New Acland coal mine High Court ruling relieves farmers but torments workers

In all her 84 years, Alpaca farmer Aileen Harrison had never set foot in a courtroom — but that changed when she took on a powerful coal mine.

Now the president of the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA), Ms Harrison is well-acquainted with the law.

This week the OCAA won a High Court of Australia appeal against the New Hope Group’s proposed expansion of the New Acland coal mine.

But the decades-long…