Farmers from New South Wales’ Bylong Valley have made the five-hour journey to Canberra to lobby the South Korean embassy over a multi-million dollar mining project.
A South Korean power company’s proposal for a coal mine in the region east of Dubbo was rejected by an independent planning panel last month over fears for “environmental, agricultural and heritage” impacts.
Bylong farmers descended on the South Korean embassy on Friday to urge the majority state-owned KEPCO to sell off the land blocked from development.
Farmers and community members set up a pen with sheep and hay outside the embassy bringing attention to their cause by chanting “no coal in Bylong” in Korean.
Farmer Phillip Kennedy was hopeful their message, hand-delivered to a Korean official, would be passed to the ambassador and not fall on deaf ears.
“Thank you for accepting the letter from the farmers of the Bylong Valley,” he told the official.
“We’ve come from five hours to get here … [and] it means a lot to us and means a lot to Australia to keep this beautiful land and water in agriculture."
An independent planning panel made its decision after KEPCO had already invested $700 million in the project, which is said would boost the region's economy by billions.
The planned coal mine was referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission following opposition against its go-ahead within the community.
“The predicted economic benefits would accrue to the present generation but the long-term environmental, heritage and agricultural costs will be borne by the future generations,” the commission found.
Mr Kennedy said the valley was “too precious” to plunder.
“Bylong is a unique little valley it is probably only 30ks long and four or five ks wide – it is beautiful fertile basalt soil,” he said.
“Everybody along there has got access to good stock water … so we’re able to produce fodder, crops for hungry livestock when the majority of NSW is in the grip of severe drought.”
KEPCO, which said the project would have created 650 jobs during construction and 450 during production, has stood by its proposal despite the commission’s findings.
“KEPCO Bylong Australia is deeply disappointed by the NSW Independent Planning Commission decision regarding the Bylong Coal Project,” the company said in a statement last month.
“KEPCO is currently reviewing … what options are available following the IPC’s decision.”
Its position is backed by lobby group the NSW Minerals Council, which has previously lashed the independent panel’s decision.
“This is an absurd and dangerous economic approach that risks making NSW an international investment laughing stock, losing investment and jobs due to uncertainty on who sets planning policy in NSW,” it said in a statement.
Lock the Gate spokesperson Nick Clyde represents a coalition of local groups against coal mining projects in farming areas.
He supported the independent panel’s assessment backing the need to protect the valley against environmental threats.
“What they’re saying is the land is just too good to plunder – and should be protected from coal mining so they rejected KEPCO’s mine proposal,” he said.
“We are here ... to ask the Korean government ... to just draw a line under it and say enough’s enough.”
