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Campaigns by Me
Campaigns by Me

No new coal in the Rylstone Region: Email our politicians now!

Right now, the NSW Government is considering opening up our home, the Rylstone region, to new coal mines. Our beautiful area relies on our booming tourist economy and productive agricultural lands. Introducing coal mining would destroy the very resources that will sustain the Rylstone Region into the future and release vast amounts of carbon when we need to move away from fossil fuels.

Currently many of the Government ministers who'll make this decision are unaware of this proposal. If we make enough noise, they'll see they can't release these areas for coal exploration quietly. We can show them the extent of public opposition - and the threat to their re-election.

Can you stand with us and protect our area by calling on key NSW Cabinet ministers to say no to new coal in the Rylstone Region?

A sign reads "No new coal mine here", hung up on a barbed wire fence in front of a field of yellow grass, with green and blue hills silhouetted in the background.

Thank you,

Rylstone Region Coal Free Communities
References:
Preliminary Regional Issues Assessment Hawkins Rumker, Planning Portal, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/hawkins-rumker

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The people in the region have built long-term sustainable economic stability for this region. This revenue stays in the pockets of our local businesses. Businesses that have helped build the tourism industry in the region include vineyards, olive groves, horse studs, beef and sheep farms, eco-tourism, short stay accommodation, restaurants, cafes, antique shops, soft furnishings and knick-knacks for example. These businesses are incompatible with mining: tourists do not come to see coal mines. Large areas would be affected coal mines. The proposed Hawkins Rumker coal release areas cover approximately 32,700 ha of land and would directly affect 180 landholders. There would be a loss of agricultural lands, farms would disappear or lose their water, and productive agricultural lands would be dug up or left fallow.
Air, water, soil and noise pollution, do not stay within the boundaries of the coal mining sites. Coal is likely to be transported on uncovered trains, trucks or overhead conveyors running through our towns, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Hunter Valley is now considered a pollution ‘hotspot’. It has some of the highest rates for respiratory and cardiac conditions in NSW. We want to protect our children from the health impacts of coal.
One of the greatest threats is to our region’s precious water supplies. The proposed release areas threaten the water supply for the towns of Rylstone, Kandos, Charbon and Clandulla; water flow to Mudgee may also be negatively impacted. The Rylstone Dam catchment is in the proposed exploration areas. The upper catchment of the Cudgegong River feeds into the water supplies of Rylstone Dam and Windamere Dam. This region recently came out of a long drought. What will happen in our next drought if there is a coal mine using so much of our water? Once the water is gone, it is lost forever. New coal mines will threaten our region's precious water supplies. Even exploratory drilling can crack and drain underground aquifers. The supply of water in creeks and rivers decreases. Open cut and underground coal mines have caused water contamination and have destroyed biodiversity in waterways.
The NSW government has a net-zero goal by 2050, and a 50% reduction by 2030. To meet our commitments to a safe climate, we cannot build any more new coal mines - so opening up the Hawkins Rumker area for exploration can't proceed.
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