Shenhua coalmine planning works 'could desecrate Indigenous sacred sites'

Native title applicant says NSW's change to planning conditions has given Chinese company permission to drill and excavate before a mining lease for Watermark has even been granted

A quiet change to Shenhua's New South Wales planning conditions for its open-cut Watermark coalmine could desecrate sites of Indigenous cultural significance before the federal environment minister decides whether they should be protected.

Gamilaraay man and native title applicant for the Gomeroi people, Raymond Weatherall, has warned successive failures to protect sacred places on the development site in the Liverpool Plains in north-west NSW, could lead to direct conflict between the Gomeroi, the state government and the Chinese state-owned company Shenhua.