Former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, now on the board of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the government's approach “obliterates” the legal process and sets a dangerous precedent.
“The idea that a substantial mining venture can approach the government and say look, let's go behind the court processes and sort this out between ourselves is a very dangerous precedent, and that's exactly what appears to have happened here,” he said. “It is, on the face of it, reprehensible.”
The Mount Pleasant mine near Muswellbrook was given approval in 2022 to double its capacity from 10.5 to 21 million tonnes of coal a year until 2048. In July 2025, the NSW Court of Appeal ruled that approval invalid because planning authorities had failed to consider the effect of overseas or Scope 3 emissions caused by 406 million additional tonnes of coal exports over the life of the mine.
The High Court this month ruled against MACH Energy, which operates the mine, finding planning authorities had failed to consider imposing conditions to minimise all greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 3 emissions. The approval was sent back to the Land and Environment Court for review.
MACH Energy did not wait for that review. In August 2025, weeks after the Court of Appeal ruling, it started earthworks for what it described as “the next phase of the Mount Pleasant expansion”, and by December 2025 the mine had produced 12.78 million tonnes of coal. The company had publicly forecast 2026 production of 16.5 million tonnes, a level that depended on the invalid approval.
The residents' group that won the Court of Appeal case, the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, had complained to the planning department about the continued expansion. The department confirmed it was investigating, and on August 14, 2026 it said it was committed to “timely and appropriate compliance action”. On the same day it announced it would modify MACH Energy's original 1999 approval, which was not challenged in court, increasing the output limit from 10.5 to 12.5 million tonnes a year and extending the mine's life by six years.
Less than a fortnight after the High Court decision, Premier Chris Minns announced new laws to allow the mine to extract 16.5 million tonnes a year. He said the laws would “address the unique legal uncertainty arising from the High Court's judgement” and “protect 400 jobs” while the court process continued.
In parliament, Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said the government had checked employment data with both the company and the union. “Because they have legal advice that they had approval to operate at the higher rate, and as a result they took on additional workers,” she said. “We're not prepared to stand by in circumstances where we could see 400 workers lose their jobs before Christmas only to have the consent validated … in a matter of months.”
Mr Whealy dismissed the jobs argument. “There is no evidence whatsoever to show that 400 jobs are under threat here,” he said. “All this talk about 400 jobs being lost before Christmas is hyperbole, and not at the moment justified by any evidence that the government has produced.” He called for an independent review.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann accused the government of “state capture”. “This is state capture, right here,” she said. Tony Lonergan, a co-founder of the residents' group, said the government was working “hand-in-glove” with “gung-ho” operators who believed “planning and the government is going to back them”.
MACH Energy welcomed the premier's announcement, saying it would “provide locals with much-needed reassurance that the Mount Pleasant project will continue to deliver critical benefits in the future”. The company said it had obtained legal advice confirming the 2022 consent remained valid during the High Court proceedings.