Maules Creek offsets still not secured, five years after land clearing approved

Whitehaven Coal receives second extension while it continues to bulldoze critically endangered NSW forest to make way for mine

Five years after the controversial Maules Creek coalmine in north-east New South Wales was given approval to clear critically endangered native ecosystems, Whitehaven Coal has still not secured the biodiversity offsets demanded by the federal government, receiving a second extension in February.

The delay has led opponents to call for offsets - intended to make up for lost ecosystems - to be established prior to the destruction taking place.