assertion that the MWRC had been purposely underfunding

the maintenance of the Ulan Road, counting on the coal mines to put forward the fund to

upgrade it.

“When they built it that was actually a main road. They get a certain

amount of money each year to maintain that from the [State]

Government. So it is not all coming out of their little rate payer pocket.

They do get quite a lot of money. They have been running that road

46

down knowing that we [the mines] were coming for quite a few years.

They have been cross subsidising other roads with it. Which is the

reasons that it has gotten into such a bad state. They’ve [the Council]

woken up to this that they have done very nicely out of getting a little

bit more than 50% of the cost of that road for both the running of it and

the maintenance of it out of us. And now it is really a discussion between

them [the Council] and the two governments [State and Federal]”

(Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm., 25 August).

The DP&I arbitrated with the MWRC and the coal mines, handing down the decision that the

upgrade to the Ulan Road would be funded by a 50/50 split between Council and the three coal

mines. MWRC is not satisfied with the decision, but has limited options at this stage with no

money in the budget to fund 50% of the road upgrade. “At this stage it’s sitting that they’ve

said, Council you have to pay your share then we will put in ours. We’ve gone, that’s fine, we

don’t have the money, end of conversation” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

Objectively, it might be fair for the Council to contribute half of the funds for the upgrade

because while the coal mines may be responsible for the increase in traffic along Ulan Road, it

could be argued that the Council has a duty to its rate payers, the coal mines, to bring the road

up the appropriate standard. One of the options that the MWRC has to meet its funding

contribution to the road upgrade, is to apply to Resources for Regions for a grant to go towards

the funding of the Ulan Road upgrade. This process is explained by Catherine Van Laeren

below.

“So nothing is happening at the moment because Council doesn’t have

the money, however there is an opportunity for Resources for Regions,

which is some of the money that the State Government has taken from

the mines in the forms of taxes coming back to those areas affected. We

have put forward an application for funding towards Ulan Road that

might cover some of Council’s obligations as far as Ulan Road is

considered. So if we are successful with that application we will be able

to go forward and fix Ulan Road” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm.,

22 August).

On the 10th of October 2013, the Council’s Resources for Regions application was approved

with the Council set to receive a $9.5 million grant to go towards the upgrading of the Ulan

47

Road (Stanford 2013). However, Council still needs to find an additional $5 million to meet its

contribution towards the upgrade.

The outcome of the Voluntary Planning Agreement between the Moolarben Coal Mine and the

MWRC is a good example of the ways in which the coal mining industry is seeking to mitigate

the impact on roads caused by their construction and operations. The Voluntary Planning

Agreement for Moolarben includes the following provisions:

“(a) An upfront payment of $600,000 on the first shipment of product

coal from Open Cut No.1;

(b) An upfront payment of $250,000 on the first shipment of product

coal from Underground No.4;

(c) An annual community infrastructure contribution of $50,000 whilst

mining operations are being carried out;

(d) An annual road maintenance contribution of $40,000 whilst mining

is being carried out;

(e) A contribution for the cost of carrying out the road works

recommended in the Project Application that are directly attributable

to the operations of Moolarben” (Wells Environmental Services 2006b:

12)

Furthermore, the Wilpinjong and Moolarben coal mines have taken it upon themselves to seal

the Ulan Wollar Road, which has helped the travel time and safety between Wollar and Ulan.

“Between us [Wilpinjong] and Moolarben we have done about 11km of

that road, we’ve sealed it. Now what that has done is that from Bylong

through Cortina, the best way to come is past us. So not only has it

helped this local area but it has also helped the Bylong and anyone

coming up that way… We will continue to upgrade the Wollar – Ulan

Road over and above anything else.” (Interviewee 5 2013, pers.comm.,

25 August).

While the coal mining in the Mid-Western region has had an impact on the roads, it has worked

with the MWRC and the DP&I to mitigate the adverse impacts, such as road determination

from increased mine traffic. Voluntary Planning Agreements, rates and a sharing of road

48

upgrade costs with Council has meant that the regional community and the mines are both able

to benefit from the improved roads in the region. A more detailed funding arrangement needs

to be implemented at the proposal stage of a coal mine development so as to reduce the strain

on local and state government resources further down the development process. Also, the

revenue from taxes and royalties could be better allocated to areas affected by coal mine, like

they have been in the Resources for Regions grant for the Ulan Road. Augmenting funding

arrangements in the planning framework will be explored in Chapter 4.

Impact on Housing and Rental Availability and Affordability

The development of the coal mining industry over the last 10 years in the Mid-Western region

has led to a rapid rise in workers and their families migrating to the region and significantly

higher wages being paid out, impacting on the housing, rental availability and affordability in

the area. While these impacts have benefited those who are existing home and land owners due

to increased land value and house prices, it has also placed increased pressure on those people

in the community who are dependent on affordable rental accommodation and whom might

not be directly involved in the coal mining sector. Additionally, it has placed pressure on new

home owners and renters migrating to the Mid-Western region for non-mining related

employment. This section will examine the impact of the coal mines on the price, availability

and affordability of the housing stock in the Mid-Western region, specifically focusing on

Mudgee, Gulgong, Wollar and Ulan. Furthermore, this section will discuss the strategies being

implemented by the MWRC to relieve the housing pressures on the community and the

effectiveness of the strategies.

As already mentioned in this chapter, the rapid increase in population due to coal mine workers

and their families moving to the Mid-Western region has affected many socio-economic

aspects of the area. Environmental assessment reports for the Wilpinjong Coal Mines and

anecdotal evidence obtained during interviews with industry and academics suggest that there

has been a noticeable impact on housing and rental availability and affordability as a result of

the increased coal mining activity in the Mid-Western region. The laws of Demand and Supply

state that when demand, in this case the number of people wishing to buy or rent housing,

exceeds supply, the amount of housing available to buy or rent, the price will increase. Whilst

running Minnamurra Pastoral Company near Wollar, David Reid has noticed housing prices

and rents increasing, “…there is a shortage of supply. The guy that’s doing booming business

is the real estate agent in Mudgee. The property shop is going leaps and bounds” (Reid, D

49

2013, pers.comm., 16 August). The MWRC’s Affordable Housing Strategy attributes the high

demand for housing to the increase in the number of employees in the coal mining sector in the

Mid-Western region.

“The significant growth in the property market is driven largely by the

expansion of mining activities in the Region as well as other new

developments. The increased number of new residents to town to take

up mining positions and increase in short term contractors is placing

significant demands on the availability of rental accommodation in the

Region” (MWRC 2012: 7).

With a limited supply of housing available in the Mid-Western region for purchase and rent,

the median house price for Mudgee has increased by 12.5% between 2006 and 2010 to

$315,000 (REA Group 2013). The median house price in Gulgong has also increased over the

same period by 14.05% to $225,250 (REA Group 2013). The Mid-Western Regional Council

Local Services Assessment has identified this as an issue that needs to be addressed in order to

alleviate pressures on low income residents.

“…Housing supply in the area is low, as is rental supply. This has led

to an increase in property and rental prices, making housing less

affordable for those not directly benefiting from the increase in mining

activity. If housing supply did not improve, the increase in house price

could mean that people not benefiting directly from the mining activity

are priced out of the market” (Manidis Roberts 2012: 40).

“When consulting with local real estate agents, it was stated that there

has been a significant increase in price expectations in the region,

particularly in areas that are close to both the mine sites and amenities,

such as the northern reaches of Mudgee” (Manidis Roberts 2012: 46).

This rapid rise in housing and rental prices can effect different sections of the community in

different ways. For instance, those who own their home outright will experience the least

negative impact and in some cases may even benefit from the higher demand because they will

be able to sell their homes at a higher price. Also, those employed in the coal mining sector

will be able to afford the price or rent increases for housing in the region, being able to outbid

or counter offer a contender. However, those on lower incomes who may not be employed in

the coal mining sector, such as those employed in the education, healthcare, manufacturing and

50

service sectors, do not have the same ability to absorb rent increases or higher house prices.

