Minister grants approval for Narrabri underground mine extension

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has approved the stage three extension of Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri underground mine and two other mining projects in the Hunter Valley.

A decision by the federal government to extend three coal mines is in line with climate laws, the minister says, despite concerns the move undermines credibility in tackling rising emissions.

Ms Plibersek signed off on Tuesday to the extension projects.

Ms Plibersek said the decision was consistent with environmental laws.

“The Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environmental law, that’s what happened on every project and that’s what’s happened here,” she said in a statement. “The government will continue to consider each project on a case-by-case basis, under the law. These are not new projects, these three approvals are all extensions of existing operations.”

The High Court of Australia recently declined to hear a legal challenge to make the federal Environment Minister and coal companies accountable for climate harm from new coal and gas projects.

The Full Federal Court also refused an appeal for the same matter in May.

Whitehaven has sought to extend the life of its Narrabri mine from 2031 to 2044, extracting coal south of the existing mine.

Information previously published by the company says extending the life of the mine will see a $599 million net economic benefit to NSW, 500 continued jobs and $317 million of direct wages into the community.

When the Independent Planning Commission approved the extension in 2022, Whitehaven Coal managing director and chief executive officer Paul Flynn described it as a great outcome for the company and the hundreds of employees working at the mine.

“Big investments like Narrabri stage three are about lives and livelihoods and it’s no surprise the majority of submissions from the local area and wider region supported the proposal, as the IPC itself acknowledged,” he said in a statement at the time.

“While today is a great result for Whitehaven, it’s fantastic for the Narrabri region too – last financial year [2020/21] Whitehaven spent nearly $50 million with around 81 suppliers based in the Narrabri LGA.”

Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Carmel Flint said the Albanese government has revealed its reckless disregard for the extinction of Australian wildlife and the effects of catastrophic climate change on all Australians through its decision.

“We are shocked that a government that came to power promising to halt extinction and act on climate change has sunk so low,” she said.

“It is shameful that a government supposedly committed to net zero emissions by 2050 has approved thermal coal mines, the most
polluting fossil fuel on the planet, to operate until 2058, 2064 and 2066. Australians will pay the price of this decision for generations to come.

“Minister Plibersek is holding a so-called ‘Global Nature Positive’ Conference in just two weeks in Sydney, but she’s sent nature into a devastating negative spiral with these three approvals”.