THE NSW government insists mining will be banned beneath a new 6000-hectare national park on the fringe of south-western Sydney, putting it on a collision course with BHP Billiton, which said it still plans to extract billions of dollars worth of black coal from the area.
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Negotiations are continuing between the government and BHP Billiton subsidiary Illawarra Coal, which holds one of several mining leases that cover the area to become Dharawal National Park, near Campbelltown.
Neither party would comment on the sensitive issue of whether compensation would have to be paid from public funds to secure the pristine wilderness. But funding was set aside for the establishment of Dharawal National Park in the state budget, effectively locking out mining, which is banned in almost all of the state's national parks. An allocation of less than $1 million will be used for building of walking tracks and putting up signs.
The government confirmed yesterday it planned to gazette the park to ''the centre of the earth'', which would kill Illawarra Coal's proposal to extract up to $40 billion worth of coal from the Bulli seam.
''While negotiations are continuing, it is the government's intention that Dharawal National Park will not be reserved with a depth restriction,'' said a spokeswoman for the Environment Minister, Robyn Parker. ''In this way, this special area will be protected to the 'centre of the earth' in perpetuity.''
BHP Billiton said its proposal for mining beneath Dharawal was still being considered by the state government, despite the national park pledge.
''Illawarra Coal continues to focus on the resolution of our Bulli Seam Operations Project application currently before government,'' a BHP Billiton spokeswoman said. ''It has involved an extensive process and, if approved, will provide security for all who work at our Appin and West Cliff operations.''
Confidential advice from the previous state environment department, obtained by the Herald earlier this year, show active mining leases overlapping the proposed park zone. It said special legislation might be required to extinguish existing mining leases, and added: ''Compensation issues between government and industry would need to be resolved.''
The Dharawal conservation area, covering about 6200 hectares of bushland, is considered particularly vulnerable to mining because it contains hundreds of upland swamps that filter clean water down into the Sydney water catchment.
Mining in nearby areas has led to subsidence and surface cracking, including causing a river to run dry after the bedrock beneath it split.