For example, renters such as teachers who may be earning $60,000 a year are less attractive to

landholders than mining employees who may be on $120,000 a year. This can lead to those on

lower incomes not being offered the option of renewing their leases or in some cases not being

offered a lease to begin with. An article in the Mudgee Guardian told the story of a women and

her family who were being knocked back from real-estate agents when looking to rent because

the agents could charge higher rents to the coal miners, “You go there and you hope that your

application will be accepted, but there are the miners behind us and you don’t get a look in”

(Murray 2012).

Furthermore, Alison McIntosh in ‘Thinking space: Ten truths about Australia's rush to mine

and the mining workforce’, makes a similar point about the effect of coal mining on non-miners

in the mining communities in general.

“Downsides for use of resident workers are centred on the cost of

affordable housing. Expansion of housing supply in response to demand

is often restricted by industry exploration leases, capital or

environmental constraints, and/or delayed planning decisions.

Additionally, mining companies buy existing housing stock and

residential land in case of future need, and hotel, motel and caravan

park accommodation is often block-booked months in advance. Acute

accommodation shortfalls have been created, increasing property

values and rents and decreasing housing affordability, particularly for

those not working in the industry. Having lost affordability and, in some

instances, diminished community amenity and wellbeing, locational

appeal is reduced. Unavailable accommodation means these places

become unviable or unenviable as long-term and short-term

destinations” (McIntosh 2012: 334).

A planning consultant, Interviewee 6, pointed out that while those who already own a house or

rental property in the area are benefiting due to those employed in the coal mining sector

receiving relatively high wages and willing to pay more, the most significant impact has been

on those not directly benefiting from the coal mines.

“You have massive pressure on rental and purchase prices on housing.

There was this report in the Mudgee Guardian that says that there is

51

actually no affordable housing available for rental because of this

massive growth in mining activity out there. Which has massive

ramifications for lower socio-economic groups and key workers that

are not even working in the mine” (Interviewee 6 2013, pers.comm., 14

August).

David Reid arrived at a similar conclusion, “I’m sure that they [renters outside of the coal

mining industry] would have trouble. If they don’t own their house and are renting, the rents

have doubled and tripled.” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16 August). The MWRC’s submission

to the NSW Coal and Gas Strategy also drew a connection between increased house prices and

pressure on those not employed in the coal mining industry, “The growth in demand has

adversely impacted affordable rental accommodation for those outside the mining industry”

(MWRC 2011a: 9).

In the ‘Response to Submissions’ section of the Wilpinjong Coal Project Environmental

Assessment Report, Excel Resource Strategies stated that there would not be any undue

pressure on housing during the operations phase. By using the previous year’s development

applications numbers for new dwellings in the LGA, Excel Resource Strategies were able to

assume that enough new dwellings would be constructed in the following years, with this

increase in supply offsetting the increase in demand.

“As Mudgee has over 1,500 houses in the rental market, and the normal

annual rate of residential building activity in the Mudgee LGA has been

approximately 120 building applications per annum for new housing

(with approximately 50 per year in Mudgee), the increase in demand is

expected to be able to be serviced without any undue pressure on land

and physical infrastructure services” (2005: 68).

“…it was considered that the local market could absorb the projected

numbers without any undue upward pressure on rents and availability”

(2005: 69).

The Director Generals Assessment Report for the Wilpinjong Coal mine came to the

same conclusion regarding the mines potential to have an adverse impact on housing,

stating that any impact would be minimal.

52

“This assessment indicates that it is expected that the majority of the

non-local workforce associated with the project would settle in Mudgee

and Gulgong, and that the additional demand for housing in these areas

as a result of the project could be met without significant pressure being

placed on the existing housing market” (NSW Department of Planning

2006: 25).

This was somewhat unrealistic as the construction of large-scale residential developments, such

as new suburbs, can take many years of strategic planning by Council, developers and investors

to fully realise and increase housing supply. Furthermore, the anecdotal evidence and the many

newspaper articles have stated that there has been a noticeable impact now the coal mines are

operational. However, the report did acknowledge that there would be some impact on housing

during the construction phase of the coal mine.

“Based on the results of the social survey in June 2004 and further

discussion with local real estate agents in January 2005, this additional

demand for 55 rental accommodation units for shorter term rental

during the construction phase may cause some pressure on the market,

particularly at the lower end. This would tend to affect the flow-on

employment workers rather than the direct construction workers. The

direct workers would generally have higher salaries and would have

more choices available to them in the existing rental housing market.

This effect would tend to lead to workers seeking cheaper rental

accommodation in Mudgee and in the smaller towns and surrounding

rural areas” (Excel Resource Strategies 2005: 66).

Presently there is no recognised definition of temporary workers accommodation, which can

include onsite construction camps, in the NSW Planning legislation. While temporary workers

accommodation can be located away from the coal mine, onsite construction camps are located

on the mining site. The Urban Land Development Authority, which is a Queensland

development agency, provides the following definition for non-resident workers

accommodation, which is similar to temporary workers accommodation in NSW:

53

“The use of premises for accommodating non-resident workers. The use

may include the provision of dining facilities, kiosk, amenities and

recreation facilities for the exclusive use of occupants and their visitors.

The term does not include Short-Term accommodation or Tourist park”

(2012: 72).

The use of temporary workers accommodation in the form of onsite construction camps was

advocated by Martin & Associates in the Wilpinjong Coal Project Environmental Assessment

Report to reduce the impact on housing in the surrounding towns and villages during the

construction phase of the coal mine (2005).

“Following consideration of alternatives for accommodation of the non-local construction

workforce, an on-site construction camp to accommodate up to 100 employees is proposed to

alleviate short-term accommodation requirements in the general community”(Martin &

Associates 2005: 72). Onsite construction camps were later used during the construction of the

Wilpinjong Coal Mine, being dismantled once the work was completed.

It is during this phase of development that the largest number of non-resident workers would

be temporarily moving into the region, such as plumbers, electricians, and carpenters and then

moving out once their job was completed. The effect on the local property market if these

temporary workers were to be housed in existing lodgings in Mudgee, Gulgong, Ulan or Wollar

would be the formation of a ‘property bubble’, which would most likely burst once the workers

left. Whereas an onsite construction camp would take pressure off the local property market

and could be easily dismantled once the temporary workers were no longer needed.

While the MWRC supports temporary workers accommodation in the form of onsite

construction camps, it does not support of them when they are located away from the mining

site.

“Due to the shortage of affordable housing in the Mid-Western Region,

Council has experienced a high level of enquiry for the construction of

mining camps. Council does not support this form of accommodation

as it considers that it does not encourage relocation of families to the

area, may lead to social issues if not appropriately managed, provides

a short term unattractive solution without addressing the longer term

needs of the miners and is unsustainable requiring constant commuting

of miners between the camps and their homes” (MWRC 2011a: 9).

54

As mentioned above, having the temporary workers accommodation located on site at the mine,

for only the duration of the construction phase of the coal mine and then dismantling it once

the mine is operational would be the best option for limiting the impacts on housing availability

in the region. It would be an appropriate solution to a temporary problem of having to

accommodate a large number non-resident workers for a relatively short period of time.

Conversely, having the temporary workers accommodation off site for workers during the

operations phase of the coal mine, such as the proposed MAC development near Gulgong,

would have adverse impacts on housing, the economy and the provision of services. As the

MAC is a separate business entity from the coal mines, it is to their advantage to be located

away from the mines close to the existing towns, so things like water and sewage reticulation

does not have to be constructed at their expense. The issues surround the proposed MAC

development will be explored in the ‘Impact on non-resident work arrangements on workers

and their families’ section of this chapter.

