Protesters fight 'invisible displacement' by mine
- Written by Amy Maguire, Senior Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights, University of Newcastle
“I’m no criminal. I had no choice,” Bruce said. “I felt the only way I could get the government to see the injustice that is taking place was by taking action. All I wanted was to protect my home.”
Bruce is one of three protesters brought before a Mudgee court on May 17 for a preliminary hearing. On April 12, he was arrested after peacefully objecting the proposed expansion of the Wilpinjong mine by blocking the entry to the mine and stopping shift workers from entering and leaving the area.
The Wollar Three, as they have become known, are the first to be charged under New South Wales’ anti-protest laws, which were introduced in March 2016. They pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, the Wollar Three face significant penalties including heavy fines and up to seven years’ imprisonment. The laws they were charged under have been described as draconian and an attack on democracy and civil society.
An existential threat to a community
Bruce is one of the very few remaining residents of Wollar, a small rural community in the Mid Western Region, NSW. Wollar is located in the western coal fields and surrounded by three multinational open-cut coal mines - Peabody’s Wilpinjong Mine, Yancoal’s Moolarben and Glencore’s Ulan Coal Mines.
While coal extraction has a long history in the region, the recent intensification of mining has challenged the previous co-existence of mining and local communities in the region. Wollar is the latest rural village to fall victim to coal mining.
Most central to Wollar’s demise is Peabody’s Wilpinjong mine, which is the mine closest to the village. Peabody today owns the vast majority of land in and around Wollar, and more than 90% of the pre-Wilpinjong population has been resettled.
Last month, the Planning Assessment Commission approved a further expansion of the mine. This will bring the boundary of the mine to within 1.5 kilometres of the village.
As the mine has encroached on Wollar, the community has dispersed – and fewer than 30 residents today remain in the area. This forced migration has been accompanied by the withdrawal of services and social support that had made village life viable. Remaining Wollar residents are increasingly vulnerable and unable to sell their properties for a fair price on the open market.
During the recent commission hearing, the remaining residents requested that all the properties within the area be afforded acquisition rights. Such rights would have provided the opportunity to negotiate with the proponent, with a view to selling their properties to the mine and gaining autonomy over their future.
The commission’s determination report found the expansion:
… has the potential to further exacerbate the existing decline of Wollar.
However, the commission concluded that no other properties but those within the zone of affliction, limited to the village, are exposed to impacts that would justify granting acquisition rights.
This assessment is based on a reading of impacts that emphasises spatial proximity and technical measures of environmental (noise and dust) modelling. It fails to acknowledge the role played by the proponent and the government in reducing the wellbeing and livelihood of those left without compensation.
Authors: Amy Maguire, Senior Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights, University of Newcastle
Read more http://theconversation.com/protesters-fight-invisible-displacement-by-mine-77311