Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about a proposed coalmine in my electorate. It is something I have raised in this place on a number of occasions. But today I am raising the issue of the great disappointment in the O'Farrell state government in New South Wales, which made ironclad guarantees that they would honour their election promise to stop this coalmine. For the last seven years the people of the Central Coast have been fighting against the long-haul coalmine proposed by the South Korean company KoRes to go underneath the beautiful valleys of the Central Coast, which is where our water supply is. The federal government has spent over $120 million ensuring that the Central Coast's water supply is guaranteed. This is all under threat if we have a coalmine going underneath it.

I campaigned long and hard against the former New South Wales Labor government to make sure that this coalmine would not go ahead. Belatedly, they made the decision that the coalmine would not go ahead. That was great news for the people of the Central Coast, but what was better news was that the then New South Wales Leader of the Opposition, Barry O'Farrell, also committed in writing that he would honour this decision and that there would be no coalmine in the pristine valleys of the Central Coast that would jeopardise the Central Coast's water supply. He had photos before the election. They sent out brochures saying: 'I guarantee that there won't be a coalmine. We'll legislate to make sure there'll be no coalmines that can affect the catchment areas of the Central Coast.' This was an ironclad guarantee.

But here we are now, many months after the election, and there has been no action, and deafening silence, from the O'Farrell government. But it is even worse than that. If there was just silence, we would think it was not going ahead. But the coalminers are now out there saying: 'We're going ahead, we're doing the work and we're spending the money. This is going to be a good thing for the Central Coast.' What has clearly happened is that the coalminers had a nod and a wink from the O'Farrell government that if they resubmitted their application it would go ahead. There is no other explanation why this coalmining company would be spending the money they are spending when the current position is that it cannot go ahead and the current state government is committed to it not going ahead.

Today I call on the O'Farrell government to come clean and honour the commitment it made to Central Coast residents that it will not go ahead with this coalmine. This would be the biggest breach of faith that the people of the Central Coast have ever had. The O'Farrell government needs to make sure that it honours its election commitment; it needs to come out now and say that there will be no coalmine in the valleys of the Central Coast.