MARKETS

NSW backdown on planning to cost coal jobs, says Minerals Council

THE New South Wales government's proposal to remove economic considerations from the assessment o...

Lou Caruana
NSW backdown on planning to cost coal jobs, says Minerals Council

The proposal to change the mining State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) will remove a critical component designed to protect jobs. The measure within Part 3 was introduced to ensure an appropriate balance of economic, environmental and community factors during the assessment process.

The government has chosen what it believes is the easy political option rather than the sound policy option, NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said.

“This is a retrograde step that will hurt NSW. It will put at risk thousands of current and potential jobs, particularly in regional mining communities where unemployment is often well above the state average,” he said.

“Getting the balance right is important, but you can't have viable communities and a clean environment without a strong economy.

“At the end of last year the Premier committed to halving project assessment time frames to improve investor confidence and support jobs. This proposal does the exact opposite, relegating the industry to uncertainty and putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.”

There are thousands of mining jobs hanging in the balance in NSW, caught up in the state planning system, including 1800 workers and their families in the Hunter Valley, according to Galilee.

“The Planning Minister must ensure that any changes to the SEPP won’t be retrospective and impact on projects close to completing the assessment process,” he said.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production