New Acland Coal has finally received certainty to continue mining after years of legal action. The Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) filed a notice of withdrawal of their legal action against the mine and owner New Hope.
The Land Court of Queensland has formally confirmed the appeal from the OCAA against the Queensland Government’s decision to grant an Associated Water Licence to New Acland Mine Stage 3 has been closed.
The withdrawal means New Acland can fast-track its operational ramp up plan without the threat of ongoing legal action.
Hundreds of secure, well-paid jobs were at risk, so the news came as a huge relief to New Acland Coal General Manager Dave O’Dwyer.
New Acland doesn’t have a fly-in, fly-out workforce, more than 90 per cent of the current workforce lives within 50-kilometres of site.
“It is a moment of celebration for our workforce, their families and our supporters, including local farmers, landholders, business leaders and the local community,” said Dave.
“We’ve had this uncertainty hanging over us for well over a decade so it’s good to finally have the clarity that we’re in the clear and we can continue mining.
“The full-time-permanent workforce on site has more than doubled over the past 18 months, with more than 250 workers currently on site.
“We’re aiming to have between 350 and 400 people on site. We’re really looking forward to bringing more people on, we’ve had a great response from people in the area looking for work and a number of people from central Queensland wanting to move here so it’s all good news.”
New Acland Coal CHPP and Maintenance Manager Andy Scouller has been working at the mine for over 20 years.
He said the news is a massive relief.
“This saga seems to have been going on for most of my career. We’re pretty stubborn, we fight for what’s right and I think we’ve been vindicated here, and people see this outcome is a good thing.
“There was obviously a keen interest from the team on site in the legal proceedings because many had moved here and just wanted to get on with their job, but there was always this uncertainty.
“Also, with a lot of contracting companies, we deal with a lot of local businesses who are keen to support us and had been ramping up their employees and equipment so they could work for us but in the back of their minds they didn’t want to expand too far in case it was all over in 12 months.
“I think the workforce, community and the wider business community are very happy with this result because it gives them ongoing certainty,” said Andy.
Dave said they can’t thank the community enough for having their back.
“We want to thank the wider community around Oaky and Dolby and Toowoomba here. We’ve just seen massive amounts of support throughout this whole ordeal.
“The community was and is behind us and will continue to be. They see the benefits of the operation to the area, and they’ve pushed hard to help us get up.”