MWRC has implemented a number of strategies to alleviate the impact on housing and rental

availability and affordability in the Mid-Western region which has been caused by the

increased coal mining. One of the issues they have had with increasing the supply of new

housing into areas such as Mudgee is not a lack of land, rather limited numbers of trade skilled

workers to build the houses. These types of workers are attracted to the coal mines in the region

who are able to pay considerably higher wages than elsewhere in the private construction and

trades sector.

“…there was enough land available, but…there was not enough

builders…to attract them out to regional areas is sometimes difficult.

And it’s not just the builders, it is the plumbers and the tilers, those sorts

of things. Anybody, particularly plumbers and people with those types

of skills are attracted to the mines. So there is this skill shortage and

the ability for the mines to pay they actually attract all the workforce

away from the other employment places. So when we had a shortage

before, it wasn’t so much a land shortage it was the ability to actually

put houses on the ground” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22

August).

55

One of these strategies the MWRC has used to attract trade workers to the region is by

marketing the lifestyle and culture to potential workers who are currently living in the capital

cities and along the eastern seaboard. Many workers in these areas are not aware that there are

jobs available in regional areas apart from the mines and may be willing to relocate for work.

“So our response to that has been to try and attract those trades to

town. Council has been actively involved in economic development and

trying to identify those gaps in our labour force and attract people. And

we’ve done that by a few measures. We have an Economic Development

Officer on staff. We’ve done developer tours where we actually bring

people, potential developers from the coast and across and explain to

them the opportunities. We also go to country expos where we go there

and we sell the lifestyle that Mudgee offers and try to attract trades

people and business to town” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22

August).

The MWRC is also releasing new land for residential development which it hopes will elevate

the pressure on lower income earners in the area. The Council hopes that by increasing supply,

the housing and rental accommodation can reach an equilibrium price where the supply and

demand for housing is equal, meaning those on lower incomes not employed in the coal mining

sector can afford to purchase or rent housing in Mudgee.

“One of the developers is developing a new suburb on the edge of

Mudgee. So we’ve done all of the strategic planning to identify that

land. They’ve just got the subdivision consent for their first 400 lots,

which is staged over time. So the land will be there, but the important

thing about this developer is that they are going to bring builders in

with them” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

The increase in the number of coal mines in the Mid-Western region from two to four over the

last 10 years has impacted on the housing and rental availability and affordability in both

positive and negative ways. The large numbers of workers and their families migrating to the

region has increased the demand on housing and rental accommodation which has benefited

existing home and land owners. This high demand has also placed pressure on the more

vulnerable members of the community who do not have the incomes to meet the increasing

cost of rents and higher house prices. The provision of onsite construction camps during the

56

construction phase of the coal mines can reduce the negative impact on the housing and rental

market in Mudgee and Gulgong, however there are issues about whether or not they are indeed

a form of temporary accommodation and the long term impact they might have. MWRC is

working on ways to increase the supply of housing to Mudgee and trade workers to build them,

however, this is a long process which may take some time before Mudgee and Gulgong will

have more sustainable housing prices and rents.

Impact on Lifestyle, Community Safety and Wellbeing

Coal mining has not had the same degree of impact on the safety of the community in the Mid-

Western region as other regions around NSW and Queensland. The anecdotal and statistical

evidence suggests that the Mid-Western region has remained relatively safe compared with

before the increase in mining activity. When there are large increases in a population over a

relatively short period of time it is not uncommon for there to be a corresponding increase in

the level of crime and antisocial behaviour. As mentioned in Chapter 1, alcohol induced

violence is higher and more likely in mining towns which have a high proportion of young men

on high wages (Carrington et al. 2010; Carrington et al. 2011; Carrington et al. 2012). Alison

Ziller who is a social planning consultant and a part-time academic at the Universtiy of New

South Wales has done work relating to the damaging effects she believes are linked between

coal mines and community safety, “The literature says that alcohol is a substantial issue and

that it is an issue that won’t go away associated with mine workers” (Ziller, A 2013,

pers.comm., 21 August).

However, while this may be true of other areas, statistical data shows that the Mid-Western

region has not experienced a rise in crime and antisocial behaviour. As can be seen in Figure

16 on the following page, the crime rate for the MWRC LGA has remained fairly constant over

the past 10 years. The number of assaults and sexual offences, which are more likely to be

committed by young males, has stayed relatively the same and the number of thefts is

exhibiting a declining trend.

Catherine Van Laeren, before moving to the region with her husband and family for his work

with the Ulan Coal Mine, had lived in a mining town and has seen firsthand the extreme effects

mining can have on lifestyle, safety and wellbeing in some communities. However, she

believes that the Mid-Western region has fared favourably in that the mines have had little

impact on crime in the area.

57

Figure 16: The number of criminal offences reported to police in the MWRC from 2002 to 2012 (Source: NSW

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 2013)

“Mudgee has one of the lowest crime rates in NSW. Every now and

again, we laugh because there are crimes of passion…the crime rates

are very, very low in Mudgee and it’s still a very, very safe place to

live…We all still feel very safe in this community. The general

perception is that people still live here because it’s a very safe

community to be a part of…Do they play up more on the weekends? I

don’t know. If their families are here than they certainly [don’t]…if they

are a permanent community [they don’t]” (Van Laeren, C 2013,

pers.comm., 22 August).

While Mudgee and the other towns may have avoided a rise in crime related instances,

according to David Reid, the rapid rise in population has affected the more rural areas of the

region, with farms becoming targets for thieving and vandalism.

“I would have to say that there has been an increase in thieving. For

many years you’d just go away for 3 weeks, not lock anything up

anything on a farm and everything would be safe. But these days you’ve

got to lock all of your diesel tanks. You’ve got to put flood lights out

that turn on. So there is much larger instances of property theft. The

other problem is pig hunters. A lot of these guys would have dogs and

rifles and go out pig hunting as a recreation and that certainly

increased. So that’s a negative effect…. Yeah, they’ll drive through

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

No

. of

Cri

mes

Year

Reported Criminal Offences in the MWRC

Assault Sexual Offfences Theft Prostitution

58

fences or gates or whatever and cause damage. It can be dangerous and

they can endanger themselves. There’s always been an element of that,

but it certainly has increased with the increase in population in the

area” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16 August).

While the crime data does not support this rise, it is limited in that it relies on victims to report

the property theft or vandalism to authorities. “the other issue when you talk about reported

crime, is the unreported crime” (Ziller, A 2013, pers.comm. 21 August). This makes it difficult

to ascertain whether there has been any impact caused by the mines and if these isolated

incidents are part of a growing trend. Whilst undertaking research in Mudgee it was noticed

that there were people throughout the town during all times of the day and into the early parts

of the night. This along with the closeness of the community has most likely deterred anti-

social behaviour and crimes from occurring. When you travel away from the populated areas

to the rural parts of the region there are less people to witness criminal acts and this could lead

to higher incidents of crime occurring.

The extent to which the workers employed in the coal mining sector contribute to any crime or

dangerous activities that might cause harm on others in the community is less than it might be

for workers employed in other professions. People who work in the mines are required to

adhere to a stricter set of rules relating to alcohol and drug use. By limiting the use of such

products there is less chance of workers becoming involved in brawls, drink driving and

harming themselves or others. “The restrictions placed on people who work on the mine are

probably more than any other workplace because of the random alcohol and blood testing that

they go through” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

While there may not have been much of an impact on crime in the Mid-Western regional area,

the vehicle accident statistics show that there has been an increase in the number of vehicles

being involved in collisions and accidents since the construction of the Wilpinjong and

Moolarben coal mines. Figure 17 below compares the number of crashes on all roads within

between the Mid-Western LGA and the Wellington LGA between 2004 and 2011. The

Wellington LGA has again been used for comparison due to its lack of coal mining activity

and largely agricultural based industry. The graph shows that there has been an increase in the

number of vehicle crashes in the Mid-Western LGA since 2006 compared to the Wellington

LGA which has experienced a stable number of vehicle crashes. The steady increase in vehicle

crashes in the Mid-Western region can be attributed to the rise in the local population as a result

59

of the coal mining industry. With more people using the roads, there is a greater chance of road

incidents occurring. Also, Figure 18 captures the great numbers of large trucks using the roads

to transport materials to and from the coal mines, which congests thoroughfares and could

reduce safety on roads such as Ulan Road and Wollar Road.

