No Certainty Delivered by Government's Token Gesture

The Hunter's Thoroughbred Breeding Industry notes the Government's prohibition of open cut mining on the Drayton South site but this alone does not provide the Hunter's breeding industry with the certainty it has been calling on for over 6 years now.

Contrary to the Premier's commitment to provide certainty to our industry, today's announcement perpetuates the land use conflict, uncertainty, instability and unnecessary community division between mining and thoroughbred breeding in the Hunter Valley that we have been calling on them to address.

"It is enormously frustrating that eight months after the second PAC rejection of mining on the Drayton South site all the Government can do is announce renewal of the Exploration Licence (EL), with a token gesture to prohibit open cut mining on the site - an outcome that was hard fought for, and already won by our industry, after six long years of planning process and 4 PACs," Dr Cameron Collins, President of the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association said.

We called on the NSW Government not to renew the Drayton South exploration licence, which expired on 1 April 2016. A decision not to renew it would have provided certainty to all players in the Hunter and sent a positive signal to our industry and avoided protracted community conflict. The Government today decided to do the contrary.

"The message the NSW Government has sent today to our industry, employees and investors is that Australia's Premier Thoroughbred Breeding Industry is not valued, not protected and not wanted in the Hunter Valley," Dr Collins said

"How many more PACs and mining applications will it take for the NSW Government to understand that mining and thoroughbred breeding are incompatible land uses in close proximity. And that the impacts of underground mining are potentially as threatening to our industry as open cut coal mining?"

"The Government had an opportunity to show vision and leadership and deliver on its election promises and Government polices to provide us with certainty and protect our industry and the water systems we rely on. Today's decision to renew the Drayton South EL delivers the opposite and continues investment uncertainty, endless planning processes and unnecessary community conflict. This is an untenable and unacceptable situation," Dr Collins said.