SEH Managing Director says Investment Certainty Required for Upper Hunter

Managing Director of Scone Equine Hospital, Dr. Cameron Collins, was one of many local speakers at the Coal and Coal Seam Gas Mining Community Forum held on 5th and 6th September at the Upper Hunter Shire Council Chambers, in Scone.

Upper Hunter Shire Council Mayor Lee Watts had sought the community's assistance to ensure that the two-day Community Forum was a thorough investigation of the critical issues, concerns and opportunities as they relate to coal and coal seam gas mining.

"The Community Forum was an opportunity for Council to listen and ask the hard questions of business, industry groups, lobby groups and experts,” said Cr. Watts.  “The Upper Hunter Shire is not alone in trying to determine its position in this area.  The Community Forum provided us with the opportunity to investigate what these very big questions mean for our communities, our landscape and our future.”

Dr. Collins outlined Scone Equine Hospital’s 50+ year history in Scone and the enviable world class reputation the hospital and its specialists have achieved. The Hospital – a major employer, long term resident, and sponsor to more than 50 community groups as well as the annual Horse Festival – is committed to continued growth in the Shire.

“Our plan is to grow,” said Dr. Collins. “We want to build a new state-of-the-art hospital, provide increased investment in diagnostic equipment and infrastructure to draw a larger concentration of horses and horse professionals to the area, and provide increased training and research opportunities.”

Dr. Collins stated that the continuing threat to the thoroughbred industry – the Hospital’s largest client base – by the encroaching coal and coal seam gas mining industries in the district had, however, created investment uncertainty.

“90% of our business is related to thoroughbreds and at the end of the day our practice does not exist without the horses,” Dr. Collins said. “The thoroughbred industry as a whole cannot be relocated and as the Planning Advisory Commission reported following the Bickham Coal Mine decision in 2009 – coal and horses are incompatible land uses.”

Dr. Collins called on the Council to recognise that the horse industry was a major sustainable contributor to the economy and the amenity of the area. He asked that the ‘clean & green’ image of the Upper Hunter be retained, that Scone’s internationally recognised brand of ‘The Horse Capital of Australia’ be acknowledged, and that the Council accept that existing scientific findings regarding the long term effects of coal and coal seam gas mining on the environment and human health are currently inadequate.

“We have an opportunity and a responsibility to protect an area and an industry which is unique to Australia and the world,” concluded Dr. Collins.