SYDNEY - A climate protester from Rising Tide was removed by police from a prestigious Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) event at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney this afternoon after interrupting Premier Chris Minns to demand that he refuse the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) continuation project.
Registered nurse, Edie Griffin, tried to hand the Premier a copy of the Net Zero Commission’s 2026 Annual Progress Report while telling him “Will you read your own Government’s report and intervene to reject the HVO coal mine expansion currently proposed? It would be the largest coal project in NSW history.”
Edie threw the report to the Premier while being forcibly removed from the stage. An estimated 600 people were in attendance at the annual State-of-the-State address.
The action comes a day after Premier Minns reaffirmed his commitment to HVO, which is currently under consideration by the Independent Planning Commission. If approved, it would be the largest coal project in NSW history.
The video of the protest can be found here.
Registered nurse, Edie Griffin, said:
“I cannot stand by while our leaders continue to approve coal projects like HVO that are escalating the climate crisis every single day that they operate.”
“As a registered nurse, I see climate action as a form of preventative primary healthcare and my professional obligation. The climate crisis is a health crisis, and continuing to mine and burn coal makes every living being unwell.”
“The HVO expansion would release an additional 800 million tonnes of carbon emissions until 2045 which is both negligent and unacceptable.”
Background
The HVO North and South Open Cut Coal Continuation Projects (HVO) is the largest coal expansion in NSW history, and is currently being assessed by the NSW Independent Planning Commission. Public hearings were held over the last two weeks and a decision on the approval or refusal of the expansion is expected within weeks.
The NSW Government’s Net Zero Commission, 6 days ago, released its 2026 Annual Progress Report. The report states that continued extensions or expansions to coal mining in NSW are not consistent with the Climate Change Act or the Paris Agreement temperature goals it gives effect to [page 11].
The report also states that the pace of decarbonisation in NSW must urgently increase to more than double its current rate (from 2.1 MtCO2-e per year to 5.5 MtCO2-e per year) in order to meet legislated emissions reduction targets.
Premier Chris Minns yesterday threw his support behind the HVO coal mine expansion, arguing that the mining project is essential, and also talked up the state’s gas exploration policy in a speech to mark the 140th anniversary of Business Hunter.
