Minns invokes One Nation to back coal jobs over climate targets

Premier Chris Minns has proposed special legislation to protect current production at MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant mine. It would override the immediate effect of the mine’s legal setback and prevent hundreds of workers from losing their jobs while the company seeks a fresh planning outcome. The proposal matters because it would let one mine continue operating despite a court finding that its longer-term approval was invalid.

The arrangement would allow production to stay at current levels. In exchange, MACH Energy must guarantee jobs until 2032. The legislation would also impose additional conditions on who can buy the mine’s coal. The government says this would prevent about 400 workers from being dismissed by the end of the year.

The proposal is due to be introduced during the next sitting fortnight. It is unusual because it would help one company circumvent the planning system after a court loss. The government presents it as a short-term jobs measure while the mine awaits consideration by NSW planning authorities.

Minns warned that the political consequences of leaving coal could be severe if communities believe the transition costs too much. He said voters might respond by electing One Nation, or by supporting One Nation-style policies enacted by another government. The warning frames coal policy as both an environmental issue and a test of economic security.

The Mount Pleasant dispute provides the immediate example. Without the proposed intervention, MACH Energy said it faced sacking 400 workers by the end of the year. Minns argued that governments must manage jobs and investment while progressing toward climate goals, rather than treating either priority as absolute.

The warning also comes before the next NSW state election in March next year. It shows that Labor’s approach is shaped by concerns about workers, regional communities and political backlash. At the same time, the article says NSW is likely to miss its emissions targets by a widening margin, partly because of coal mining.

The High Court ruled that the NSW Independent Planning Commission’s 2022 approval of Mount Pleasant’s expansion and extension to 2048 was invalid. The decision upheld an earlier NSW Court of Appeal ruling from July 2025. As a result, the approval that supported the mine’s longer operating life could not stand.

The expansion was challenged on climate-change grounds. The court decision meant climate impacts were legally relevant to whether the project could be approved. The ruling did not arrive without warning: both MACH Energy and the NSW government had known since the Court of Appeal decision that the approval was in doubt, even though the company appealed.

The decision left MACH Energy facing possible job losses and the need to resubmit its proposal to NSW planning authorities. The government says that process may still lead to approval. Its proposed legislation would preserve current production temporarily, but it would not erase the court’s finding about the longer-term approval.

Since the Minns government took office in March 2023, NSW has approved 14 coal mine expansions or extensions and refused none, according to the tally cited in the article. Another 17 proposals remain in the pipeline. These figures matter because coal mining is identified by the Net Zero Commission and the Environment Protection Authority as a major reason NSW may miss its climate targets.

Those targets require emissions cuts of 50 per cent by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2035. The government has legislated them. Electricity is shifting, with renewables supplying more than one-third of NSW generation and coal’s share falling from more than 90 per cent to 54 per cent.

Even so, the state is likely to miss its targets by a wide and widening margin. Continued mine expansions and extensions make the gap harder to close. The figures show the tension between the government’s climate commitments and its approvals for ongoing coal production.

Maintaining current coal production creates a direct trade-off. It could prevent immediate job losses at Mount Pleasant, but it also allows coal mining activity to continue when NSW is already expected to miss its emissions targets. The article says the Net Zero Commission and the Environment Protection Authority identify coal mining as a large reason for that projected shortfall.

The immediate human consequence is clearer. MACH Energy faced the prospect of sacking 400 workers by the end of the year after the court ruling. The proposed legislation would let the mine maintain present production in exchange for a job guarantee until 2032. It is designed to avoid putting hundreds of families on the scrap-heap before Christmas.

The longer-term implication is unresolved. The government says it can protect jobs while pursuing climate goals, but the article argues there is ample evidence these aims cannot both be fully achieved. Continued production may therefore deepen the gap between actual emissions and the state’s targets.

A greenfield coal mine is a new mining project developed on a site without an existing coal mine. Ruling out such projects can signal that future growth should not come from opening entirely new sites. It does not necessarily stop existing mines from expanding, extending their lives or maintaining production.

That distinction explains why the NSW Coal Industry 2026-50 strategy has little immediate effect. The strategy rules out further greenfield coal mine developments, but the article says no greenfield coal mines have been proposed for many years. Coal companies can therefore continue pursuing expansions or extensions at existing operations under other approvals.

The state has approved 14 coal mine expansions or extensions since March 2023, with another 17 in the pipeline. Those projects can keep coal production going even while new mine sites are excluded. The strategy may shape future planning, but it does not immediately reduce current mining or close existing operations.

Coal produces greenhouse-gas emissions in two main stages. Mining can release methane and disturb land that stores carbon. Burning coal for electricity releases carbon dioxide. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere. This established climate science explains why reducing coal use matters, although the article itself focuses mainly on the policy and employment consequences.

The transition is difficult because mines support workers, families and regional investment. Mount Pleasant illustrates the risk: after its approval was invalidated, MACH Energy faced sacking 400 workers by the end of the year. The proposed law would preserve current production and guarantee jobs until 2032, rather than causing an immediate shutdown.

NSW is already shifting electricity away from coal. Coal’s share has fallen from more than 90 per cent to 54 per cent, while renewables provide more than one-third of generation. Yet coal mining remains a major reason the state may miss its emissions targets, making workforce transition plans increasingly important.