Oral Submission to the IPC

On Friday the 13th of November 2020, I addressed the Independent Planning Commission at a public hearing over a proposed underground coal mine in the Hunter Valley Region in northern New South Wales. I had previously objected to the proposal earlier in the year, as I strongly believe that the provision of new coal mines in Australia is reckless and will only exacerbate the climate crisis.

I was quite disheartened that the application had received more submissions of support than of objection. Of the many submissions received for the application, very few were from young people such as myself. It would seem that young people prefer to forgo their democratic rights to object to such proposals in favour of physical demonstrations and strikes such as those organised by extinction rebellion. Whilst I do believe in the power of physical demonstrations, it seems to be rather counter-intuitive to solely rely on such methods rather than engaging in the existing processes and institutions available to all constituents of New South Wales.

I hope to see more young people engaged in the planning process in the near future. It is easier to argue that a proposal is against the public interest if the majority of submissions are of objection rather than support. With the large number of young people engaged in such movements as extinction rebellion, this could be achieved relatively easily. The more submissions of objection received for applications such as this, the harder it is for consent authorities such as the Independent Planning Commission to approve them.

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