Environmental groups say private emails obtained under Freedom Of Information (FOI) laws show the NSW Department of Planning "coaching" a mining company seeking a coal mine extension approval.
In February 2021, the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected an application by South32 to extend its Dendrobium coal mine in the NSW Illawarra region on the grounds that its environmental damage would outweigh its economic benefits.
It is also described as"unclear" the level of dependence the Port Kembla based BlueScope Steel had on coal from Dendrobium.
In December, the former NSW planning minister Rob Stokes and former resources minister Paul Toole took the unprecedented step of granting the project State Significant Infrastructure (SSI) – making it the first mine in the state's history to receive the privileged status.
The declaration is reserved for projects considered essential to the state for economic, environmental, or social reasons and makes the planning minister the consent authority for the project.
Mr Toole said the mine was a "critical source of coking coal" for the nearby steelworks, and the declaration would provide "thousands of workers with greater certainty".
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) and provided to the ABC reveal the department advised South32 to emphasise Dendrobium's relationship to BlueScope in its application for SSI status.
In one email exchange from October 2021, planning staff gave advice to South32 on a letter containing its revised mine plan as part of its SSI request.
"One area where the letter would benefit is some additional information in relation to the IPCs commentary around Wongawilli Seam coal being the main supply source for Bluescope," planning staff responded.
"The IPC contended South32's justification for the project (i.e. as a supply source for Bluescope, with related economic / employment implications) because Wongawilli Seam coal wasn't going to be available until many years in the future."
"The letter could better address this point, confirming that the Bulli Seam coal targeted by the revised project is of a suitable quality to supply Bluescope."
On November 29, the week before the SSI declaration, planning staff emailed feedback to South32 on its revised scoping report.
"The report doesn't clearly state that coal produced from the project is suitable for use by BlueScope…. Given the heavy reliance of the justification for the project on supplying BlueScope, a statement saying the coal meets BlueScope specs (or can meet specs with blending) would be useful."
Deidre Stuart from Protect Our Water Incorporated (POWI), who obtained the documents, said they showed the department working with the mining company to ensure its application was aligned with the minister's justification for making the SSI declaration.
"Within the Department of Planning, there are people who are looking at South32's scoping report and giving advice on how to strengthen it," Dr Stuart said.
"It shows that the Department of Planning wants to make sure that the Scoping Report fits in with the NSW Government and the rationale that they have given."
'Fake assessment process'
Nic Clyde from Lock the Gate said the correspondence undermined the independence of the department, which was ultimately in charge of recommending whether the minister approved or rejected the project.
"The documents reveal the NSW Department of Planning has a huge conflict of interest," Mr Clyde said.
"The people who are effectively coaching how to get the application over the line are the same people who are then meant to turn around and objectively assess the project."
"This appears to be a fake assessment process.
A spokesperson for the Department of Planning and Environment said it was common practice to seek further information from applicants.
"In this instance, we required the applicant to demonstrate how the proposal addressed the Independent Planning Commission's concerns, particularly its economic importance."
"The declaration of the project as State Significant Infrastructure does not change our rigorous assessment process."
BlueScope dependence on mine 'unclear'
BlueScope Steel's submission to the IPC claimed it sourced coal from different mines across the Southern Coalfields to create a "blend" of coal, which was critically important to ensure the company remained globally cost-competitive.
South32 currently supplies BlueScope with 60 per cent of its coking coal which is a blend of coal from the Wongawilli and Bulli Seams, mined at Dendrobium and Appin respectively.
In its findings, the IPC highlighted South32's original proposal planned to cease extraction of coal from the Wongawilli seam at Dendrobium for 19 years from about 2024.
"The dependence of BlueScope Steelworks on the Wongawilli Seam coal from the Dendrobium Mine is unclear given that the Wongawilli Seam coal would not be available for some considerable time."
"The commission does not accept the suggested dependence of BlueScope Steelworks on ongoing access to the Wongawilli Seam coal from this Project."
In its revised plan, South32 has scrapped establishing a new area to mine Wongawilli Seam coal and will instead only continue to mine coal from the Bulli Seam.
Calls for 'transparent process'
Independent MLC Justin Field said the advice given by the NSW Department of Planning crossed a line.
"It is not up to the department to be helping a proponent to make the best case to government," Mr Field said.
He has written to NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts asking him to commit to the public release of an independent economic assessment of the reliance of BlueScope's operations on coal from Dendrobium.
Mr Field also called for the minister to commission the IPC to provide advice on the new plan.
"I have asked the minister to use his powers to ask the IPC for independent advice on the project proposal and to then take that advice into consideration in his decision making, and to make that public so we have a transparent process," he said.
"Anything other than that is going to leave uncertainty in the minds of the community that this has been a stitch-up from the start and that certain people from government within the department wanted this proposal supported, so orchestrated a process to make that happen.
"That cannot be allowed to occur."