Figure 17: Number of vehicles involved in crashes in the Mid-Western LGA and Wellington LGA from 2004 to

2011 (Source: NSW Government 2011).

Figure 18: Heavy vehicle traffic on Ulan Road (Source: MWRC 2011b)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

No

. of

cras

hes

Year

Comparission of Vehicle Crashes in the Mid-Western LGA and Wllington LGA

Mudgee Wellington

60

Moolarben Coal Mine has recognised the impact that the operation of the mine can have on the

safety of road users. In the ‘Response to Submissions’ section of the Environmental Assessment

Report, Wells Environmental Services presented a strategy to minimise potential safety risks.

“A co-operative agreement will be developed between Moolarben,

Ulan and Wilpinjong Coal Mines in relation to transport safety. In

terms of school transport, Moolarben Coal Mines had made a

commitment to ensure that major shift changes do not occur between

8.15 am and 9.00 am Monday to Friday and 3.15 pm to 4.00 pm Monday

to Friday so as to ensure that there is no significant conflict with school

bus services. Also detailed in the company statement of commitments,

Moolarben has committed to entering into a Voluntary Planning

Agreement with the Mid Western Regional Councils to contribute

monies towards roads servicing the local area. It is anticipated that

these monies will be spent ensuring adequate road safety for school

buses” (Wells Environmental Services 2006b: 28-29).

In addition to the impact on road safety, the literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that coal

mining can result in imbalances in the gender makeup of an area which can lead to long term

issues for social interaction and relationships. Alison Ziller puts forward that with the increase

in young men in the region, adverse social issues can become more frequent in the local

community, “… [Mining] doesn’t do anything for women. So the young women go and then

you get this terrible gender imbalance in these towns. Which is then the cause of other

problems, like harassment and prostitution” (Ziller, A 2013, pers.comm., 21 August).

According to ABS Census Data, 49.73% of the population aged between 20 and 29 were males

and 50.27% were females in 2001. This is compared to the 2011 census in which 53.07% of

the population aged between 20 and 29 were males and 46.93% were female. This suggests

that there is a gender imbalance of young adults in the Mid-Western region which could have

far reaching social consequences in the future. The main difference between the Mid-Western

region and solely mining communities in remote Queensland is the diversified economy. The

Mid-Western region has a strong tourism industry standalone from coal mining industry which

generally tends to attract a greater proportion of women than men (International Labour

Organization 2013). This could be why there is a more equal number of men and women

between the ages of 30 and 54 being 50.70% and 49.30% respectively.

61

“…Our community is changing… you do get a lot of families, this is

why we [my family and I] are here. While you might get some labour

gaps, you do get this opportunity where you get married women coming

in who have qualifications. So that is really good for the community.

One of the things that Mudgee and Gulgong are conscious of is that we

are not a mining town. We are a tourist viticulture town (Van Laeren,

C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

In regards to whether or not coal mining has impacted on the lifestyle of the Mid-Western

region it is difficult to determine due to the subjective nature of such a question. Speaking with

Catherine Van Laeren, David Reid and Interviewee 5, it would seem that the coal mining has

had little negative impact on the existing lifestyle of the region. “I know that they give a lot of

money to Mudgee for the hospital and sporting clubs and things like that…. they see that they

have a responsibility to support the community” (Reid, D 2013, pers.comm., 16 August).

“The mining people that have moved here appreciate what the town is

and they don’t want to live in a mining town either. If you have ever

lived in a mining town, then you never want to live in a mining town

again. The mines are very much onside in trying to maintain the social

character of the area” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

The extent to which the existing social structures have been developed in towns such

as Mudgee and Gulgong prior to coal mining becoming such a large player in the

regional economy differentiates it from other purely mining towns. The fact that

Mudgee has such a diverse economy including tourism, agriculture and viticulture

gives it greater substance and depth than towns such as Moranbah in Queensland

which are geared entirely towards the mines.

However, there are some in the community who are of the view that coal mining has

had a negative impact by destroying the social fabric and lifestyle of small rural

villages such as Wollar and Ulan (Figure 19). As mentioned before in Chapter 2, these

villages were experiencing difficulties before the coal mines were developed. While

there have been negative impacts associated with road safety and gender imbalance

amongst young adults, overall, coal mining has had a positive impact on wellbeing of

the Mid-Western region. Coal mining has provided high paying jobs, stimulated local

businesses and contributed to the growth and prosperity of the community.

62

Figure 19: Anti coal mine protest banners outside a residential rural property in Wollar (Source: Sroczynski

2013g)

Impact on non-resident work arrangements on workers and their families

Historically, the only temporary workers accommodation provided for the coal mines in the

Mid-Western region has been in the form of onsite construction camps located at the mines

during the construction phase, and then dismantled when they were no longer needed. The

proposed MAC development on the northern outskirts of Gulgong is for a 400 room workforce

accommodation facility to house workers employed in the mines who do not intend on

permanently relocating to the Mid-Western region. Arguments have been put forward in

support and against the MAC development, each side citing examples where such a

development has resulted in positive impacts and negative impacts respectively. While there

may be a case for such developments in more remote areas of Australia, the Mid-Western

region is easily accessible and has an established local economy and social fabric, therefore not

needing temporary workers accommodation beyond the onsite construction camps located on

the mining site. As there are existing towns such as Mudgee and Gulgong which are able to

63

support the mines with accommodation, food and services for the mines, having a temporary

workers accommodation such as the proposed MAC development is not needed.

The MWRC and large parts of the community have opposed the proposed MAC workforce

accommodation facility because they are of the view that is will adversely impact on the

existing towns such as Mudgee and Gulgong by depriving local businesses, encouraging

isolationism, destroying the social fabric, and taking money out of the local economy.

Interviewee 6 who has been involved in the proposal as a planning consultant stated that there

have been concerns raised by local residents and businesses as to the suitability of the

development.

“[The concerns] are wide ranging. They tend to focus on the potential

destruction to the fabric of the town. So the social and economic fabric

of the town. There are concerns that development will allow, both the

operators of the village and the people who stay there to essentially skip

town. So they earn their money in the town, but they are not spending it

in the town” (Interviewee 6 2013, pers.comm., 14 August).

Catherine Van Laeren believes that the proposal is not in the best interest for the Mid-Western

region and that it encourages ‘drive-in drive-out’ (DIDO) workers, impacting on those non-

resident workers and their families.

“So we are in court at the moment flighting the Mac development.

Council’s position is that it is an inappropriate form of development on

the edge of Gulgong…Council recognises that there is a need for

temporary housing for construction workers. But if a region has to

support mines then we believe that they should also get the economic

benefit from mines. So we would like to see people permanently relocate

into our area rather than live in a temporary workers accommodations

on a long term basis” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

Proponents for the MAC development near Gulgong, such as Interviewee 6 suggests that many

of the issues that the MWRC and the community have with the proposal are extreme and

overstated.

64

“They’re a group who prefers to purchase supplies locally. So food,

contractors, employees etc. They are also a business that operates

within the town, so it’s not as if they are a /builder and then walkaway.

They have an ongoing commercial interest in the viability of the town

for the medium to long term future…I’d say that like the risk of rape

and alcohol violence are overblown concerns” (Interviewee 6 2013,

pers.comm., 14 August).

