The Albanese Labor Government has approved three coal mine extensions in the NSW Hunter Valley that will contribute eleven times more emissions over their lifetime than the entire annual emissions of NSW. These extensions represent a catastrophe for the climate with an additional 1.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime and they will have significant impact on the environment, nature and water.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Planning, Environment and Climate Change, Sue Higginson said "This decision by Labor is a national disgrace and sets fire to any claim that our Governments are taking climate change and nature seriously,"
"Yes our national environmental laws are broken, but they are not this broken. There is the power and the path for the Federal Government to have refused these projects. It is now very clear that Labor are more broken when it comes to climate and the environment than the laws. It is complete political cowardice that any Minister would allow these mines to continue to operate for close to 40 years,"
"Between them these mines will lead to significant impacts on the Hunter River, destroy threatened species habitat including of our poor koalas that are facing extinction in the wild by 2050 and will contribute to serious climate disruption. Labor have failed. They have caved to the those recalcitrant end of times mining interests and have refused to take leadership on confronting the existential, civilisation threatening crisis that is global warming,"
"Both the NSW and Federal Labor Governments are acting contrary to their own public and legislated emissions reductions targets, and are spitting in the face of communities and the environment that have been getting smashed by climate driven disasters for years,"
"These coal approvals have occurred while both the State and Federal Government are paying lip service to the biodiversity and extinction crisis. I am sickened to my core with the rank hypocrisy of allowing these massive coal expansions while inviting the world to NSW to take part in a pantomime of caring about nature and the environment,"
"No more excuses, either we recognise the science of climate change and act accordingly, or we burn and drown. If a person was waving a burning torch outside of one of our Parliaments, we would act. Why is it ok that Tanya Plibersek is holding a torch to the world, and no one is able to call the climate police?" Ms Higginson said.
