Implementation of a 10km buffer zone would wipe out the Hunter coal industry, putting tens of thousands of people out of work across the region, with a devastating impact on the local economy, he said.

“Many people have concerns about the social impacts of gambling, yet here we have calls from some of Australia's richest people to put the helicopter views and horse-racing interests of foreign billionaires over the jobs of thousands of working class families in the Hunter,” Galilee said.

“Why should the sporting and gambling interests of millionaires and billionaires take priority over the jobs of thousands of working class people across the Hunter?”

Mining has been the cornerstone of the Hunter for many decades, and has a history of successful co-existence with other important industries, including tourism and agriculture, according to Galilee.

“World-class vineyards and horse studs operate in the Hunter today well within 10km of mining operations, so the claim that they can’t co-exist is not reflected by reality,” he said.

“And while many thousands of Hunter residents live and work safely within 10km of local mining operations, apparently horses are now unable to do so.”