Furthermore, it could be argued that having a development such as what is proposed by the

MAC could be useful in managing negative community safety impacts associated with DIDO

workers. “I think that there are benefits in using the [Mac] village as a way of managing those

[safety] impacts. There are issues on code of conduct in staying there, blood and alcohol testing

when going out on the mine, which the Mac helps facilitate” (Interviewee 6 2013, pers.comm.,

14 August). Having the non-resident workers isolated from the wider community would make

them easier to manage and monitor. The development would also reduce the long term impact

on the housing market, cushioning it from the fluctuating labour force during the different

stages of the coal mining industry. This was one of the arguments put forward in support of a

similar MAC development near Narrabri, which was approved. Figure 20 below shows the

MAC Narrabri which provides 150 reserved rooms to coal miners.

Figure 20: The MAC Narrabri (Source: Sinclair 2013)

65

“The other part, which I think is equally important is, these are areas

which for a long time have depended on resources boom and busts. If

you were to say, now Council says we want these people to come live

here permanently with their families. If in 20 years’ time, these 11 mines

go back to one, everyone is going to move out because there is no

economic imperative to stay. I think that…there would be a massive

bust in the local housing market. You would have abandoned homes”

(Interviewee 6 2013, pers.comm., 14 August).

The argument put forward above would only really be valid in a region where coal mining was

the only source of employment and economic activity. As outlined in Chapter 2, the Mid-

Western region has a diversified economy and workforce, with large proportions of the

population employed in agriculture, viticulture, and tourism. If and when the coal mines wind

down and cease operations, provided the other employment sectors do not suffer significant

decline, the Mid-Western region will continue to grow, both economically and in population.

The main issue with the proposed MAC development is the idea that it is for temporary

accommodation. Catherine Van Laeren explains that while this may be the justification used

by the developer, it is not accurate.

“[Temporary workers accommodation] it is not a permanent

arrangement [for construction workers]. They are going to come in and

they are going to do their job and then they are going to go away and

then the mining camp is going to go away. And I think that that’s what

they were meant for. The Mac Group have taken it to the next level.

Temporary workers accommodation, there is nothing temporary about

the camp. They are talking about a 20 to 30 year tenure on the site

where they will actually provide accommodation and some of the

people who will actually live in the accommodation will live there on a

very long term basis” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

While the proposed development would reduce the impact on some aspects of community

safety, it would also have an impact on the non-resident workers employed by the coal mines

in the Mid-Western region and their families back at their permanent place of residence. The

typical practice for DIDO workers is for them to have to work two weeks on and one week off.

Not only are they isolated from their host communities, they are also isolated from their home

66

communities and families, which places economic and social pressures on two separate

communities. “What you want is the workforce to largely live there. So you would have more

of a long term residential community associated with the [coal] mine” (Ziller, A 2013,

pers.comm. 21 August).

“It is not a healthy lifestyle to have people extracted out of their families

and plonked in a town where they have no social connection and no

social interaction, there just to work. And then to be sucked back out

again to go home. And when you see what has happened in places like

Moranbah, those social impacts are terrible on the people living in

them and terrible on the communities trying to cope with it…We believe

that it is best for the community and the workers who want to live here

to bring their families. Let’s have an integrated community. Let’s not

have what happened in Queensland where you’ve got 29,000

people/workers coming into an area and moving out of an area” (Van

Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22 August).

There has been a variety of positive and negative economic and social impacts on the Mid-

Western region which have resulted from the increase in coal mining. While there have been

benefits to the economy and employment in the forms of increased economic activity, through

higher wages and a larger population, this has also put pressure on the existing infrastructure

and services in the region. With the increase in mining, health services and roads which were

already facing problems are in need of greater funding to provide more doctors and nurses and

upgrade roads. The development of a further two coal mines in the last ten years has also led

to increased demand for housing, causing issues with housing affordability for those in the

community not employed by the mines and those moving into the area to buy or rent. While

the rise in population has put pressure on housing, it has had little effect on the safety of the

community, with no increase in crime which suggests that the Mid-Western region has a strong

social fabric. The proposed MAC development for temporary workers accommodation to be

located away from the mines has the potential to effect the existing towns in the region and

needs to be further investigated to determine the long term impacts it and other temporary

workers accommodation might have. By identifying and discussing the variety of impacts on

the Mid-Western region that are associated with coal mining it is possible to recommend

appropriate reforms in the current planning system, which will be the focus of Chapter 4.

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Chapter 4: Coal Mining Assessment and Approvals in NSW

The current assessment and approval process for the development of coal mines in NSW has

been the subject of much media and public scrutiny since its inception, reflecting shifting

environmental awareness, public sentiment, and politics surrounding such controversial

developments.

“An anti -mine campaigner has accused the Premier Barry O'Farrell of

running a totalitarian regime after the announcement of proposed changes to

the way mining projects are assessed” (ABS News 2013).

The first section of this chapter seeks to identify and outline the current legislative framework

for coal mines in NSW. The second section will investigate appropriate changes to the process

to reduce the negative economic and social issues with coal mine development, operation and

termination which have been discussed in the previous chapter.

The Assessment and Approvals Process

The responsibility for assessment and approvals for the development of coal mines in NSW is

spread between several different government departments, which can lead to a lengthy process.

Figure 21 on the following page presents a flow chart of the overall process that a proposed

coal mine must follow in order to be granted development consent.

As the flow chart indicates, the process begins with interested parties applying for an

Exploration Licence (EL) under the Mining Act 1992, to exclusively prospect for coal in the

specified area (s.5). There are no restrictions as to who can apply for an EL, “The Government

can generally grant prospecting and mining titles without landholders’ agreement, allowing

both Crown land and privately owned land to be explored or mined by those who do not own

it (ss24(1), 42(1), 68(1); Sch 1, cl 14)” (Reed 2011: 722). After the initial lodgement of an EL

application, the local community is notified through a newspaper notification, inviting public

submissions regarding the application. Regardless of any issues with the proposed EL, approval

is granted subject to conditions and the payment of a security bond. While the granting of an

EL effectively gives the holder an exclusive right to apply for an assessment lease or a mining

lease for any minerals in the area covered by the licence, “there is no guarantee that holders

of exploration licences who have spent time and money exploring for minerals will be granted

a mining lease; this lies within the Minister’s discretion (s. 63(1))” (Reed 2011: 723).

68

NSW Mineral Exploration and Development Assessment and Approvals Process for Major Mining

Projects

Figure 21: The NSW Mineral Exploration and Development Assessment and Approvals Process for Major

Mining Projects (Source: NSW Department of Trade and Investment 2013c)

Ministerial Consent is required to apply for an Exploration Licence

Application (ELA) for coal and specified minerals within a Minerals Allocation Area

An ELA or Petroleum Exploration Licence Application (PELA) is

lodged, processed and determined.

Local Community advised of application i.e. ELA or PELA(Newspaper notification)

Public submissions invited with regard to coal and petroleum

exploration licence applications

Grant of Exploration Licence (EL) or Petroleum Exploration Licence

(PEL) with conditions andsecurity bond

Community and landholder consultation commences (ongoing)

(may involve the formation of a Community Consultative

Committee)

Written Access Arrangements with Landowners required prior to any

work commencing

Exploration, Environmental and Feasibility investigations begin

Mineable/probable resource defined and concept

mine/production plans developed

Presentation of Conceptual Project Development Plan to Division of

Resources and Energy (DRE) -Mineral Resources

DRE in principle support for mining/production concept, Department of Planning &

Infrastructure (DP&I) notified.

