Locals fear for their children’s quality of life if the biggest coalmine extension in NSW is approved

From the publisher

At Branxton community hall in the New South Wales Hunter Valley last week, local resident Janet Murray was given five minutes to speak about plans for the state’s biggest coalmine extension. Before her were dozens of people, also there to share their views about whether the 19-year extension proposed by Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) should be allowed to proceed. As a former superintendent of blast furnace operations in the lead up to the closure of the Newcastle steelworks in 1999, Murray has “first-hand experience” of working in an industry facing major change. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email She understood that the prospect of ongoing employment “is a…

The source's own excerpt, unedited