Cobbora coal mine farce a lesson in bad government – Labor should apologise

MEDIA RELEASE - 20 November 2015

The Greens NSW mining and agriculture spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham said today that the decision to abandon the farcical Cobbora coal mine was good news for the local community and climate, but highlighted just how tragically bad the decision was by the former NSW Labor Government and called on Labor Leader, Luke Foley to apologise for the farce.

“It’s a tragedy that the local community and farmers have been destroyed for a farcical coal mine that has now been canned, and NSW Labor should apologise to both the local community and also the taxpayers of NSW for the hurt and cost,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“The Cobbora coal mine was always a dud, with the NSW Labor Party hoping that a state-run coal mine fuelling privatised generators could bail them out of their political dilemmas on electricity privatisation.

“The farming community has been decimated and agricultural infrastructure destroyed, while taxpayers had to pay $300 million to Origin Energy to renege on the supply contracts tied to this dud mine.

“While it is good that this tragedy is coming to an end, we have other tragedies just beginning, with new coal mines proposed for the fertile Liverpool Plains, the Bylong Valley and the Southern Highlands.

“It’s time the government said, ‘No New Coal Mines’ and implemented a strategy to phase out fossil fuels and build renewable energy.”

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