Gateway Certificate #1Request for Director General

Requirements (DGRs)lodged with DP&I

Inter Agency Planning Focus Meeting (PFM) may be organised

by DP&I

Lodgement of State Significant Development Application with

DP&I(Lodgement of Mining Lease

Application (MLA)/Petroleum Production Licence Application

(PPLA) with DRE )#2

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Requirements Issued

(DGRs)EIS Studies and Preparation of EIS

Draft EIS lodged with DP&I for adequacy test (with input from key

Govt. Agencies)

Public exhibition of EIS and submissions invited from agencies,

community and any interested parties

Assessment of EIS and submissions by DP&I

Minister for Planning and Infrastructure may appoint

Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) to advise on certain key

issues

Minister for Planning & Infrastructure (or the Minister’s delegate) determines application

If approved Grant of Development Approval with conditions

Minister for Resources and Energy grants a Mining Lease (ML)/

Petroleum Production Licence (PPL) #3

(with security and conditions)

Preparation and submission of Mining Operations Plan (MOP)/

Petroleum Operations Plan (POP) to DRE

(Condition of ML/PPL)

Security Bond reassessed based on the MOP/POP

(additional security lodged)

Approvals and Licences obtained from other NSW Government

agencies(Secured through the Part 4.1 process of the EP&A Act 1979)

Commencement of Mining/Production Operations

NOTES #1 Information on the Gateway process can be found on the Department of Planning & Infrastructure website: www.planning.nsw.gov.au/srlup #2 MLA/PPLA may be lodged at any time (processing undertaken in parallel with the approvals process). #4 A ML/PPL can only be granted when there is a valid development approval (consent).

69

While there is no formal requirement for consultation with the community and effected

landholder during the assessment of the EL, the EL holder is required to be open to ongoing

community consultation and to negotiate written access agreements with landowners prior to

any exploratory work commencing.

“Exploration licence holders must reach a land access agreement with

the landholder before exploring on their land. Landholders may not

veto exploration, but access arrangements must be negotiated and in

place before exploration may commence. The negotiations regarding

access arrangements are part of the important consultative process

undertaken by the explorer” (NSW Minerals Council 2013).

After the exploration, environment and feasibility studies are completed, and the Division of

Resources and Energy – Mineral Resources within the DTI is satisfied with conceptual project

development plan, it notifies the DP&I, allowing the project to proceed to the next stage in the

assessment process.

Once government oversight of the coal mining project is transferred to the Department, the

applicant for the proposed coal mining development puts forward a request for Director

General Requirements (DGRs), which outlines the issues which should be addressed in the

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). After the preparation of EIS is completed and the

DP&I is satisfied that no further information is needed, then the EIS is put on public exhibition.

Subsequently, submissions are invited from the community, other government agencies, local

councils and interested parties. Following the exhibition period, the DP&I begins their

assessment of the EIS and submissions, producing an assessment report with a recommendation

and recommended conditions, which is sent to the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for

determination.

The Minister can appoint a Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) to advise on key issues

if the proposal is controversial. The PAC generally holds a meeting or public hearing, inviting

public submissions and produces a report with a recommendation and recommended

conditions. The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure delegates the authority to determine

coal mining applications to the PAC, making it the consent authority.

70

The reason for the Minister delegating consent authority to the PAC is most likely to increase

the transparency and independence of the approval process. When the Minister exercised the

power to grant approvals for Part 3A development proposals as consent authority prior to 2011,

significant criticism was expressed in news articles, industry journals, and various academic

writings regarding the independence of the decision. Finally, if consent is granted by the PAC,

then the mine construction and operations can commence.

The development of coal mines in NSW is regulated by the Environmental Planning and

Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Since 2011, all new coal mine developments are classified

as State Significant Development if they are:

In environmentally sensitive areas of State significance; and/or

Have a capital investment of more than $30 million or that will employ 100 or more

people.

If a new coal mining proposal is determined to be State Significant Development than it is

assessed under Part 4 of the EP&A Act and The State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining,

Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007 (Mining SEPP), which primarily

regulates the permissibility of coal mining. Any existing development applications for coal

mines which were lodged before 2010 and which were well-advanced in the assessment

process, such as Wilpinjong and Moolarben, are assessed under transitional Part 3A of the

EP&A Act and not Part 4.

The EP&A Act and Mining SEPP outlines development permissibility with and without

consent and “…overrides all local environmental plans and most SEPPS prior to its

gazettal…” (Reed 2011: 735). It also stipulates locations where coal mining is prohibited (Sch.

1). While the consent authority can refuse a development application for a coal mine, mining

exploration is classed as development without consent under the EP&A Act. This means that

mining exploration can be approved by the DTI without any regard to the likely impacts that

may be caused during exploration, which would otherwise require assessment by the DP&I if

was classified as development with consent under the EP&A Act.

71

Section 79C of Part 4 of the EP&A Act requires the following matters to be considered when

determining a development application:

“(a) the provisions of:

(i) any environmental planning instrument, and

(ii) any proposed instrument that is or has been the subject of

public consultation under this Act and that has been notified

to the consent authority (unless the Director-General has

notified the consent authority that the making of the proposed

instrument has been deferred indefinitely or has not been

approved), and

(iii) any development control plan, and

(iiia) any planning agreement that has been entered into

under section 93F, or any draft planning agreement that a

developer has offered to enter into under section 93F, and

(iv) the regulations (to the extent that they prescribe matters

for the purposes of this paragraph), and

(v) any coastal zone management plan (within the meaning of

the Coastal Protection Act 1979), that apply to the land to

which the development application relates,

(b) the likely impacts of that development, including environmental

impacts on both the natural and built environments, and social and

economic impacts in the locality,

(c) the suitability of the site for the development,

(d) any submissions made in accordance with this Act or the

regulations,

(e) the public interest”

72

When the DP&I and PAC are assessing coal mine EISs and submissions they are required to

have regard to the objects of the EP&A Act and equally balance the matters for consideration

specified above in Section 79C. When assessing the likely impacts of a proposed coal mine,

the environmental, social, and economic impacts are each required to be given equal

weighting. However, the DP&I is proposing amendments to the Mining SEPP which would

give increased weighting to the likely economic impacts of a mining development. The draft

Mining SEPP which is currently on exhibition proposes the following:

“(1) In determining an application for consent for development for the

purposes of mining, the consent authority must consider the

significance of the resource that is the subject of the application,

having regard to:

(a) the economic benefits, both to the State and the region in

which the development is proposed to be carried out, of

developing the resource, and

(b) any advice by the Director-General of the Department of

Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services as

to the relative significance of the resource in comparison with

other resources across the State.

(2) In providing advice under subclause (1) (b), the Director-General

of the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure

and Services is to have regard to such matters as that Director-General

considers relevant, including (without limitation):

(a) the size, quality and availability of the resource that is the

subject of the application, and

(b) the proximity and access of the land to which the

application relates to existing or proposed infrastructure, and

(c) the relationship of the resource to any existing mine, and

(d) whether other industries or projects are dependent on the

development of the resource.

73

(3) In determining whether to grant consent to the proposed

development, the significance of the resource is to be the consent

authority’s principal consideration under this Part.

(4) Accordingly, the weight to be given by the consent authority to any

other matter for consideration under this Part is to be proportionate to

the importance of that other matter in comparison with the significance

of the resource.”

As can be ascertained from the draft Mining SEPP, the determining authority for a coal mining

development would have to give principal consideration to the economic significance of the

development over all other considerations, be they social or environmental. There has been

extensive news coverage surrounding the draft Mining SEPP, with many attributing the

proposed amendments to counter the recent Land and Environment Court decision which

overturned ministerial approval for Rio Tinto to expand open-cut mining near Bulga, in the

Hunter Valley, on social and environmental grounds. “Profitability and economic benefit will

be placed at the centre of NSW's approvals process for new mining developments, after

decisions by the state's courts to overturn two major coal proposals this year” (Owens 2013).

Alison Ziller is of the view that the proposed amendment to the Mining SEPP is, “…undue

influence from the industry and failure to take account of other public interest issues. That’s

just appalling” (Ziller, A 2013, pers.comm., 21 August). Ben Harris-Roxas, who is the Heath

Section Chair at the International Association for Impact Assessment believes that,

“It’s bad in the sense that there has been positive economic impacts

which have always been traded off against all of the negative impacts.

Now we are in a situation where is doesn’t matter what is on the other

side of the scale as this side has been weighed extra heavily…it is a

short term move and is about pleasing key constituencies. What it is

saying is that we are still open for business as a state to mining because

there has been a lot of concern around the basis of mining…” (Harris-

Roxas, B 2013, pers.comm., 15 August).

