Newy 87.8 FM – Hunter Valley Operations has urged the NSW Independent Planning Commission not to give significant weight to the Future Jobs and Investment Bill when deciding its mine continuation applications, saying there is no certainty the bill will ever pass Parliament.
In a letter dated 1 September 2026, signed by HV Operations Pty Ltd Approvals Manager Jason Martin, the company told the Commission: "There is no certainty that the bill will ever be passed by Parliament and become law. It would therefore be premature for the Commission to give the bill significant weight."
The letter said if the bill passed after any approval, "HVO will comply with the legislation on its terms." It also warned that "restricting operations to a materially shorter timeframe would significantly undermine project viability and risk premature asset retirement", adding a short-term approval would be "economically equivalent to a rejection".
HVO, near Lemington between Singleton and Muswellbrook, is seeking to continue HVO North to the end of 2045 and HVO South at Warkworth to the end of 2042, covering roughly 430 million tonnes of ROM coal. The mine is jointly owned by Yancoal (51%) and Glencore (49%).
The bill passed the Legislative Assembly on 18 March 2026 and has been in the Legislative Council since 19 March. Parliament next sits on 15 September.
Submissions on the additional material close at 11:59pm on 9 September 2026, with the Commission's decision deadline extended to 30 September. Join the discussion on Facebook.
