Battle for Berrima's forum on coal mining highlighted community's scepticism to 'trust the process'

State politicians and candidates from all sides of government voiced their opposition to the project and were in agreement that mining in the drinking water catchment risked the supply of clean water to more than five million people. 

Goulburn MP Pru Goward pointed to the historical precedent of mining under the water catchment but noted “in the last 20 to 30 years, science has really started to challenge what’s been assumed is ok.” 

Ms Goward said she understood the first report on the Hume Coal project from the department of planning and environment would soon be released.  

The report would indicate if the project was expected to go ahead and what conditions would be required before it went before the independent planning commission. 

“This is undoubtedly the most significant issue in the Southern Highlands. I have been opposing Hume coal since 2010. My sense is that with all the work that’s been done by a multitude of great scientists...we’re going to have a favourable result,” Ms Goward said. 

Shadow minister for resources, Adam Searle argued the coal mining project had “taken a huge step forward” after the government amended laws last year surrounding the assessment tool used to measure the impact of mining on water quality. 

Prior to the amendments, the law required new developments and extensions to existing developments either have a neutral or beneficial effect on Sydney’s drinking water, known as the NorBE test.  

The amended law effectively grandfathered in current pollution levels as the basis of comparison for future developments and extensions to existing projects. 

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“The fact is, in NSW we don’t have a mining assessment process, we have a mining approvals process. You can count on one hand the number of mining projects that have actually been refused,” Mr Seale said. 

“The Labor party has made the commitment: If we’re elected to office next year, we will reinstate a neutral or beneficial effect test,” he said. 

NSW Greens mining spokesperson, Jeremy Buckingham called for a ban on all mining projects in the water catchment area, a promise first made in 2011 by the former O’Farrell government. 

A 2014 report of the Chief Scientist of NSW stated that Sydney was the sole known city to permit mining under its catchment. 

“Sydney’s drinking water supply and its inflows are at catastrophically low levels and the pollution in those inflows is getting worse. We need to move to renewable energies. There is not the need to put at risk the drinking water of more than five million people,” Mr Buckingham said. 

Animal Justice Party candidate for Wollondilly, Heather Edwards expressed concerns of the Environmental protection Authority’s (EPA) ability to monitor contamination when the current system is set up to require mining companies to self-report. 

“A lot of these breaches have to be self-reported. Health has to be at the forefront of this argument,” Ms Edwards said. 

Independent Wollondilly candidate Judith Hannan said if elected she would use her office budget to ensure resources to seek expert research and advice were available to communities. 

Liberal candidate for Wollondilly, Nathaniel Smith, took over Ms Goward’s place on the panel part way through the forum and reiterated support for the planning process.

A spokesperson for Hume Coal said  scientific data had been collected from local sites over several years to ensure the proposed mine would suit the environment and have “negligible impacts on the water catchment and is consistent with the NSW Government’s Neutral or Beneficial Effect (NorBE) criteria.”

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