Airly Coal Mine Expansion

I strongly support the Airly Mine project & commend its financial owners, management, workers & environment team for operating this coal mine efficiently with methods designed to have minor impact on the area, demonstrating all care & respect for the local environment.

This operations financial contribution to the Capertee Rural fire Service, Capertee Public School, Capertee Progress Association & locally independantly owned businesses is vital for their survival.

Employing 135 jobs in an area already with high un-
employment. These workers are contributing to society, the community & economy.

The Aily Mine Project has a positive emotional & physcological affect on so many people within a wide distance of its location.

We need this industry in our area. There are hundreds of men out of work now due to CoalPac & Centennial Angus Place closing. There are no jobs for them to ho to here. They have families to feed & mortgages to pay. Without mining in our district, we simply will not survive & become a ghost town. Please think seriously about the devastating effects on these small towns & its people.

I have no objection to the proposal

I would very much like add my support to the Airly Mine Extension Project. As a resident within the Capertee Community, it is my belief that Airly Mine is a vital part of the town, it provides much needed jobs, these jobs keep people in the area that would not otherwise be able to stay, it also boosts the schools enrollments. As a parent with 3 children at Capertee Public School, and another due to start in 2016 I feel it's important to keep the mine open and prevent enrollment numbers from falling, as being such a small school this is a very important issue. I also feel that Centennial Coal has been generous with their support of the Capertee School over the years. I believe the the Capertee Community will benefit if the Extension project goes ahead.

I wish to support the Airlie mine extension. Centennial has shown it supports environmental policies. At the same time as producing a much needed source it will enable employment in an area in which has seen little support from companies and the government for its workers. As long as requirements are met I can see no reason in why this project can not proceed. Unless its another government ploy for The Green vote.

The loss of jobs would have a huge effect on the workers and their families. Coal has been mined in the area for many years with no effect on the environment.

Keep the mine open!!!!!

I believe it will be beneficial for the community. It will provide further job availabilities, assisting the communities growth.

I support the Airly Mine Extension Proposal SSD 12_5581

I live in the Mid Western LGA at Kandos. I have a young family, my son is a student at Kandos High School, who in the near future will be seeking employment , a partner who is a nurse that works at the local hospital, we support all the local business areas from GP's to grocery stores, service stations.

As I work at this mine and have had 28 years experience in the coal mining industry I can see the mining methods proposed will have very minimal impact on the surrounding areas of Mt Airly.

Airly Mine is also in very strong support of the local Capertee community groups such as Public School, Rural Fire Brigade and the Capertee District Progress Association.

About 75% of the work force live in the Kandos/Rylstone area and their incomes hugely support the business of this area.

To Whom It May Concern,

As the wife of a current employee of the Airly Mine I cannot begin to express how passionate I am about the approval of the mines extension , not only for the financial security of our own family , but those of all the other employee's that will be devastatingly affected if the approval was not be granted.

We live locally and have for 30 years, we shop locally and believe strongly in supporting the local economy to keep our already fragile community alive.

I am well aware that a Miners job security is never guaranteed, we have already felt the devastating blow of my husband being retrenched from a previous mine closure, then a relocation from another. The after effects of these kind of situations are something that those who have been fortunate to avoid - would never be able to comprehend!

For generations local family members have been able to rely on the Mining industry for employment, with the comfort of being able to raise their family's local & knowing that there is the opportunity for apprenticeships for the younger generations to further concrete the stability of future.

If the mine was to shut, we would have to leave the area that we have grown up in and that has given us the opportunity to purchase our first house, send our children to school, shop locally and more importantly compromise our plans to retire here.

The ricochet effect would be enormous, more people would be forced to leave the area forcing the drop in local spending and the possible closure of small local businesses. Not to mention the personal trauma that families will face with money struggles - Why anyone with a conscious would be pushing to ruin people's lives and tearing communities apart is beyond me!

We love our community, and the unspoken bond that we all have when it comes to supporting each other!

At the end of the day - We Live Here & We Will Continue To Fight For What Is Right!

I urge that you take the time to read every letter from the opposition, in depth - checking that it's not just a recycled to template to try and outnumber those of us who are literally pleading our cases!

It is our lives that will ultimately be effected, and I truly hope that our future is safe!

Application SSD 12_5581 Airly Mine

I live at Kandos. I have a young family, my son is a student at Kandos High School, who in the near future will be seeking employment, and a husband who works at Airly Mine.

