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NSW Mining Road and Rail Tour winds up in Western Sydney
NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee crossed the Blue Mountains and arrived at Blacktown Station this morning, the heart of the mining and manufacturing services hub of Western Sydney, to visit a business benefiting from both industries.
Mr Galilee toured the FlexCo factory in the nearby Norwest Business Park which produces a range of conveyor belt parts for use in the mining and manufacturing sector, alongside Federal Member for Mitchell Alex Hawke MP and State Member for Baulkham Hills David Elliott MP.
“We’ve travelled across NSW for the last two weeks as part of the 2013 NSW Mining Rail and Road Tour and we’re finishing here in Blacktown in Western Sydney this morning, home to many mining manufacturer and supplier businesses,” Mr Galilee said.
“We we know mining contributes greatly to regional NSW, but it also contributes significantly to Western Sydney. The NSW Minerals Council’s detailed economic survey of its members found that the 21 mining companies surveyed directly spent around $124 million in the Blacktown City Council area in 2011/12.
“The research showed that mining companies directly provided $7.5 million in wages to 63 full time employees over this period and spent $116 million on goods and services. The estimated flow-on effect of this economic stimulus in terms of additional spending was $285 million.”
“We are creating jobs and prosperity across NSW and we need to ensure the NSW Government understands the need to keep mining strong. A strong mining sector means more jobs and economic activity not just in our regions but right through Western Sydney.”
The NSW Minerals Council recently released research from PricewaterhouseCoopers which shows that project delays of 12 months or more would cost NSW 29,000 jobs, $10.3 billion in lost investment and $600 million a year in lost mining royalties over the next two decades.
“To avoid an economic body blow of this magnitude we need a new planning system that delivers efficiency, consistency and certainty for assessment of major projects, including for mining,” Mr Galilee said.
Contact: Lindsay Hermes I
I 0409 758 734
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