Fund needed for fair go
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday March 29, 2011
NSW Minerals Council boss Nikki Williams said the new state government must deliver on its $350 million infrastructure fund for the Hunter.Dr Williams spoke to a Rotary Club audience that included new Liberal member for Charlestown Andrew Cornwell and Liberal candidate for Newcastle Tim Owen and said the new government must get its policies right.The three major policies affecting the mining industry, and therefore the Hunter Region, according to Dr Williams were carbon pricing, mining taxes and strategic land use planning.She said Barry O'Farrell's Coalition government must recognise the Hunter as the number one coalmining region in the state and deliver funding accordingly."NSW treasury reported state royalties at $985 million in 2009-10 and it forecasts that mining will contribute $6.8 billion in royalty payments over the next four years," Dr Williams said."This [the Hunter] is the heart of the mining industry in NSW, there is no doubt about it, and it's projected to double in size over the next five years."I was speaking to Singleton Council the other day and they were telling me about the 2500 mine workers that don't live in the town but drive in and out every day."It presents a huge traffic problem and the town is not getting any benefits of having those people as residents.Dr Williams said Hunter councils needed to make sure any state government royalties or funding was spent wisely."Local councils need to look at the contributions mining companies make as part of their development and need to look at the long-term benefits," she said."They need to make sure those benefits are going into long-term physical assets like a town bypass or a major road rather than a new swimming pool or a library."
© 2011 Newcastle Herald