Approximately 75% of the employees that work at the Airly Mine live in the Kandos/Rylstone district and their income supports the business of this area, some of which include Doctors, Rylstone Hospital, 4 Schools, Grocery stores, Service Stations, Banks, Sporting Groups and various other small businesses.
I SUPPORT THE AIRLY MINE EXTENSION PROJECT

I am writing in support of the Airly mine Extension project.
I have lived in the Kandos area for the majority of my life and have strong links to the area through family and friends and hope to maintain this association. Airly Mine is currently one of the largest employers in the towns of Kandos and Rylstone and if the extension is not granted the impact on the two towns may be devastating. Employment oppurtunities in the area has suffered in recent years with the closure of the cement factory and Charbon colliery. Without the extension being granted local schools, the hospital and other services will be affected.
Kandos has recently had its 100 year celebration and I think if the Airly mine extension is granted it will the help the town to remain to be a viable place to live and set the community on the path towards their 200 year celebration.

As a long time friend of current employees & the FAMILIES of the Airly Mine, we cannot begin to express how passionate we are about the approval of the extension of the mine.

Not only for the continued stimulation of the local economy, but the for the financial stability of the familes & people, the faces that I know in my community.

How canyou expect a local, already frail (nevertheless trying) economy to keep afloat if you eliminate 100+ jobs, positions, careers, and livelihoods?

Each day we are encouraged to live, shop, sell & support local businesses & the people who built the foundations..
How can we if they don't exist? How can we if these jobs are retrenched & the entire families have to move? Familes having to leave the area means smaller businesses closing.. More families leaving.. An already tenuous econonomy disintegrating.. Bankruptcy.. Increased stress levels. Families & relationships wihtin the community deteriorating.. Why would you want this for us?

It's not just one person, one name, one number or one position that is affected here. There is a ripple effect.

Think of the HUMAN in that job position.
Think of that HUMAN's wife, daughter, mother, sister, husband, son, family pet.. Think of their neighbours.. think of their Families who will be affected.

My friend, who works at Airly, who has lived locally for OVER 30 years, is marrying my best friend.. Also my work colleague. IF, god forbid, he loses his job to this absurd proposed closure, he'll have to move.

Countless closures, retrenchments, relocations & so many more greivances have impacted this family that is only just starting out.

He'll have to move. She'll have to move. ANOTHER local business loses out.
Give them a fighting chance.
They do the right thing, they support the community.
They live, love, grow & THRIVE Locally.. A closure like this will only set them back. It will be like ripping the carpet out from underneath them.
Will you support 100+ families to get back on their feet when they cant find a job at another mine?
Will you pack up their houses? Will you find them another house? Will you support these families?

Are you prepared to face the consequences of a closure like this? This blasphemy that will no doubt TEAR families apart?
Do you actually think about these things? Or do you simply see the numbers?
Look at the names. Look at them & tell me that you can't see them as part of a community & you can go to sleep at night knowing that you closed a mine from a fantasty notion presented by a Government body & uprooted, if not potentially ruined 100s to 1000's of lives..
Theres a ripple effect here.
Can you live with that? Or have those extra zeros at the end of your pay checks blinded you?
Have you even considered what this might do to people, communities & their families??

It's wildy inappropriate, irresponsible & hypocritical of you to encourage local living & local communities when you're willing to do something so completely the opposite. Something incredibly unaustralian..

You're compromising the present & you are most certainly compromising the future..
But not yours, right? You're safe & secure.. Your `offices' wont close.. Just the mines that produce the energy to power your computers & lights.. No worries though, you can just export to China & remain under the thumb..

It seems that the poor excuses for Australian Government has lost their heart, one of the traits I was SO proud of when growing up.
I was PROUD to be an Australian..
Now, I look with shame, disgust & anger.
I know I couldn't live with myself if I did this to MY countries people.

But that's okay..
Your families wont be forced to move.
You're safe.
You can sleep easy knowing that your life isn't going to be flipped upside down because a government body has their notions that they pulled from Narnia...
I'd love to know what they're actually doing to HELP Australia.. Isn't that their/your job?
Not destroying it piece by piece.

Coal mining is a vital industry in the Lithgow region & Airly mine is one of the few remaining mines in the area providing employment and income in the area. Unemployment is high and we need this industry to help sustain the local economy. In my opinion as a surveyor with experience in mine subsidence the methods which will be employed by Airly to extract the coal will not result in any visible or harmful effects on the surface. Thus there will be nil effect on the existing environment of Mount Airly or Mount Genowlan.

I fully support this expansion

Fully support the expansion

Coal has been mined from the Western Coalfield area for 145 years and it still contains Coal Reserves estimated at 4500 million tonnes.

These reserves and the coal mine they support are vital to the economy of the Greater Lithgow Council area and the coal produced is of significant importance to the NSW electricity supply and its production costs.

The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area was created to protect the natural environment of the Blue Mountains Plateau, not to prevent coal mining activities in the Western Coalfield.