74

Furthermore, Catherine Van Laeren and Interviewee 6 are also of the view that this is not an

appropriate change to the Mining SEPP,

“I think that to just step back and to pick one matter of consideration

and give it more weight than another is inappropriate and indeed we

should be doing full merit assessment of each one and making decisions

the weight that should be given to each one on each individual case…So

I think that it is probably an inappropriate amendment and I think that

we should leave it to a merit assessment on each one. Recognising that

there are times when economic considerations are going to be

paramount, but other times when social and economic are going to be

depending on each application. I don’t think that you can write

legislation to address each situation” (Van Laeren, C 2013,

pers.comm. 22 August).

“Professionally I think that it’s horrible. I think that it is a purely

political move. I would love to see it tested in the courts because I think

that it would get thrown out because I think it is contrary to the objects

of the EP&A Act…having read the Bulga judgement, I think that it is

really quite scary that we are undermining social considerations for

economic purpose” (Interviewee 6 2013, pers.comm. 14 August).

In 2012 The DP&I introduced the Strategic Regional Land Use Policy to ensure that high-value

agricultural land would be protected from the development of new coal mines. The proposed

Gateway process which is part of the Policy requires State significant mining proposals that

extend beyond an existing mining lease area and are located on strategic agricultural land to

apply for a Gateway Certificate. An independent Mining Gateway Panel assesses applications

against Gateway criteria relating to land and water impacts. “These criteria will eventually

form part of an amendment of the Mining SEPP which will give legal force to the Gateway”

(NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure 2012: 80). This means that land which has

been identified as being high-value agricultural land can still have a coal mine developed on it

providing it has gone through the gateway process.

The Planning Bill 2013 which is currently being reviewed by the NSW Legislative Assembly,

is set to replace the EP&A Act as the principal piece of legislation controlling development in

NSW. According to Sparke Helmore Lawyers under the new planning system,

75

“Mining will continue to be considered a State Significant Development

(SSD) requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Mining is

also a category of development that will always be "merit assessed" on

a case by case basis (much of the remainder of the development

approvals system is moving to code compliant "automatic" approval).

The Minister remains the consent authority for SSDs and has the power

to delegate to the Planning Assessment Commission and, in limited

cases, to senior officers of the Department of Planning &

Infrastructure.

State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production

and Extractive Industries) 2007 is expected to remain in place, largely

unchanged in the short term, although what form the mining specific

NSW Planning Policy will ultimately take is uncertain at this point”

(2013).

On review, the Planning Bill 2013 does not propose any significant changes to the current

EP&A Act except to strengthen the economic importance of coal mines, with the first object of

the Act being, “To promote the growth of the State’s economy and increased productivity” (s.

1.3a). The Bill would continue to exclude local Councils from determining a coal mining

development other than making a submission to the DP&I or PAC. Also, the Bill does not

provide provisions to improve the environmental impact assessment to address cumulative

impacts resulting from multiple coal mines in one area. There are likely to be further changes

to the Bill before it becomes an Act.

Improving the Assessment and Approvals Process

The current system of assessing coal exploration licences and proposed coal mines by two

separate government agencies, the DTI and the DP&I is overly complicated and results in an

inadequate assessment of the likely economic and social impacts. The DTI is, “…responsible

for driving sustainable economic growth across the state” (NSW Department of Trade and

Investment 2013d) and is not concerned with the possible adverse economic and social

implications of coal mining on regional areas of NSW. The granting of an exploration licence

for coal in a particular area by the DTI could potentially lead to an expectation by the licensee

for the DP&I to later on approve a development application for a mine, even if there are serious

76

issues with the proposal. As mentioned in the previous section of this chapter, mineral

exploration does not need development consent from the DP&I and is therefore not subject to

the matters for consideration outlined in S.79C of the EP&A Act. This is despite mineral

exploration having the potential to impact on the local environmental, economic and social

structures in a region. It is considered that when determining coal exploration licences, the

DP&I should be consulted as to the potential economic and social impacts, and that approvals

are not granted for sites on which a coal mine would be an inappropriate form of development.

The assessment process for coal mining proposals is geared towards approval, with the DP&I

and the applicant working together to mitigate likely negative impacts. The current practice of

using conditions of consent by the determining authority as a way to mitigate any issues that

have been identified during an assessment can be inappropriate. Instead of making a decision

as to whether or not a proposed coal mine is suitable given the circumstances, it seems to be a

question of not if the mine will be approved, but what the conditions of approval will be. For

example, in the Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc v Minister for Planning and

Infrastructure and Warkworth Mining Limited [2013] NSWLEC 48 appeal, instead of the DPI

determining that the proposed coal mine should be refused on the grounds of the likely adverse

impacts, it advocated that conditions of consent should be used to reduce any impact that the

proposed mine might have on the town of Bulga. While the certainty of knowing that coal

mining proposals are likely to be approved regardless of the potential impacts is assuring to

mining companies who are investing millions of dollars of capital into these projects, it does

little to assure those effected by coal mines. Having coal exploration licences assessed by the

DP&I from the very start of the process would mean that potential impacts could be identified

before serious capital is spent on a coal mining project that is not going to be approved later on

in the process. It is considered that while conditions of consent can be necessary to mitigate

adverse economic and social impacts from coal mining, they should not be used to justify an

approval that should otherwise be refused.

DGRs are issued by the DP&I to applicants for proposed coal mines to identify the likely

impacts which need to be addressed by the applicant in an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS). The process of the coal mining company engaging their own consultants to prepare

planning reports could lead to accusations of bias being made by those opposing the

development of a coal mine. A way to reduce subjectivity in the preparation of EISs would be

to have independent consultants prepare the reports, paid for through a development

contribution scheme. The consultant would be chosen through a tendering process run by an

77

independent panel and paid for with a fee levied on the applicant. The consultant preparing the

EIS would not be beholden to the applicant or the DPI, being independent of the two and

providing an objective assessment of the issues.

Having local Council’s sidelined from the determination process of proposed coal mines can

result in extensive knowledge of the local area and likely issues being missed out on. Catherine

Van Laeren suggests that councils should be represented in the determination process,

“I think that if there is going to be a PAC determining an application,

there should be Council representation on the PAC so that at least

Council is part of the determining authority. I think that the Department

of Planning underestimates a Council’s ability to weigh the pros and

cons of an application and underestimates that the Council is at the

coal face in understanding the community, including those involved in

the coal mining industry” (Van Laeren, C 2013, pers.comm., 22

August).

While it is important that the interests of the rest of the State are considered in the assessment

and approvals process, so too is it important that the interests of the local area being directly

affected be considered. The majority of the negative impacts that result from coal mining are

experienced in the local area in which the mining is taking place. A way of ensuring that these

local issues are considered by the determining authority, is to make the local council a part of

the determining authority.

The amount and way in which funds are allocated to councils affected by the development of

coal mines needs to be addressed in the assessment and approvals process. Current funding

arrangements result in royalties being paid to the State government and councils having to rely

on rates and voluntary planning agreements with the mines to upgrade infrastructure and

services. Resources for Regions grants do help to ease the funding gap for councils, however

the process in which it is decided who the grants are allocated to can be inefficient. An

alternative to Resources for Regions would be to give direct control of funding to local

councils. During the assessment phase of a coal mine proposal, the impact on local

infrastructure and services would be determined and a monetary amount to address the impact

calculated. The Council would than administer a proportion of money taken from the royalties

paid to the State Government to fund the infrastructure projects identified in the assessment

78

phase. This would give financial certainty to councils to address infrastructure shortfalls caused

by the development of coal mines.

