Minister Chris Hartcher's 'outrageous' intervention in legal row over gold mine Stepping in with legislation to quash a court case: Chris Hartcher. Resources Minister Chris Hartcher has taken the extraordinary step of introducing legislation to quash a live court case in favour of a company which runs Australia's largest gold mine. Mining company Gold and Copper Resources is challenging the validity of mining leases granted to Newcrest Mining's giant Cadia underground gold mine near Orange. The chief executive of Gold and Copper Resources, Brian Locke, said he was shocked at Mr Hartcher's intervention. This is a commercial dispute that has to go before the courts. I find it quite extraordinary in the middle of a court case," he said. This court case won't be heard until next year. What is the urgency in pushing through this legislation now. These are very serious issues for NSW and people should have time to debate the bill. This amendment is designed to thwart a legal action by Gold and Copper Resources against Newcrest Mining in regards to mining leases over its Cadia East deposit. Mr Hartcher said the government, which is a co-defendant in the proceedings, has moved to "protect the integrity of the mining titles regime in NSW as a result of current court proceedings." He said the Mining (Development Consent) Amendment Bill 2013 would introduce changes to "provide clarity and certainty to titleholders and the mining industry." Mr Locke said Newcrest had told the ASX the case was without merit. "And on the other hand it is lobbying the government to interfere in the legal process," he said. Mr Hartcher said the bill was needed to prevent challenges against existing mining leases which, if successful, could cast doubt on most or all 994 mining leases across the state. "The bill amends the provisions of the Mining Act 1992 relating to the need for development consent before a mining lease is granted," he said. Although the act makes clear that a mining lease for minerals permits the carrying out of mining purposes, it is not explicit what constitutes 'appropriate development consent' for a mining lease for minerals. This issue has been raised in court proceedings and these court proceedings have the potential to bring in to question a large number of mining titles and create sovereign risk issues for the state. Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said the bill was being "pushed through" the upper house of parliament on Wednesday night. "It is outrageous that on the day the ICAC has released its damning report into the administration of mining in NSW the Minister is seeking to rush a bill through the NSW parliament with no consultation," he said. This bill is retrospective and cleans up Eddie Obeid's mess. It validates his decisions as minister because he approved these now suspect leases. Mr Buckingham said the Greens would be moving to adjourn the debate to allow consultation and to provide the community with certainty that the legislation was appropriate. The Land and Environment Court has heard allegations of fraud against former mining officials and gold mining giant Newcrest. GCR is challenging the department's 2009 decision to renew Newcrest's exploration licence, which it alleges was procured by deceit. The fraud allegations surfaced after departmental documents came to light during GCR's battle with Newcrest. GCR is accusing departmental officers of swapping the front page of a renewal application lodged by Newcrest for an exploration licence next door to its Cadia East gold mine. Newcrest's original renewal application was for two years. But the front page of their application was substituted at a later stage for a five-year application. According to court documents, a departmental officer knew Newcrest's "representations were false or misleading from 3 July 2009." GCR's statement of claim suggests that there is now power under the Mining Act to amend the renewal application merely by substituting a new front page to the application. Despite knowing of the problem with Newcrest's alleged document substitution, several departmental officers are accused of turning a blind eye to the problem. The court case mounted by GCR is trying to have Newcrest's exploration licence renewal declared invalid. GCR, which is based in Lucknow, may appear to be a minnow. However, its share register is peppered with some of the giants of the industry including Leigh Clifford, the former head of Rio Tinto.