28th May 2025
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC), Rising Tide, and the Knitting Nannas have staged a protest outside Yancoal Australia's AGM to protest their plans to expand their controversial Moolarben coal mine, which will clear over 100 hectares of endangered koala habitat.
Three youth climate advocates also attended the AGM to put questions to the company on its planned expansions and the impacts on threatened species.
Yancoal is currently seeking state and federal approval to expand its destructive Moolarben open cut thermal coal mine in the Mudgee region, on First Nations Wiradjuri Country in NSW.
The mine expansion poses a serious threat to the survival of koalas and other threatened species like the Regent Honeyeater, a critically endangered bird species -- of which there are only 250-350 individuals left in the wild.
In August last year, Lock the Gate Alliance detected a mother and baby koala within areas set to be cleared by Yancoal for the expansion. The NSW Environment Department has said the project could threaten the survival of the local population -- potentially causing regional extinction.
Yancoal plans to expand the mine right up to the border of one of NSW's oldest conservation reserves, the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve -- an important local tourist spot.
According to Market Forces, Yancoal paid $0 in tax for the financial year of 2020/2021.
Statement attributable to Manjot Kaur, NCC Coal Campaigner and Mudgee local:
"Koalas are on the pathway to extinction, fueled by climate change and habitat destruction. Yancoal's proposed Moolarben koala killing coal mine cannot go ahead.
"We're here at the AGM to tell Yancoal the community doesn't want this destructive coal mine expansion going ahead.
"Mudgee is lucky to be so close to the incredible bushland at the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve. No one wants to visit a regional park and see a giant hole in the ground.
"The NSW Government has emissions targets, which they're projected to fall well short of meeting. NSW communities, including Mudgee, are already feeling the impacts of climate change with increased floods and fires.
"We can't afford any new coal mines and expansions -- not just for the sake of our endangered wildlife, but for people and communities already being hit with climate fuelled disasters."
Photos available here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rKZhbHZiQgKScZJRhfdVSeVpwRRd5aN6
