The Liberal Member for Goulburn, which covers Sutton Forest and the mine exploration lease, opposes Korean steelmaker POSCO’s plans for the mine.

This week Ms Goward tabled the petition in parliament and a debate on the floor of parliament was forced. Under NSW law any petition that gathers 10,000 signatures triggers a debate on its content in parliament.

Hume Coal has said her position was “disappointing” and showed “blatant disregard” for constituents.

The mine proposal has caused an uproar among some parts of the Southern Highlands community, with several Sutton Forest farmers and landowners even blockading a lane Hume Coal wanted to use for exploration drilling.

The 16,000 signatories is double the population of Moss Vale, the closest town to the exploration lease.

The petition has been organised by the Battle for Berrima group, which has led the anti-mine campaign after the Southern Highlands Coal Action Group was put into liquidation after a court costs order.

Battle for Berrima president Ken Wilson said the petition told elected members the proposed mine was too risky to the water supply.

“The message is coming loud and clear from across NSW that any coal mining on the massive scale that Hume Coal is proposing, is simply unacceptable to the electorate,” he said.

Hume Coal said it was disappointed Ms Goward would “pander to small, vocal minority groups” when there were many businesses nearby which were associated with mining.

“The state government has a rigorous process in place for the assessment of mining applications,” he said.

“Its disappointing, therefore, that the Member for Goulburn and others have chosen to ignore this process, showing their blatant disregard for many of their constituents who rely on mining for their livelihood.”

The debate has been listed for 4.30pm on August 25.