The current assessment and approval process for coal mining development in NSW has many

good aspects which ensure that potential adverse economic and social impacts are addressed

and mitigated. Nevertheless, coal exploration licences are approved by the DTI separately to

the DP&I assessing a coal mine gives rise to inconsistences in assessment and possible

problems with the appropriateness of a mine in a particular area. The proposed amendments to

the Mining SEPP have the potential to undermine the assessment process, with increased

weighting given to the economic significance of coal mining developments at the expense of

likely social impacts. While the Planning Bill does not propose many changes to the current

system for assessing and approving coal mines in NSW, it does not address the shortfalls in the

current system regarding the assessment of cumulative impacts of mines. Improvements can

be made in the way in which the assessment of proposed coal mines is carried out by the DP&I

in order to ensure the process is balanced and fair. Requiring consultation between the DTI and

the DP&I as to the likely impacts of coal exploration licences, would lead to a better assessment

of the likely economic and social impacts from the beginning. This assessment of these impacts

would be bolstered by including the local council on the PAC as they have the local knowledge

and experience with the issues on the ground. Any changes to the assessment and approvals

process for coal mining in NSW should seek to ensure that all impacts on the local community

are identified at the beginning of the project and appropriate solutions found and implemented.

These recommendations given in this chapter will be summarised and presented in the

following concluding chapter.

79

Conclusion

Thesis Summary

This thesis has examined the economic and social implications of coal mining on the Mid-

Western region of NSW. It has explored the wider theoretical context which exists around coal

mining impacts on rural townships and investigated what effect coal mining can have on rural

areas through a focus on the Mid-Western region. A review and evaluation of the current

assessment and approvals process for coal mines in NSW followed, allowing for improvements

to be recommended to reduce the negative impacts that coal mining can have on rural

communities. An analysis of data from ABS statistics, assessment and planning reports, and

in-depth interviews undertaken with key industry and planning professionals was used to

identify the prevalent economic and social impacts of coal mining effecting the Mid-Western

region. The analysis revealed that there has been a mix of positive and negative impacts on the

local economy, employment, health and education services, roads, housing, safety and non-

resident workers and their families as a result of the increase in coal mining in the region.

Overall, the evidence suggests that on balance the Mid-Western region has benefited from the

coal mining industry. However, more time is needed to fully monitor and better ascertain the

full implications of a range of impacts in the long term and whether the positives always

outweigh the negatives. It is considered that improvements should be made to the assessment

and approvals process of coal mines in NSW to address the negative economic and social

impacts shown in this thesis to be having an impact on the Mid-Western region. This research

will assist in informing recommendations for planners and those involved in the assessment of

coal mines to mitigate adverse economic and social issues as well as improvements to the

assessment and approvals process.

Major Findings

Through the methodology adopted this thesis has identified and assessed a broad array of

positive and negative impacts on the Mid-Western region which have been caused by the

increase in coal mining over the last 10 years. Noted below are a brief summary of the major

findings:

Economy and employment

The increase in coal mining activity in the region has affected the local economy and

employment in a number of ways. The rapid expansion of the coal mining sector in the region

80

has led to shifting some investment from agriculture and viticulture, to mining and its various

supporting industries and services. This shift has led to the coal industry becoming an

increasingly large part of the economy in terms of employment, investment and production.

This has effected other sectors in the economy, such as agriculture which is unable to match

the higher wages being offered by the mining sector. The increase in the number of households

employed by the coal mining industry has led to a greater proportion of the population on

higher incomes generating increased economic activity. While this rise in income is a positive

impact on the economy, it has also resulted in increases to the cost of living, putting pressure

on those on lower incomes who may not be directly benefiting from the coal mining sector.

However, the large flow-on impacts from coal mining benefit a number of different sectors

throughout the regional economy, which has stimulated economic growth.

Health services

The changing economy and demographics of the region has adversely impacted on health

services. While there were existing issues with the health services prior to the increase in coal

mining activity in the region, there has been added pressure on GPs and health facilities,

especially in Mudgee, due to workers and their families moving to the region to work for the

coal mining industry. The royalties paid to the State government by the coal mines needs to be

more fairly distributed to those communities in which they operate so as to reduce the impact

they are having on health services.

Education services

The increased coal mining activity in the region has had minimal to no negative impact on the

educational services of the Mid-Western region. Enrolments for most high schools and primary

schools in the region have been falling over recent years despite the increased mining

employment in the region, with miners and their families migrating to the region. There needs

to be capacity available in the education services to cater for potential changes in the

demographics of the region.

Roads

The most significant and evident impact has been on the roads running between Mudgee and

the coal mines caused by the increased traffic and freight associated with the coal mines in the

region. The mines have led to a rapid increase in the use of Ulan Road with disagreements

between the MWRC and the mines as to who is responsible for the much needed upgrade. It is

81

important that funding arrangements for roads are developed during the planning phase of a

mine so as to speed up the delivery time of road upgrades. The coal mining industry has

attempted to reduce this impact on roads by using Voluntary Planning Agreements, rates and

sharing road upgrade costs with Council.

Housing

The development of the coal mining industry has impacted on the housing, rental availability

and affordability in the area. The increased demand on housing has benefited only those who

are existing home and land owners. The provision of onsite construction camps during the

construction phase of the coal mines can reduce the negative impact on the housing and rental

market in region, but good strategic planning is also needed to provide adequate housing

supply.

Community Safety

The increase in coal mining activity in the region has not resulted in a rise in crime and

antisocial behaviour. The number of assaults and sexual offences, which the literature indicates

are more likely to be committed by young males, has stayed relatively the same and the number

of thefts has actually been declining. While there have been negative impacts associated with

road safety and gender imbalance amongst young adults, overall, coal mining has had a positive

impact on wellbeing of the Mid-Western region in the form of high paying jobs, stimulated

local businesses and contributed to the growth and prosperity of the community.

Non-resident workers and their families

Depending on the type of temporary workers accommodation, when they are located away

from a mine near an existing town, they can have negative impacts. The proposed MAC

development for temporary workers accommodation has the potential to adversely affect

Gulgong. There needs to be further research to determine the extent to which these types of

developments could impact on the region.

82

Recommendations

The following five recommendations are proposed to improve the assessment and approvals

process, to reduce the potential for the development of coal mines to have negative economic

and social impacts on regional areas, such as the Mid-Western region.

1. When the DTI is determining coal exploration licences, the DP&I should be consulted

as to the potential economic and social impacts.

2. Conditions of consent are useful in mitigating adverse economic and social impacts

from coal mining, however, they should not be used to justify an approval that should

otherwise be refused.

3. To minimise the potential for accusations of bias being made by those opposing the

development of a coal mine, the preparation of EISs should be carried out by

independent consultants, administered by the DP&I and paid for by the applicant

through a contribution scheme.

4. To ensure that local issues are considered by the determining authority, local councils

should have a place on the PAC when coal mining developments are being determined

in their LGA.

5. Local councils should administer a proportion of money taken from the royalties paid

to the State Government to fund infrastructure projects identified likely to be effected

by coal mining activity.

83

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Appendix

Project Information Statement

Date: ………………..

Project Title: Thesis: The Economic and Social Implications of Coal

Mining on the Mid-Western Region

Approval No.: 135035

Participant selection and purpose of study

You are invited to participate in a study into the economic and social impacts of coal mining

on the mid-western region (i.e. Mudgee). You were selected as a possible participant in this

study because you have been involved in the assessment/approval process of coal mines

and/or have knowledge of the effects of coal mining on rural regional areas.

Description of study

If you decide to participate, you will be interviewed to gather information on the economic

and social impacts of coal mining, as well as the effectiveness of the existing NSW coal

mining assessment and approvals process. The interview will typically run between 30

minutes and 1 hour. You may be asked to attend future follow up sessions.

Confidentiality and disclosure of information

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and which you are identifiable

with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission, or as

required by law. If you give permission, I plan to discuss and make available the results in the

form of a written academic thesis which will be made available to students and facility

members of the Built Environment Facility of The University of New South Wales.

Recompense to participants

If you wish, you will be sent an electronic copy of the thesis when completed in November

2013.