Buffier, who has more than 28 years mining experience, said he would work with stakeholders and government in his new role to address challenges facing the industry and to meet the community’s expectations.
He said he would focus on ensuring the industry’s licence to operate through its contribution to the economy and job creation, while working with regional communities to deliver a sustainable and diverse future; developing a world-leading OHS culture that promotes the safety of workers; working with government to further improve the NSW planning and approval system to minimise delays and continue to encourage investment; and campaigning for fair treatment for mining and regional NSW in the federal government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
“While we are developing our capacity, particularly through infrastructure improvements, the recovering economic outlook is tempered by a range of factors including the very strong Australian dollar and the increasing costs of mining,” Buffier said.
“In addition, the federal government’s proposed emissions trading scheme will mean a new tax on coal mines and put jobs and communities in regional NSW at risk.
“Keeping jobs for Australians in coal mining, while working with government and other groups to develop new technologies to reduce emissions from mining and the generation of coal-fired electricity, is the most useful thing we can do for a global solution to climate change.
“The economic benefit for the communities we operate in comes with our successes, but our success in regional NSW should also be judged against our desire to meet the community’s expectations and exceed our environmental responsibilities.”
Buffier said workplace safety would be a priority, led by the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council which he said had been setting the standard on safety in mining.
“We are leading the way on issues like reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injuries with a world-first guide developed from scratch,” he said.
“We endorse this cooperative approach to safety and believe it is critical to delivering progress on the federal government’s plans for national OHS laws.”
Buffier also said he would continue to push for a planning system that minimised duplication without reducing the necessary safeguards for the community.
Buffier has been with Xstrata Coal since 2001 and was appointed group executive this year.
Before this, he was chief executive of Xstrata’s coal mining operations in NSW.
Buffier is a director of Australian Coal Association Low Emission Technologies and the National Low Emission Coal Council R&D Board, and is a ministerial appointee to the NSW Clean Coal Council. He is an alternate director of the World Coal Institute.
