Earlier this month we reviewed the economic assessment of the proposed Maules Creek Coal Mine.  Our review of the economic assessment formed part of a submission to the NSW Department of Planning by the Maules Creek Community Council.

The good news – we had some fantastic input into our review from some new Economists at Large!  Thanks to Liz, Maeve and Richard for their input and to Graham, Warwick and others for their edits and suggestions.

The bad news – the economic assessment, written by Gillespie Economics, is deeply flawed and needs to be revised.  It fails to demonstrate that there is economic benefit in the mine for either the local community or NSW.  The main flaws of the assessment relate to inconsistent scope of analysis, calculation of external costs and mathematical errors.

Read our full review here.