'Get yourself a friend': Government defends bill to weaken water protection

The Berejiklian government has defended moves to rush through legislation to keep open a coal mine in Sydney's catchment despite impacts on water quality, with one minister declaring, "if you want a friend, get yourself a piece of coal".

The legislation, aimed at nullifying a Court of Appeal ruling in August that declared the extension of the Springvale coal mine invalid, was expected to pass the lower house on Tuesday and be voted on in the upper house on Wednesday.

Chris Jonkers of the Lithgow Environment Group at East Wolgan swamp, which has been extensively damaged by subsidence from the underground coal mine.Credit: Wolter Peeters

Planning minister Anthony Roberts lugged a large lump of coal into question time and placed it on the dispatch box while answering a question about the bill that aims to ensure coal supplies to the nearby Mount Piper power plant are not disrupted.

"This amazing piece of black rock keeps you cool in summer, warm in winter, it produces power to power electric motor vehicles," Mr Roberts said, echoing theatrics by the Turnbull government in February.

Springvale mine worker John Tilley, before the mine extension was approved in 2015.Credit: Wolter Peeters

"Indeed, it lights our schools, it lights our police stations. In fact, every minute of every day it's saving people's lives in hospitals," he said before recommending the fossil fuel for those seeking companionship.

Anthony Roberts with the lump of coal in Parliament. Credit: NSW Legislative Assembly

The bill, though, was described as "reprehensible" by 4Nature, the group that had successfully challenged the 2015 approval of the Springvale mine extension in the Court of Appeal.

"Not only does the bill end the final stage of the court process for the Springvale mine but for all developments in the drinking water catchment, it overrides the important principle of continuous improvement for polluters," Andrew Cox, president of 4Nature said. "Whoever gets in first can keep polluting."

Elaine Johnson, principal solicitor of the Environmental Defender's Office NSW, said the bill would "seriously weaken the laws that protect Sydney's catchment" – a view shared by Labor and the Greens who plan to seek amendments.

"This is not a reasonable or rational response to a court case that concerns an extension of a single coal mine," Ms Johnson said. "If the bill is passed, current pollution levels in Sydney's drinking water catchment will be essentially frozen in time."

The bill would also end the Land and Environment Court's planned hearing of arguments next week, that Ms Johnson said would have given the public a more accurate view of the mine and plant options.

"There are recognised threats to water quality in the Sydney drinking water catchment and the significant cause of those threats is the mining industry," she said.

As Fairfax Media reported in August, in the latest audit of the catchment – which the government had tried to keep under wraps – coal mining was having a "cumulative and possibly accelerated" impact on water flows. Salt and nitrogen contamination levels are also on the rise.

During question time in the Legislative Council, energy minister Don Harwin said the legislation represents a "win-win".

"We're actually securing a better outcome for the environment by what we're doing," Mr Harwin told reporters on Monday, adding that 600 jobs in the Lithgow area would be spared.

Labor's energy spokesman Adam Searle said the Opposition supported efforts to keep Springvale mine supplying EnergyAustralia's Mount Piper but would seek to remove Schedule 2 of the bill that undermined the principle that required extended developments had a neutral or benefit impact on water quality.

"We regard drinking water protections as very important," Mr Searle said.

Jeremy Buckingham, Greens energy spokesman, said the government was using a "confected crisis ... to sneak through laws that gut protections" for the environment.

"The Sydney Drinking Water Catchment is a huge area of NSW, stretching from the Snowy Mountains to the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra," he said.

"A perverse outcome of the legislation is that it will penalise new environmentally sensitive development over older more polluting developments," Mr Buckingham said.