Windsor considers political come-back after giant coal mine approved

Retired independent politician Tony Windsor is considering a political comeback – with the potential of unseating sitting Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce – following Coalition approval for a giant coal mine in his former electorate.

liverpool plains mapEnvironment Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday gave approval to the $1.2 billion Shenhua Watermark mine, a massive project by a Chinese government-owned company in the heart of the rich Liverpool Plains farming region in northern NSW.

Windsor, who stepped down due to ill-health before the last election, described the decision to mine in what he described as the world’s second richest agricultural region as “atrocious”.

He said the mine, which would dig up 200 million tonnes of coal over 35 years, would have severe impacts on the water table and the Darling River Basin.

Windsor’s retirement paved the way for Joyce to move from the Senate to the lower house in the seat of New England. But it is thought that Windsor has such large support in the region that he would unseat Joyce in a direct contest.

“I am considering it …. I haven’t made a firm decision one way or the other, but I’ve found that since I left politics that I’m still very interested in it,” Windsor told ABC radio on Thursday.

Windsor, of course, played a prominent role in the last parliament, when he and fellow independent Rob Oakeshott, held the balance of power, and helped usher in the Labor government’s clean energy future package, which included the carbon price and institutions such as the Climate Change Authority, Clean Energy Finance Corp, and the Climate Change Commissions, which has now been slowly dismantled by the Abbott government.

Windsor was one of the eloquent and most powerful speakers on the issue of climate change and the environment, a quality that appears almost absent in the current parliament, apart from the Greens.

Windsor said the approval of the Shenhua mine yesterday was another reason to consider re-entering politics.

Windsor was damming of the efforts of Joyce, who despite being agriculture minister has said he was powerless to act, and had described the approval as an “absurdity”.

liverpool plains“That’s a nonsense that he has done everything he could,” Windsor said, adding that Joyce had not pushed for a bioregional assessment process for the whole valley. “He stood by and let that pass.”

The Watermark mine promises to be another major flash point between the coal industry, which has the unwavering support of the Abbott government, and the farming community.

Tim Duddy, whose family has farmed the region for nearly 200 years, flagged a possible legal challenge and blockades to the prevent the mine going ahead.

“Farming is dead today in the Liverpool Plains,” he told The Guardian newspaper. “I really hope Greg Hunt realises he has signed its death warrant.”

Duddy later told the ABC: “When mining does start here, there will be no stopping it. Once that occurs, there will be nothing left here.” He said Hunt “did not have a clue” about the potential impacts of the mine.

The issue surrounding coal mining and coal seam gas threatens the National Party in regional areas.

Windsor says the approval for Shenhua Watermark was the result of “shonky” deals among both Labor and Coalition state governments in NSW. And now that the Coalition had signed a free trade agreement with China, Abbott, Hunt and Joyce had felt “beholden” to the Chinese.

Joyce last weekend launched the Coalition’s agriculture white paper with Abbott. The document made scant reference to climate change, although Abbott said agriculture was important because “One day the coal will have been dug up, the gas will have been extracted, but we will always need food and our land forever.”

Duddy and Windsor, however, point out that if the coal is to be dug up, then it will destroy the farming land forever.

(via @Rottoturbine)
For perspective, this is the size of Adani’s Carmichael mine in comparison with Sydney (via @Rottoturbine)

Comments

16 responses to “Windsor considers political come-back after giant coal mine approved”

  1. Gordon Avatar

    Please come back Tony, New England needs you! Barnaby, Tony and the rest of the COALition are a disaster!

  2. Chris Fraser Avatar
    Chris Fraser

    The Minister probably said to Barnaby “You’re one of us, Barnaby, you could never seriously vote against it … we know as an agrarian socialist you wouldn’t mind a 35 km square black hole instead of prime farming land … just lay back and take it easy.”

    1. Chris Fraser Avatar
      Chris Fraser

      I rather like the title of Senator Tony Windsor. That way the whole of NSW gets a chance to vote for him !

    2. Concerned Avatar
      Concerned

      Not on arable land.Why the dishonesty?

      1. Chris Fraser Avatar
        Chris Fraser

        It looked arable according to Google Earth … but anyway thanks for your views.

          1. Chris Fraser Avatar
            Chris Fraser

            There’s not a lot of information in Concerned’s links to let me ascertain whether it is ‘not arable’ or ‘not prime’, or whatever readers may think the land is. However the Merit Review did provide for the top 50cm to be stripped off and used again. This also ties into the Google Earth photo showing broad acre harvesting in action, so the land appeared to be of value to somebody.

          2. Concerned Avatar
            Concerned

            Ah,you cannot read?
            All the maps,boundaries are shown,all the specific conditions noted.
            Both are official NSW and Federal government reports.
            NO arable land will be affected.
            The mine is on Cat 3 land,ie grazing.
            As ,I said the intellectual dishonesty ,and the total ignoring of facts amuses me in the extreme.

  3. David Martin Avatar
    David Martin

    Abbott’s government, especially as viewed from abroad, seems to define the term “flaming drongo”. Here is yet another example of bending to the will of big coal just as they have previously, as well as to big utilities, benefiting them at major cost to agriculture, consumers and renewable energy. When will those same injured people clean house by using their votes? And how much long term damage will have been done by then?

  4. Pied Avatar
    Pied

    What a bloody hypocrite, Tony Windsor sold his farm two years ago to a coal company to mine it and is now a millionaire. He’s doing this cos he wants another career in politics, typical bullshit artist

    1. david H Avatar

      Well said. He obviously has all the qualities of a good politician!

    2. Vic Avatar
      Vic

      He might have sold his farm but he clearly hasn’t sold his soul.
      Unlike some who would stand in his way.

  5. mick Avatar
    mick

    apart from hunt waking up and thinking whats the worst thing I can do to agriculture today? oh I know.this wont be like a stalled galilee basin effort because its probably owned by the prc central committee mmm bit like cubbie station which im told grows cotton year round watered by murray/darling system

  6. onesecond Avatar
    onesecond

    Once all the farmland is destroyed, you will discover that you can’t eat coal.

    1. Concerned Avatar
      Concerned

      The mine is not on arable land.

  7. Peggy Fisher Avatar
    Peggy Fisher

    Yes come back Tony, the whole of Australia needs you.

Get up to 3 quotes from pre-vetted solar (and battery) installers.