BHP BILLITON has forfeited its leases to mine under the future Dharawal National Park site — and it won’t cost us a cent.
Premier Barry O’Farrell announced on Sunday that a compromise had been reached: the mining company would be allowed to mine under two parts of the current conservation area near Campbelltown if they gave up the rest of it for free.
The government now expects the national park near Wedderburn to be established in the next few months.
It will encompass 98.7per cent of the current Dharawal State Conservation Area.
The two excluded areas will be included in the park when BHP is finished with them.
Wollondilly MP Jai Rowell said he looked forward to taking his family to the park for many years to come.
‘‘This is just a win for the local environment and I’m very, very excited to get on with it,’’ Mr Rowell said.
‘‘The two small areas excluded are essential for BHP’s operations.
‘‘They’re right on the edge where they’re mining and are not the most environmentally significant areas.’’
The weekend’s mining compromise puts no depth restriction on the area’s protection, which rules out future coal seam gas drilling.
On Monday, State Parliament passed Cr Rowell’s motion that it acknowledge the importance of the creation of the local park.
Mr Rowell said: ‘‘For more than 20 years the Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser has fought for the establishment of Dharawal National Park in partnership with the Macarthur branch of the National Parks Association and other environmental campaigners’’.
Premier Barry O’Farrell also noted the long campaign and in Parliament described the Advertiser his ‘‘usual bedside reading matter’’.
Labor duty MP for Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly Walt Secord said Mr O’Farrell had made a rushed announcement after pressure from the opposition.
‘‘The O’Farrell government only acted after I raised the matter in State Parliament on Friday urging them to honour their promise,’’ Mr Secord said. ‘‘We now hear that they are going to allow mining to occur and then, after the mining finishes, convert that mined part into a national park. What will a park which has been mined look like?’’
Labor promised to create the national park in 1993 but soon after broke its promise.
John Brannon, head of external affairs for Illawarra Coal, part of BHP Billiton, said the company was happy with the outcome and would continue to push for the ongoing operation of their Appin and West Cliff mines for the next 30 years.
‘‘Finalisation of these discussions provides greater certainty for our business and will enable our Bulli Seam Operations Project to progress through the assessment process,’’ he said.
Julie Sheppard from the National Parks Association said she wanted to see more details of the areas left to Illawarra Coal and more details on how they would be protected from surface damage.
‘‘I don’t want to damn the whole thing — we’re over the moon that the national park’s going to happen — but we don’t want it to be a second-rate national park that’s been trashed,’’ she said
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