Co-ordinated protests continue at Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine, with 25 people arrested in the last two weeks. Police rescue units are reportedly being forced to make 960km road trips to remove anti-mining protesters from machinery and tree canopies.
The Daily Telegraph reported police rescue units from Bathurst and Newcastle are being sent north to Maules Creek, along with Riot Squad officers.
Police have had to use cherry pickers to remove protesters.
Protesters’ activities have included locking onto to machinery and tree roots, creating human barricades across access roads and occupying tree canopies for extended periods.
Anti-mining groups, Leard Forest Alliance and Front Line Action on Coal, are running the protests to try and halt the next stage of land clearing which was scheduled to begin on February 13.
The Alliance is also calling for a full inquiry into how the mine was approved by NSW and federal governments.
A spokesperson from the Alliance claimed that over 350 people had been involved in protests over the last fortnight.
Whitehaven has government approval to clear a section of the Leard Forest over the next 10 weeks in order to make way for the next phase of the Maules Creek mine.
The company is only permitted to clear at certain times of the year to minimise damage caused to plant and animal life.