Shift sees jump in numbers suspicious of coalmining

A shift in opinion in New South Wales has left the majority of residents believing coal does more harm than good, and continuing to think the state government isn’t doing enough to protect farms and water from mining and fracking.

The ReachTEL polling of 1,190 residents in NSW, commissioned by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, shows a switch in opinion on the costs versus the benefits of coalmining, which appears to have occurred over the past three years.

Asked in March this year whether they thought, on balance, coalmining had a positive or negative effect on NSW communities, 56.5% said it had a negative effect. That’s a rise of 9.5 percentage points since 2013, when the conservation group conducted a similar poll.

The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales says that is the first time a majority of people have thought NSW coalmining does more harm than good.

Read The Guardian story - “Coalmining does more harm than good, say majority in NSW – poll.”