New Acland boss talks up jobs, calls on state to grant water licence

The CEO of New Hope Group has said he will need to hire hundreds of people to build New Acland Coal’s Stage Three expansion. Find out when you should apply here.

If all goes to plan for the New Hope Group then it will hire more than 600 short-term workers to build the New Acland Coal’s Stage Three expansion within months.

This will drop back to about 400 long-term jobs during the mine’s estimated 10-year operational life.

New Hope CEO Rob Bishop said it was a “priority” for the company to hire local workers, including the nearly 300 men and women who were laid off when mining operations ceased in 2021.

“They have been contacting us and the vast majority are keen to come back,” he said.

“A lot are farmers who subside their income through the mine.”

The announcement comes just days after Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart quietly approved the mining lease for Stage Three.

It is now up to the Queensland Water Minister Glenn Butcher to grant the associated water licence before digging can resume, which is estimated to be worth about $1 billion to the local economy throughout the next 10-15 years.

The development comes after the project was subject to more than a decade of legal challenges, including multiple appeal and cross appeal in the High Court and Land Court.

Mr Bishop said he “expected” the licence would come through soon.

Welcoming the Queensland Government's decision to grant New Acland Coal a mining lease for Stage Three are from left, New Hope Group CEO Rob Bishop New and New Acland Mine General Manager Dave O’Dwyer.

“That information has been with the minister for some years now and we hope the Queensland Government supports its existing processes, as Minister Stewart’s office did.

“New Acland has been mining for 20 years with no groundwater issues, we have more than a handful of technical experts supporting the mine that had no impact (on groundwater).

“Under conditions we will move forward on, they will be more stringent than the last 20 years.”

While the project has been welcomed by a broad cross section of the Oakey and Toowoomba business community, its critics remain committed to fighting the mine.

Oakey Coal Action Alliance president Aileen Harris said activists would meet later this week to map out an appeal against the mining lease.

While she held off going into detail about the specific grounds of the appeal Ms Harris did say the time of the announcement was concerning.

“Obviously the minister did not read up all the information that we provided,” she said.

“They had a trolley-load of material but have not had the time to read it all, I don’t care how fast they read.”

The environmentalists are concerned an enlarged West Pit would drain nearby aquifers and rob farmers of the underground water to feed cattle and grow crops.

Ms Harris said the mass closure of farms would have a widespread negative effect on the regional economy.

“New Acland Coal will never tell you about all the agribusinesses, the machinery shops, the grain supplies and the saleyards that all closed down when farms were bought up by New Hope.

“Bores have dried up.

Some producers had 30 metre bores for three generations and now they are drilling up to 130m to get water.”