The Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders will front a fourth Planning Assessment Commission in search of protection from a proposed coal mining site in the heart of the Thoroughbred capital of Australia, and within a kilometre of both Coolmore Australia and Darley's Woodlands Stud.
“The PAC's decision on this one mine will determine our future. We are not anti-mining, but we cannot stand by and let the NSW Planning process destroy our industry,” said Dr. Cameron Collins, president of the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association. “A mine on the Drayton South site, less than one kilometre from Australia's and the world's market Thoroughbred leaders, should never be allowed.”
The HTB has stated approval of the mine would lead to the loss of at least 640 jobs in the Thoroughbred breeding industry.
“When he visited the studs in April 2015, Premier Baird said that 'mining cannot go everywhere,' and 'co-existence is not co-existence without boundaries,'” Collins noted. “This process has dragged on for nearly six years now. Many promises for protection have been made but none have been delivered. The time has come for the Government to show some leadership. If this fourth PAC rejects the Drayton South mine proposal, the Government needs to act swiftly to prohibit mining on this site, protect the Hunter's Equine Critical Industry Cluster and end uncertainty and land use conflict in the Hunter.”
Four previous PACs have concluded that international scale Thoroughbred breeding and mining are incompatible land uses in close proximity. Three previous Drayton South PAC's have recommended the highest protection be afforded to Thoroughbred farms. The most recent Review PAC recommended the NSW Government develop and enforce appropriate buffers, exclusion zones or preservation measures to protect the Thoroughbred industry.
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