RIO TINTO subsidiary Coal and Allied has snapped up about 15,000 hectares of farmland around Merriwa and Cassilis as “offsets” for its Mount Pleasant coal mine near Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter Valley.
It’s sparked concerns about how much agricultural land will be locked up as “offsets” for mines and how much of it will continue to be farmed.
NSW Farmers executive councillor Tony Hegarty, “Belvedere”, Cassilis, said the buy-ups resulted in a net loss because miners were buying land to preserve on the basis they were ruining it elsewhere.
He said although to date there had been a population loss in the area as a result of the buy-ups, companies would eventually put farm or land management strategies in place and farmland could remain productive.
Mr Hegarty said the offsets scheme – outlined in the NSW government’s strategic regional land use policy (SRLUP) – was an example of how the SRLUP fell short of expectations.
“There are concepts that are flawed but well-intentioned, such as the offset concept, where the mining companies buy land as offsets for the activities – you can’t crucify the coal company, they are doing it due to government regulations, but it is a flawed concept and it results in a net loss,” Mr Hegarty told The Land.
“They say they are intending to carry out agriculture when they work out management plans, but there will be lock-ups as well.
The Land
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