Coal company insists on careful treading regarding mining laws

1373
Image credit: flickr User: Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle

Mining company Cascade Coal has urged the New South Wales Government not to revoke its exploration license for its proposed Mount Penny and Glendon Brook mines.

Image credit: flickr User:  Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle
Image credit: flickr User: Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle

In an open letter to the Government, Cascade Coal warned the Parliamentarians that a decision to cancel the licenses might expose the state to substantial damage claims.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has ruled in favour of cancellation of the authorities granted to Mount Penny and Glendon Brook due to corruption.

According to the article on The Australian, Cascade Coal expressed its concerns that the Parliament will rush to vote after bills to remove the licenses were introduced in Parliament on Thursday. Further, company officials stated that ICAC produced no evidence against the company or its shareholders in relation to the granting of the exploration licenses.

“This action is extraordinary and is an unreasonable position for any Government to adopt particularly when the core recommendations of ICAC, which form the basis of the proposed legislation, are being challenged in the Supreme Court,” the letter said.

Adertisement

NuCoal Resources, which obtained the Doyles Creek license after it was corruptly granted to entrepreneurs including former union boss John Maitland, pleaded innocent with regards to the accusations and threatened to mount a constitutional challenge to protect its interests.

NSW frontbencher Duncan Gay introduced the Mining Amendment (ICAC Operations Jasper and Acacia) Bill 2014 in the state’s Upper House on Thursday morning, two months after ICAC recommended that exploration licenses for Mount Penny, Doyles Creek and Glendon Brook be cancelled, and months after it presented corruption findings against former Labour MP Eddie Obeid, former Mining Minister Ian Macdonald and Maitland.

Mr Gay confirmed the laws will protect the state against any lawsuits that might spring up as a result of the cancellation of the suspect licences, but will not stand by anyone who has “engaged in deliberate wrongdoing”.

“The decision has been made that no compensation will be payable in respect of the cancellation,” Mr Gay said.

“The Government has no immediate plans to re-release the relevant land … The bill is also about putting the state in as near as possible to the same position as it would have been had this corruption never occurred.”