Tuesday 10 November 2026
The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook and Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMS HEG) condemns Premier Chris Minns’ special law that puts the profits of a foreign-owned coal mining company ahead of the people of New South Wales and the ruling of Australia’s highest court.
The NSW Government is expected to introduce legislation Tuesday or Wednesday, granting special permission for MACH Energy to increase its coal production at its Mount Pleasant mine by 32 per cent to 16.5 million tonnes per year until 2032, despite the fact that the Indonesian company’s expansion plans are tied up in the courts.
Wendy Wales, President, DAMS HEG, a retired science teacher who lives next door to the Mount Pleasant mine, said:
“The Minns Labor government has stepped in to help the Mount Pleasant coal expansion, invalidated in the NSW Court of Appeal and Australian High Court, by putting up new legislation and attempting to rush it through the parliament.
“What country is this? Where does the Premier Chris Minns think he is taking us? I doubt it is part of any Labor manifesto to cosy up to big business blatantly and use workers as a shield to write new laws which cover potential breaches.
“This company has made more than a billion dollars since 2022, if it has erroneously employed 400 workers, we think it can manage a generous recovery package for those wronged.”
Tony Lonergan, Treasurer, DAMS HEG, a retired science teacher and farmer whose family has worked land in the Upper Hunter for generations, said:
“The NSW parliament has passed the Future Jobs and Investment Bill, intended to facilitate diversification of the economies of the state’s coal regions. The regulations still need to be developed and finalised, but this is an important step forward. However, at the same time the Minns government has overseen the approval of every mine expansion presented to it since it came to office.
“In the case of Mt Pleasant, which has been before the courts since 2022, the Premier intends to legislate the approval of a six-year extension, to 2032, to mine not the original 10.5Mt/y, or the applied for 12.5Mt/y, but 16.5Mt/y. This is apparently to allow for the continued employment of 400 workers that the company took on to expand production after the NSW Court of Appeal invalidated the approval to mine 21Mt/y out to 2048 (a decision upheld in the High Court in Canberra). No details of this number of 400 have been given by the company or the government.
“The legal process needs to be respected and not overridden by new legislation. The transition to an economy of the future needs to be facilitated with more urgency, and the reality of the climate impacts of the coal industry on our children’s future taken seriously.”
Elaine Johnson, Director, Johnson Legal, the firm that represents DAMS HEG in the Court of Appeal and High Court, said:
“The NSW Premier undermining a community group’s hard-fought win against a coal mining giant is plainly un-Australian.
“Ordinary Australians are expected to abide by the law and follow the rules. Yet a foreign-owned coal company can apparently get the laws rewritten for a single project any time it likes.
“The matter is still before the courts. The original application to expand the mine is now back before the Land and Environment Court, as required by the High Court ruling. But in the meantime, the Government is trying to rush through extraordinary laws to undermine the court process at the request of the company.
“This is a totally inappropriate use of the Parliamentary process and offends the separation of powers that underpins our constitutional democracy. The proper court process should be allowed to play out without political interference.”
DAMS HEG v MACH Energy will return to the Land and Environment Court for a hearing on December 8, after the community group’s success at the High Court.
Sean Kennedy, Senior Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre, 0447 121 378, [email protected]
Laura Corrigan, Media Advisor, Climate Media Centre, 0423 690 152, [email protected]
— ENDS —
BACKGROUND
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The High Court dismissed MACH Energy’s appeal by a 3 to 2 majority on 7 October 2026. The 2022 approval for the Mount Pleasant expansion (to 21 million tonnes a year and 2048) remains invalid, and the matter returns to the NSW Land and Environment Court.
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The mine’s approvals are 10.5 million tonnes a year under the original consent (DA 92/97) and 12.5 million tonnes a year to 31 December 2032 under Modification 8, approved on 14 August 2026.
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The NSW Government announced on 19 October 2026 that it will introduce legislation in the next sitting fortnight to authorise 16.5 million tonnes a year until 2032, require MACH Energy to sign a Jobs Guarantee to keep its permanent workforce until 2032, and add guidance on Scope 3 emissions. It describes the Bill as a one-off for Mount Pleasant.
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The Government’s release refers to 400 jobs and also to 826 permanent workers and contractors at the mine. The Mining and Energy Union has said more than 700 jobs are affected.
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The Future Jobs and Investment Bill establishes a fund and a public authority to promote economic diversification in coal-dependent communities, and requires coal mine owners to provide transition support for workers when mines close. It passed the Legislative Council on Thursday 15 October with minor amendments and now returns to the Legislative Assembly.
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DAMS HEG is represented by Johnson Legal. Johnson Legal case page: https://www.johnsonlegal.au/the-latest/mach-energy-v-denman-high-court-of-australia