I would just like to write a few words to support the extension of the Airly Mine.
I am just a regular guy, with very little interest and certainly no financial stake hold in mining of any sort. What is see is by no means ground breaking but i feel in needs to be said.
What I see is a region stretching far wider than just Lithgow that is affected by a decision like this. The stability of our whole regions economy is tied up in mining, it might not seem like it, but it is. not just the miners and the power stations. So many businesses rely on the money that is generated through the mines. and the cash that flows from this into our communities.
to deny this proposal would be almost certainly create a domino effect that would in quick time force the closure of the Mt piper power station. Some say this is inevitable anyway, however while we have coal, we at least have a fair argument to keep it running also. cut the coal supply and this argument is invalid.
The closure of mines to the lithgow area would not just cripple the community it would destroy it. This decision has far reaching consequences. if we lose the Lithgow mines and power station our regions power costs would certainly rise, and the flow on effects of the job losses and business and industry losses would cripple the region. yep i am probably looking at some worst case scenarios here, but really, if there is even a chance that these consequences could be the rest of a decision like this, who would want to have that decision on their head. If you want to hurt us, I just ask that you have the guts to do it publicly. Whoever votes for this, we want to see your faces in the papers. if you can honestly stand by your decision, without any shame, then have the integrity to show your face to the people whose futures you have in the palm of your hand.
Hope this helps make the right decision.

this application has been brought to my attention by a close friend, and frankly i don't see why there's even a debate.
approving this application will help our local economy grow and move forward, rather than the slow recession it has been enduring.
without this 170+ jobs are lost. i know whole families that are supported by these jobs, close personal friends that rely on the work to survive.
what kind of system would even consider cutting the foundation of a community out like that?
no, if we want our economy to move forward we must approve.
people are probably worried about the environmental damage, which is a fair concern. but it does very clearly state the rehabilitation will commence at the completion of the project.
the way i hear it, this is only opposed because there are some very old rocks in the area, which are very pretty to look at. what use is a few pretty and aged rocks if the economy crashes and the people are gone? maybe that rabbits can sunbake on them.
Now i know that it would be more serious than that. we do need to preserve what does not need to be senselessly destroyed. but this is not senseless.
allowing this is a massive boost for the local community. we will grow and progress, instead of slowly fail and crumble.

so what possible reason is there to disallow this?

This letter is in support for the Airly Mine Extension Program. I have been employed in the local underground coal mining industry for all of my working life for the past 37 years around the Lithgow and Charbon areas, having worked for the Centennial Coal Company since they were formed at Ivanhoe, Charbon, Clarence and Airly Collieries. I have found Centennial Coal to be a company that genuinely cares about their employees and are very conscious about environmental impacts and community affairs and provide support for local community groups such as Rylstone Kandos ADA Cottage, Rylstone District Hospital, Capertee Public School, Capertee Rural Fire Service, Capertee & District Progress Association to name a few as well as Centennial Coal supporting and sponsoring the local Centennial Coal Cup Rugby League competition.

The re-opening of Airly Mine has provided a lifeline for myself and many other families. With the closure of the Charbon underground mine due to the depletion of coal resources the majority of the workforce that resides around the Kandos/Rylstone and outlying area were given employment at Airly mine. Our local area is still coming to terms with the closure of the Kandos Cement works and being a small close knit community any loss of employment deals our community a cruel blow as these people all support local businesses, sporting clubs, education. We all have a very strong community spirit and pride with many of these employees being second and third generation families in our area with very strong ties to the region.

Underground coal mining provides a major employment opportunity in this are and surrounding district. An end to this source of employment would have devastating effects and flow on effects to families, businesses and community groups within our region.

Having worked for Centennial for so many years I have witnessed their commitment to environment, community and employee welfare and am proud to work for them and hope to be able to continue to work for them with the Airly Mine Extension Project.

Yours sincerely
Raymond Mundey

As a wife of an Airly Coal mine employee I am writing in support of the Airly Coal mine Extension Project.

We live in Kandos and have done so for most of our lives. Kandos had a Cement works which closed a couple of years ago which left a lot of people without employment. Kandos is situated a little off the beaten track and has struggled over the years to keep the workforce in the town which in turn keeps families here. When Charbon Colliery closed many men made the decision to stay living in Kandos and travel to Airly mine each day for work. This in turn keeps our little country town operational. To lose any further workforce if the Airly Extension project is not approved would be the death of our small little corner of the world.

Centennial coal have always been most generous in their contributions to our community, having served on a number of committees and asking for donations they have always helped with funding.

I hope that this extension project is approved to allow our little community to survive.

Yours sincerely
Dianne Mundey