The Baird government will make it harder for major NSW mining projects to gain planning approval in a move welcomed by activists and condemned by industry.
The government plans to remove a clause in planning policy that makes the significance of a resource the principal consideration in deciding whether to give a project the green light.
A draft amendment released on Tuesday instead gives greater weight to the environmental and social impacts of a mining development.
The move backtracks on a change made under previous Liberal premier Barry O'Farrell, which tilted the balance in favour of miners and smoothed the path for big mining projects.
"This proposed amendment reflects the importance of balance in assessing the likely impacts of mining developments," NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes said.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has welcomed the decision, but says it merely restores the balance that existed before the O'Farrell government's amendments.
"Today's announcement opens the way for the government to right past wrongs," said the council's chief, Kate Smolski.
But miners says it's a political move that will cause uncertainty, cost jobs, and further harm struggling regional mining communities.
"Getting the balance right is important, but you can't have viable communities and a clean environment without a strong economy," said NSW Minerals Council chief Stephen Galilee.
He called on the government to ensure the changes to the State Environmental Planning Policy are not retrospective.
The decision could affect the future of several projects currently under review, including the expansion of a controversial Rio Tinto open-cut coalmine near the Hunter Valley village of Bulga.
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