Concern about a proposed coal mine on the New South Wales Central Coast is shaping up as a key election issue in the marginal seat of Dobell.
Former Labor turned Independent Craig Thomson holds Dobell and has decided to preference his rival independent candidates ahead of his former party.
Mr Thomson is confident of retaining the seat and says people living in Dobell are far more concerned by his performance as an MP than the allegations he misused union funds.
Greg Dyett reports.
When it comes to casting their vote on election day, Craig Thomson says voters are unlikely to base their decision over what they think about the 173 charges he's facing for the alleged misuse of union funds.
"Most people up here in the electorate, I would love them to believe my side of things but essentially they don't actually care either way, whether they're supporting me either way." (Reporter) "So they're not raising that issue when they see you in pubs or in the street?" (Thomson) "Not at all."
In an interview with the ABC, Mr Thomson invited the voters in Dobell to judge him on his record.
The President of the Wyong Shire Ratepayers and Residents Association, Kevin Armstrong says Craig Thomson has been good at getting federal government money for the electorate.
"Craig was a major contributor to funding of the pipeline which underpins the Central Coast water supply. Craig was also prominent in seeking funding for a lakes restoration project. Just in those two projects alone there's a hundred million dollars so that's a fair sort of contribution from a local member, two projects within his own electorate."
Safeguarding the Central Coast water supply is a major issue in Dobell because a South Korean company wants to build a coal mine in the Wyong River catchment area.
Craig Thomson told the ABC the whole community is against the Wallarah 2 Coal Mine and he says his former party and the Liberals are not responding to the community concern.
"Both big parties are running away with it. My friend and colleague Sue Wynn from the Greens is the only one who's supporting me stopping this this coal mine, the whole community is against it, so that's a big issue."
Craig Thomson has decided to preference a party campaigning for high speed rail- the Bullet Train for Australia party, the Greens candidate Sue Wynn, Independent Nathan Bracken and the Palmer United Party's Kate McGill.
They're ahead of the ALP's Emma McBride and the Liberal Party's Karen McNamara with the Citizens Electoral Council candidate, Greg Owen, getting his last preference.
The Australian Coal Alliance is a Central Coast based pressure group that's campaigning against the mine.
Its campaign director Alan Hayes says taking coal from underneath the water catchment valleys will cause subsidence which will impact on the water supply and the habitat of some endangered fauna, and lead to airborne coal dust pollution.
He says only Craig Thomson, the Greens and the Labor candidate are campaigning to try to stop it.
"Craig Thomson since he was elected in 2007 has stood side by side with the community and done everything he can to help stop this mine. He currently has a bill before the parliament to ban the export of the coal because the coal is purely for export to go to South Korea for six per cent of their energy needs. The Greens candidate Sue Wynn has also fought for the community and as a councillor on Wyong Council she was always there with the community fighting, Emma McBride, the Labor candidate being a health professional is concerned about the health impacts that the mine would have. As far as the other candidates are concerned, well, they have done nothing."
Alan Hayes says there was a time when the Liberals were stongly opposed to the mine.
"The community have been fighting this for many, many years, it was previously rejected by the Keneally government. In the lead up to the 2011 state elections, the Liberals for five years stood cheek and jowl (side by side, close together) with the community and opposed this mine and in fact committed themselves in writing on three occasions they would ban coal mining in the water catchment valleys, they also committed themselves in writing that they would introduce legislation to protect the water catchment district which they have not yet done, subsequently it's allowed the mining company to submit a new application to mine."
Alan Hayes is clear about where his allegiances lie saying until recently he'd always voted Liberal but decided to endorse Craig Thomson.
"I've never endorsed a candidate before but the reason why I did that was because he's the only person that I've seen in Dobell that has effectively bought a lot of cash into the electorate and he's the only person who's actually achieve anything for Dobell, that's what people look at. I mean it's got nothing to do with all the baggage and other things that might be going on in the background it's how effective the member is in the local area and I mean he's been very effective. I'm not singing his praises for any other reason than I judge the man on his performance."
Liberal candidate Karen McNamara declined to be interviewed by SBS, instead offering a one paragraph statement sent by email.
The statement appears to leave the way open for her to support the mine:
``As I have said before, I will not support a project that is scientifically proven to be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of Dobell residents and the region's water supply.''
And the South Korean company wanting to build the mine says that that proof doesn't exist.
The company points to what it says are independent studies that have found the water supply on the Central Coast will be protected by one of the deepest mines ever built in New South Wales.
