The latest fad in faux community consultation are the so-called "expert panels" convened to investigate controversial developments assessed under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. An expert panel recently held hearings into the Anvil hill open cut proposal, and another two will shortly hold hearings into the proposed third coal loading termnial at Newcastle and the Moolarben coal Project. Once an expert panel has investagated a project, community members no longer have standing to challenge the Minister's approval of that project. Is there a pattern developing here? The panel hearings into the proposed coal loader will begin at 2pm on Tuesday 7th November at Newcastle Town Hall, and the Moolarben panel will commence on the same day. See www.savethedrip.com for further information about Moolarben. The Hunter Community Environment Centre will present to the coal terminal panel at 11am on Wednesday 8th. If these panels and the exhibition periods for these projects really are consultation, we challneg the state government to prove it by knocking back the Anvil Hill coal project -- to which 2,000 people wrote letters of objection, and the coal terminal, to which 700 did. Submissions have closed for the proposed third coal loader for Newcastle harbour and the controversial open cut coal mine proposed for Anvil Hill, near Denman. Visit Rising Tide www.risingtide.org.au You can download the HCEC submission to the Coal loader elsewhere on this site, and its never too late to write a letter to the State and Federal Governments asking them to take responsibility and show some leadsership on climate change by stopping the expansion of the Hunter coal export industry.