New Hope mine hopes for the best

THE New Acland open cut coal mine has made 150 workers redundant as its stage three project continues to be in abeyance pending final approvals.

One-on-one meetings were held with mine operators as they came off shift.

New Acland general manager Dave O’Dwyer said the news had been extremely tough, particularly for the affected workers and their families.

“The redundancies have also taken a huge toll on those remaining at New Acland,” he said.

“Specialists, including counsellors, have been supporting the entire workforce through this extremely difficult time.

“The safety of the New Acland workforce has always been my number one priority, and that will continue, despite the difficult circumstances.”

Mr O’Dwyer put the blame on the indecision of the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Anthony Lynham.

“The Premier and Mr Lynham could have ended the uncertainty and approved New Acland stage three, and helped New Acland provide long term certainty to its employees, suppliers and the local community,” he said.

The mine, run by The New Hope Group, has been a major employer and economic spur to the Darling Downs region.

New Hope said the company remained focussed on securing all necessary approvals for Acland stage three to target continuity of operations and employment for the workforce ad contractors who rely upon the operation to support their families.

The redundancies come in the wake of 2019 financial year results which showing the company had achieved a record full-year profit.