Independent NSW MLC and South Coast resident Justin Field will today call on the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) to reject Boral’s Dunmore sand mine expansion proposal in a presentation to a public meeting considering the project today. A transcript of the presentation is included below.
The NSW Planning Department recommended that the Dunmore sand mine expansion “is in the public interest and is approvable, subject to the recommended conditions” in an assessment report provided to the IPC on 22 September.
The Planning Department’s Assessment Report notes that the project would clear “up to 7.5 hectares (ha) of native vegetation…. including 4.5 ha of Bangalay Sand Forest (BSF), which is a listed endangered ecological community (EEC) under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016” (p.x) and provides enough sand for just 3-4 years of extraction.
Mr Field will say to the IPC, “a year ago 1000 people came together to form a human sign on the headland at the mouth of the Minnamurra River that read - No Boral Sand Mine”
“That’s an extraordinary response from a relatively small community... I think it is important to recognise that the voices of opposition you have heard today are backed by a weight of public concern about this project.
Mr Field will cite the impact on the endangered Bangalay Sand Forest that would be cleared for the project and the difficulty in offsetting the loss of these forests given the impacts of last season’s fires.
“Commissioners, we are facing an extinction crisis in NSW and last season’s bushfires have exacerbated that crisis. This project will destroy 4.5 hectares of remnant Bangalay Sand Forest, an endangered ecological community, and a critical habitat for vulnerable and threatened species. Offsets cannot be used to mitigate the risks to species and habitats under these conditions.”
Mr Field will also call out a failure of planning by Boral and the NSW Government to identify alternative future construction resources or alternatives.
“Boral has known for a long time that the Dunmore resource has been coming to an end. It is clear they are trying to maximise the value of their plant and equipment by expanding their operations to the east of the highway.
“But I think the failure of Boral and the Government to look for more suitable alternatives is no reason to approve this expansion.
“Boral’s Dunmore operations have been supported by the community historically. But this expansion is a step too far. It is not a matter of not in my back yard, no one is calling for Boral to pull up stumps immediately and move on. It is a question of what the nature of this community is going to be in the long-term and does the community want to see an industrial expansion east of the highway and closer to their much loved river.”
Presentation to the Independent Planning Commission
Justin Field MLC, 28 October 2020
I ask the commissioners to reject Boral’s Dunmore sand mine expansion
Thank you Commissioners for the opportunity to present to you today.
I am an Independent Member of the NSW Upper House. I am based in the Shoalhaven and have worked with the community of Minnamurra over the last year in opposing this expansion.
Commissioners, about a year ago 1000 people came together to form a human sign on the headland at the mouth of the Minnamurra River that read - ‘No Boral Sand Mine’
That’s an extraordinary response from a relatively small community. People from all age groups, across the political spectrum, came together to take that symbolic action. Many people are not in a personal position to engage in the formal processes of the NSW planning system, including this event today, but I think it is important to recognise that the voices of opposition you have heard here are backed by a weight of public concern about this project.
Commissioners - I ask that you reject this expansion proposal by Boral.
I do not think that this project addresses the objectives of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, and in particular it fails to protect the environment, including the conservation of threatened and other species of native animals and plants, ecological communities and their habitats, and it fails to promote the social and economic welfare of the community and a better environment by the proper management, development and conservation of the State’s natural and other resources.
For the sake of just 3-4 more years of sand extraction, and that is all Boral are suggesting these new pits will provide, the community are being asked to wear significant impacts to local amenity, the loss of critically endangered habitat, the loss of local agricultural land and potential contamination of the Minnamurra River.
This proposal represents a significant change to Boral’s current Dunmore operations by moving active pits significantly closer to the Minnamurra River and the local community. These new operations will be seen and heard by residential communities who have reasonably assumed this expansion would not have been pursued by Boral given how it’s current operations are constrained to the western side of the Princes Highway.
Commissioners, we are facing an extinction crisis in NSW and last season’s bushfires have exacerbated that crisis. This project will destroy 4.5 hectares of remnant Bangalay Sand Forest, an endangered ecological community, and a critical habitat for vulnerable and threatened species. While Boral would be required under the proposed conditions to offset these impacts, as the commissioners know, this will still mean a net loss of this habitat type and it is happening in an environment where the full impact of last seasons fires on endangered ecological communities are not fully quantified. Offsets cannot be used to mitigate the risks to species and habitats under these conditions.
Commissioners, there is a need for the NSW State Government to develop a long-term strategy for the supply of construction materials, including sand, across our region. In my conversations with Boral, it seems that there is no other resource in the Illawarra / Shoalhaven that has been identified outside of Dunmore and the other active sand mining operations at Gerroa.
Boral has known for a long time that the Dunmore resource has been coming to an end. It is clear they are trying to maximise the value of their plant and equipment by expanding their operations to the east of the highway.
But I think the failure of Boral and the Government to look for more suitable alternatives is no reason to approve this expansion.
The arguments made by the Department in their Assessment Report that the project would support the ongoing employment of the existing workforce is not an argument that promotes the social and economic welfare of the community and a better environment by the proper management, as required by the Act. It is an argument to kick the can down the road a few years because the state and the industry haven't come up with an alternative plan for resource supply or new building strategies.
So what happens in 3-4 years more time? We can’t, bit by bit, keep chopping away from the environment and local amenity because it’s easier to do what we've been doing rather than to look for alternatives.
Commissioners, Boral’s Dunmore operations have been supported by the community historically. But this expansion is a step too far. It is not a matter of not in my back yard, no one is calling for Boral to pull up stumps immediately and move on. It is a question of what the nature of this community is going to be in the long-term and does the community want to see an industrial expansion east of the highway and closer to a much loved river.
If you do not feel your remit allows you to reject this proposal on such grounds - I ask you to reflect that as a concern in your statement of reasons. If an Independent Planning Commission can’t take into account the need for future resource planning and alternatives, then how can your decisions deliver against the objectives of the Act in a long-term way?
Thank you for your time and consideration Commissioners. I urge you to draw a line in the sand here and reject this proposal.
