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Hunter locals and experts speak out against biggest coal mine proposal in NSW history

Climate Media Centre

DATE: July 14 2026 

Experts and community members will address the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) in Branxton this week as it considers the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) proposal - the largest coal mine ever considered under New South Wales planning law. 

The IPC, which is required to consider both the project's climate pollution and impacts, must decide whether to approve a project that generates seven times the entire annual pollution of NSW. 

HVO’s approval would contradict advice from the NSW government's own independent advisory body on climate, and contribute to worsening climate disasters that are already impacting Hunter communities - like bushfires, floods, coastal erosion, heatwaves and droughts.

Firefighters, former coal workers, workers’ advocates, climate scientists and energy experts are speaking out against the proposal, and calling for investment in long-term clean energy jobs for the region.

Trevor Woolley, Hunter resident, former power-station worker, volunteer firefighter

Trevor Woolley was a senior engineer at Bayswater power station. He has 40 years experience in power generation. He lives in Denman NSW, and volunteers for his local RFS. 

“We are in the middle of a record warm winter. Grass that should be burnt by frosts and brown by July is actually green, growing and having to be mown. My fences are ruined by rampant corrosion, and the rain on my roof is acid and full of black mud. We have just had a record High Pressure system over Australia. The firefighting season is getting longer and tougher. We must take the science seriously and admit that we need to refocus and repair. We can’t continue as before and keep burning fossil fuels. Clean energy must be our future.” 

John Krey, Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association

John Krey led the Bulga community's long-running legal challenge to Rio Tinto's Mount Thorley Warkworth mine expansion, which they successfully got the expansion approval rejected twice.

“We took on one of the biggest mining companies in the world and the courts agreed with us, twice, that the harm to our community and environment outweighed the benefits. The lesson from Bulga is that these projects can and should be properly scrutinised. The Commission needs to look hard at the evidence on HVO, because the costs to the Hunter are real and they are lasting.”

Sam Wilkins, Organiser, Hunter Jobs Alliance

Sam Wilkins is an organiser with the Hunter Jobs Alliance, a community and union alliance working to secure good jobs and an orderly economic transition for the Hunter region. 

“This case exposes a fundamental gap in worker support: the Net Zero Economy Authority's Energy Industry Jobs Plan (EIJP) still excludes export coal workers, like those at HVO. Ninety per cent of coal produced in the Hunter is exported, and if the government is serious about a fair transition, the EIJP has to step up and support these workers. A real future for this region means planning and investing now - in the industries, the training and the jobs that will keep people here for the long haul. Workers should be at the centre of that conversation, not used as a bargaining chip.”

Matt McKee, Chief Researcher, Beyond Zero Emissions

Matt McKee is Chief Researcher at Beyond Zero Emissions, an independent think tank developing engineering-led pathways for Australia's transition to a zero-emissions economy. 

“Locking in a new coal project to 2045 ties the Hunter's future to a commodity in structural global decline, when the same region is perfectly placed to build the clean energy industries that will actually last. The opportunity cost here is enormous, and it's the Hunter that wears it.” 

Prof David Karoly, Climate scientist, Climate Councillor  

David Karoly is Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne, having retired from CSIRO early in 2022. He is an internationally recognised expert on climate change science and climate variability.

“Any coal that is exported and burned outside Australia returns to us as climate pollution that fuels more dangerous disasters. NSW communities are already highly vulnerable to the increasing threat of bushfires, severe river flooding, and more frequent and intense coastal storm surges from ongoing sea level rise, thanks to the burning of coal, oil and gas. Not only that, this coal mine expansion would also harm the Hunter River and local water resources, which local farming and tourism industries depend on. The IPC has an opportunity to consider the global and local climate impacts of this project and an obligation to reject it on climate grounds – to protect the people and environment of NSW. It is imperative that it do so.”

The hearings will be held on Thursday July 16 and Friday July 17 from 10am at Branxton Community Hall in Branxton NSW, with a third day of online hearings to be held on Wednesday July 22. The hearings will be livestreamed on the IPC Youtube channel. Public submissions can be viewed here and remain open until July 29. 

The HVO Open Cut Coal Continuation Project, a joint venture between Glencore and Yancoal near Singleton in the Hunter Valley, would extend coal mining there for another 18 years and produce over 800 million tonnes of climate pollution in that time.

HVO is the most important NSW IPC assessment to proceed after a landmark Court of Appeal decision established that the IPC must consider how coal projects contribute to climate change and the local environmental impacts, including the impacts of coal exported from NSW and burned overseas. 

The proposal also comes before the IPC after the NSW Net Zero Commission (NZC) warned the Minns government that further approvals of coal mine extensions and expansions would push NSW further from its legislated targets. The NZC has written to the IPC and the Department of Planning flagging its concerns.

If approved, the project would proceed to the federal Environment Minister for assessment under national environment law. 

HVO’s environmental defence to the IPC is a drop in the ocean argument, with their consultant saying the pollution from the project would be a very small proportion of global pollution and not enough to materially affect the extent of climate change impacts locally. It's an argument NSW courts have rejected multiple times.

This is the second time the project has been submitted for approval. An earlier application was withdrawn in 2024 after the NSW Environment Protection Authority raised concerns about its emissions intensity. The revised proposal removes one coal pit.

If the project is not approved, the operation is expected to close in December 2026, affecting around 1,500 jobs. Supporters of a managed transition argue that the Hunter Valley needs long-term investment in growth industries rather than further dependence on a coal industry in structural decline.

—ENDS—

MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Corrigan - 0423 690 152 - [email protected]

Vision and photos of the HVO mine site and surrounds are available on request.

Contact details:

MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Corrigan - 0423 690 152 - [email protected]