In short:
A former Supreme Court judge says the NSW government's decision to draft laws to circumvent a court ruling on the Mount Pleasant coalmine is "reprehensible".
asserted
decision → say → coalmine
Anthony Whealy says there should be an independent review into the decision, while the Greens have accused the government of "state capture".
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Greens → say → capture
The NSW government will introduce laws to underwrite the mine's expanded capacity, as the court process over its planning approval continues.
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process → introduce → approval
A former Supreme Court Judge says a NSW government plan to draft special laws for a Hunter Valley coalmine "obliterates" the legal process and should be independently reviewed.
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plan → say → process
The premier has announced the government will legislate to allow the Mount Pleasant mine to continue operating at expanded production rates, despite a High Court ruling against it this month.
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mine → announce → it
"The idea that a substantial mining venture can approach the government and say look, let's go behind the court processes and sort this out between ourselves is a very dangerous precedent, and that's exactly what appears to have happened here," said Anthony Whealy, who is now on the board of the Centre for Public Integrity.
"
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who → approach → Integrity
They've effectively ignored what I would call respect for the rule of law by overriding it.
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I → ignore → it
The ABC can reveal the Hunter Valley mine is already being investigated over allegations it breached its coal production limits, as it scaled up construction during the court process.
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it → reveal → process
In 2022, the mine was given approval to double its capacity, from 10.5 to 21 million tonnes of coal per year, until 2048.
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mine → give → 2048
But that approval was deemed invalid after a NSW Court of Appeal ruling in July 2025 that planning authorities had failed to consider the effect of overseas or Scope 3 emissions caused by the 406 million additional tonnes of coal exports over the life of the mine.
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authorities → deem → mine
The Court of Appeal ordered a lower court, known as the Land and Environment Court, to revisit the expansion's approval, which was now "invalid", subject to that lower court's review.
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which → order → review
But MACH Energy did not want to wait for a decision from the lower court.
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Energy → want → court
In August 2025, weeks after the ruling, the company started earthworks to pave the way for millions more tonnes of coal to be produced, in what it described in company documents as "the next phase of the Mount Pleasant expansion".
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it → start → expansion
The company lodged a swift appeal with the High Court, and by December 2025 the mine had produced 12.78 million tonnes of coal.
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mine → lodge → coal
Department increases mine output while under investigation
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Department → increase → investigation
The residents' group that had won the NSW Court of Appeal case, known as the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group (DAMSHEG), lodged a complaint with the planning department through its lawyer, Elaine Johnson.
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that → win → lawyer
By her reading, the NSW Court of Appeal decision meant the company should not be furiously expanding while the matter was still before the courts.
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matter → mean → courts
And the mine should instead be required to rely on its first planning approval from 1999, which only allowed 10.5 million tonnes of coal to be extracted.
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tonnes → require → coal
A department spokesman told her that it would "consider" her concerns.
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it → tell → concerns
As the expansion gained pace, Elaine Johnson wrote another letter, and the planning department finally confirmed it was investigating.
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it → gain → letter
"The Department is committed to timely and appropriate compliance action," its letter from August 14, 2026 stated.
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letter → commit → August
"Thank you for your correspondence."
On the same day, the department announced it would "modify" MACH Energy's first planning approval from 1999, which was not being challenged in court, to increase its 10.5 million tonne coal output to 12.5 million tonnes per year.
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which → thank → year
It also extended the mine's life for another six years, so there was no threat of it closing in December, when the existing 1999 permit was due to expire.
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permit → extend → December
The "modification" could be done at the stroke of a pen because it met the "substantially the same development" test, according to a department spokesman.
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it → do → spokesman
High Court loss puts mine on back foot
When the High Court ruled against MACH Energy this month, it threw its expansion plans into disarray.
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it → put → disarray
For months the company had publicly forecast its 2026 production would reach 16.5 million tonnes, a figure it could only justify if its appeal was successful.
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appeal → forecast → figure
That level of production relied on its second planning approval, the one tied to the expansion, being valid.
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level → rely → expansion
But the High Court found planning authorities had failed to do what was required of them in that case, which was to "consider imposing conditions to minimise to the greatest extent practicable all greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 3 emissions".
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which → find → emissions
The approval was invalid, and had to go back to the lower court, which could take months.
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which → have → months
The mine's plan to extract 16.5 million tonnes over 2026 was now in jeopardy, because it was unclear if it was allowed to extract the extra 4 million tonnes.
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it → extract → tonnes
Premier wants to 'sidestep' law to increase output again
Less than a fortnight after the High Court decision, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced new laws would be introduced to allow the mine to extract 16.5 million tonnes per year, the precise amount it had already scaled up to produce.
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it → want → year
In his statement, the premier said the laws would "address the unique legal uncertainty arising from the High Court's judgement", and "protect 400 jobs" while the court process continued.
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process → say → jobs
Retired Supreme Court Judge Anthony Whealy said the move had "obliterated" the legal process and appeared to be a "hollow" claim.
Mr Whealy said there were no clear exceptional circumstances justifying the move, and that there was "no evidence whatsoever to show that 400 jobs are under threat here".
"All this talk about 400 jobs being lost before Christmas is hyperbole, and not at the moment justified by any evidence that the government has produced," he said.
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he → say → that
In parliament yesterday, Upper House Greens MP Cate Faehrmann asked the NSW Resources Minister Courtney Houssos what evidence the government had that 400 jobs were under threat before Christmas, so that "standalone legislation was necessary".
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legislation → ask → Christmas
Ms Houssos told parliament the government had checked employment data records with both the company and the union.
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government → tell → company
She acknowledged the company had scaled up its operation over the past 18 months.
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company → acknowledge → months
"Because they have legal advice that they had approval to operate at the higher rate, and as a result they took on additional workers," Ms Houssos said.
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Houssos → have → workers
"We're not prepared to stand by in circumstances where we could see 400 workers lose their jobs before Christmas only to have the consent validated … in a matter of months."
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consent → prepare → months
Cate Faehrmann accused the government of "state capture".
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Faehrmann → accuse → capture
"State capture is the undue influence of powerful individuals or corporations in shaping the formation of laws, policies, and regulations and institutions to their own advantage at the expense of society."
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capture → shape → society
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
