The objective was to update the community on the ongoing legal case surrounding the expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry.

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Over the past nine years, Daracon (the quarry’s owner) has been attempting to get a State Significant Development Application approved for the expansion of the site.

It has been rejected by the Dungog Shire Council and the Independent Planning Committee (IPC) and has been a controversial topic in the community.

In March, an appeal against the IPC’s rejection will be heard.

Under the current conditions, the quarry is allowed to extract up to 400,000 tonnes of hard rock a year, operate between 7am to 5pm and transport 70 percent of materials by rail and the rest by road.

Under Daracon’s proposal, this will increase to 1.1 million tonnes extracted, with operation hours of 7am to 6pm and an extra 450,000 tonnes transported by road.

“Daracon are more concerned with money than empathy for the village,” local Stephen Callum said.

“Fewer people object to the trains yet they keep pushing the trucks.”

At the meeting, locals raised concerns over silica dust from the quarry contaminating the area’s water supply; the effect of the fallout on citizens’ mental health; and the proposal’s 160 truck movements through Paterson (meaning one truck passing through town every two and a half minutes).

The action group’s slogan is: “We’re not just fighting a quarry expansion. We are fighting for our health, our homes, and our way of life”.

The Vice President of the MCAG, Julia Stokes said, “We’ve been successful in the past, I believe we will be again. “The village is as committed as ever to fighting this.”

By Joseph RICHARDS