The fight over the controversial $800 million Wallarah 2 coal mine on the central coast has reignited before the federal election with a push to proceed without the need for consent from a local Aboriginal land council.
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The future of the mine threatens to become a big campaign issue in the ultra-marginal NSW seat of Dobell, held by Liberal MP Karen McNamara but notionally Labor on a 0.2 per cent margin after a redistribution.
Wallarah 2 is proposed in a water catchment area, activating the federal "water trigger", whereby the impacts of proposed mining developments must be assessed at a national level by an independent scientific panel.
As such, the incoming federal environment minister will have the power to block the mine even if state-based approvals are in place.
It also presents a challenge for the NSW government, as it relies on land owned by two state transport agencies, as well as Crown land.
Wallarah 2 has been controversial because before the 2011 NSW election, the Coalition promised to block it as it is in the water catchment. After winning government, the Coalition then allowed the project to proceed through the planning process.
The project stalled last year after negotiations broke down between its owner, Korean government-owned Kores, and the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council.
Plans approved with conditions by the independent NSW Planning Assessment Commission relied on Darkinjung land for rail access.
The land council said it would agree if it were paid $300 million, which Kores described as "pure extortion".
But Wallarah 2 has lodged a mining lease with the department of resources and energy that does not rely on Darkinjung land.
It is preparing to lodge an amended development application with the planning department.
It is understood that instead of using a rail spur to transport coal to the main rail line, the revised application will use a coal conveyor over land owned by Roads and Maritime Services, Transport for NSW, and Crown land and private land.
On Wednesday Mrs McNamara said she "will not accept any proposal that has a negative effect on the water catchment or residents of that area".
"While there is no doubt that there are economic benefits to this proposal, including the provision of local jobs and a billion-dollar investment into the area, any development in Dobell must be in the best interest of the community," she said.
Labor candidate for Dobell, Emma McBride, said the mine "poses a dangerous threat to the local water supply and we stand united with the local community in opposing it. I will pursue every avenue possible to stop the Wallarah 2 coal mine going ahead."
A spokesman for Wallarah 2 said the company believed the plan accorded with the Coalition's pitch for "jobs and growth", because it would mean 350 full-time jobs and a $1 billion investment.
"Wallarah 2 continues to explore its options for coal clearance from its proposed underground mine," the spokesman said.
