12th March 2007

Hunter coal squeezing out other industries

Hunter Valley thoroughbred horse breeders have spoken out against the damage being wrought to their industry by coal mining. The move shows that the Hunter Valley is not economically dependent on coal, and in fact that the coal industry is driving out other industries in the region, according to the Hunter Community Environment Centre.

The Hunter Valley Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Aushorse Ltd have now called for a moratorium on new coal mines in the Hunter, and for plans to double Newcastle coal exports to be scrapped. They have also called on the NSW Government to commission a study into the cumulative impacts of the Hunter Valley coal industry on the “environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the Hunter and other industries”, in a statement released last week.

HCEC spokesperson Paul Winn said: “First it was Hunter Valley vineyards, and now it is Hunter Valley horse breeders who have joined the ranks of residents fed-up with the unstoppable expansion of the coal industry in our region. It is becoming clear that the NSW Government's unflinching support for coal industry expansion is isolating it from every other sector of the region's community.”

“The statements by the thoroughbred breeders association reveal the lie in the Government and coal lobby's claim that our region's employment and economy are dependent on an ever-expanding export coal industry. On the contrary, the unstoppable growth of coal is squeezing out other, more sustainable industries in our region, and locking us deeper in the coal economy.”

“The Hunter is at a crossroads. We can either continue down the coal path, locking ourselves into an unsustainable industry to the exclusion of all others, and condemning the world to climate chaos, or we can put a ban on new coal infrastructure in our region and start making plans for a sustainable future. An increasing number of voices in the Hunter are calling on leaders to take the alternative road, and help forge a new beginning for our region.”