Staff members of the NSW Department of Planning
and Environment (Department) have recently
been found to have been giving advice to mining company, South32, in relation to its
application for a coal mining extension. The emails containing the
so called 'advice' were produced under the Government
Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA
Act).
The nature of the advice found to have been given, following the
release of the documents, has generated notable negative attention
from community groups and media outlets who, in summary, describe
the Department's communications with South32 as
'coaching' the mining company on how to ensure their
application is favourably determined and evidence of there being a
'fake assessment process' having been undertaken. This is
in circumstances where parts of the advice appears to be directed
towards ensuring that the rationale provided by South32 in its
application documents align with the government's publicly
stated rationale
