Whitehaven Coal Company is kinda like a zombie extra from Dawn of the Dead. Every time we think it’s finally gone, it staggers to its feet – minus an arm – and comes lurching back into frame.
On the 12th of June, when the Land & Environment Court was just about to hand down its decision on whether the company had to end its winter clearing – Whitehaven gave the Court an undertaking to stop the bulldozers until a full hearing of the court case in September. Good news right? Well, it was good news for the animals still hibernating in this beautiful woodland – animals that will now get to wake up in spring.
Just two weeks later, Whitehaven has come staggering back onto the scene – now turning its attention to blowing up hills within the Leard State Forest. Currently on the verge of moving critical pieces of infrastructure into the forest, the mining company will then begin to tear into the ground and dig a massive new open-cut coal mine.
Luckily, building huge open-cut coal mines does not come cheap. Whitehaven Coal’s investors must be asking themselves if it is time to head for the exits as this dud investment suffers another critical blow.
We think this latest delay in construction is yet another warning to investors. Whitehaven Coal has consistently failed to meet its own construction schedule at their Maules Creek mine, which is why they found themselves in the Land and Environment Court.
Meanwhile, we will continue to support the local community around this proposed mine. We will continue to tell the story of this forest, the animals that depend on it and the communities that care for it and are cared for by it.
Protection of the places we love, the communities that depend on them and the future of a stable climate for our kids is all our responsibility.
Stand up for the Leard State Forest and take action here.
