Court battle forces New Acland mine to axe jobs
Job losses at the New Acland coalmine will begin within weeks after the High Court sent the application to expand the open cut pit back to the Land Court.
Job losses at the New Acland coalmine will begin within weeks after the High Court sent the application to expand the open cut pit back to the Land Court after a 13-year battle.
Australian-owned miner New Hope is expected to make redundancies at its head office next month and is likely to follow with more redundancies at the mine — near Oakey, 160km west of Brisbane — in March or April.
More than 200 workers have lost their jobs at the mine in less than two years.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Oakey Coal Action Alliance, a collective of farmers and environmentalists, requiring the Land Court to reassess the stage three expansion of the mine before making a recommendation to the state government over its approval.
The Queensland Resources Council and federal Labor MP Shayne Neumann have called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to introduce legislation to ensure the expansion of the mine.
At a directions hearing next week, New Hope will seek a swift hearing in the Land Court, while it is expected the Oakey Coal Action Alliance will call for an extension to pull its case together, by which time New Acland could run out of coal to mine.
New Hope expects its resources will not last past October.
The first Land Court hearing lasted for more than 100 days, the longest in the court’s history.
New Acland mine worker and CFMEU representative Michael Hartin said keeping the mine running would be a challenge.
“We know our back is against the wall and that is because of a legal system that has let us down,” Mr Hartin said
“Why should someone have uncertainty around their job for 10 years? It’s been a hell of a burden we’ve had to carry for a long time. It’s ridiculous.”
Mr Hartin said the CFMEU would lobby the government to ensure the future of the mine.
“This is a mine that stacks up environmentally, socially and economically,” he said.
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