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The NSW Government has ignored a clear warning from its own independent climate adviser: that expanding coal mining breaks the state’s climate laws, and our kids will pay for it.
From Parents for Climate, NSW Government and Net Zero Commission
The NSW Government has accepted four of the five findings made by the Net Zero Commission first spotlight report, released last December. However, the Minns Labor Government refused to accept that continued coal mine extensions and expansions were not consistent with the emissions reduction targets in NSW’s own Climate Change Act or the Paris Agreement.
According to Parents for Climate, the Government’s response to the first spotlight report “simply restates existing policy”.
Parents for Climate, representing thousands of NSW families, said the response was a test of whether the Minns Government plans ahead for NSW kids the way parents do every day and that the Government failed it.
Commenting on the government’s response, Nic Seton, CEO of Parents for Climate, said “Every coal ship that leaves Newcastle sends something back to NSW families: rising pollution, more bushfire risk, more floods, more heatwave days off school.
“NSW residents are already $20,000 a year worse off because of climate change, paying for it at the checkout, on insurance premiums and at the doctor,” Seton said.
“Foreign-owned coal companies are pocketing the profits, Glencore and Yancoal stand to make over $6 billion from the Hunter Valley Operations expansion alone.
“Meanwhile parents pay the price in rising insurance and food bills, our kids inherit the debt, and the companies increase their profit.”
The Government’s response points to $2.7 billion in coal royalties. Climate change is projected to cost the NSW economy nearly twenty times that with estimates at $51.4 billion every year by 2050. Plus the average worker losing $3,500 in income annually for the next 50 years.
“No parent would keep betting the family’s future on something they know is ending.
“That’s exactly what approving more coal is doing to NSW communities.
“The Net Zero Commission has given the NSW Government its homework: stop approving coal extensions and expansions.
“If Premier Minns is serious about protecting our kids from climate disasters, the first test is simple, reject the Hunter Valley Operations expansion, the biggest coal project ever proposed in NSW.
“Our kids needed a plan today. They got a press release.
“The Government admits coal demand is collapsing, but its plan is to wait for the market to decide.
“That’s not a plan, it’s how companies cut and run while communities are left behind. Extending existing coal mines locks in decades of emissions that children alive right now will pay for in heatwaves, floods and disasters,” Mr Seton said.
Parents for Climate is calling on the NSW Government to:
- Put a firm legal limit on coal pollution, with real targets, not vague promises: Set a binding emissions budget and hard reduction targets for the coal sector in the 2026 Net Zero Plan, including a specific fossil methane reduction target. Without them, NSW has little hope of meeting its legislated targets.
- Reject the Hunter Valley Operations along with the Maules Creek and Moolarben expansionsand end approvals of coal extensions and expansions for export.
- Guarantee at least $150 million per year for the Future Jobs and Investment Fund to retrain coal workers and back new industries in their towns so coal communities get a real plan, not an empty promise.
“Coal workers and their communities deserve better than a government that keeps them guessing. Planning ahead isn’t radical, it’s what every parent does. We’re asking the Government to parent like we do: look at what’s coming, be honest about it, and build a future our kids can inherit with pride,” Mr Seton said.
Official response
The NSW Government, in its official response to the commissions key findings, maintains that continued extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis under strict environmental controls:
- Emissions reporting: the government agreed that on-site abatement is essential and mandated that coal mine licensees emitting over 25,000 tonnes of CO₂-e must report their emissions and prepare Climate Change Management Action Plans (CCMAP) starting March 31, 2027.
- Planning considerations: the government accepted the need for planning authorities to meaningfully consider greenhouse gas emissions in development applications.
However, it rejected the Commission’s recommendation to cease coal expansions.
The government explicitly rejected the Commission’s finding that ongoing coal mine extensions were incompatible with NSW’s climate targets and the Paris Agreement.
As outlined in the NSW Coal Industry 2026–50 strategy, the government stated it will continue to support extensions to existing coal operations, although new “greenfield” thermal coal mines will not be considered.
This government stance was announced just as the Independent Planning Commission began reviewing the massive Hunter Valley Operations continuation project. Most climate advocacy groups, along with Parents for Climate, have widely criticised the government response for ignoring the Commission’s advice to better protect communities from climate harm.
