Mod 6 - Expansion of Coal Mine

Mount Thorley Warkworth must have the extension approved. A lot of families and locals are relying on it. This affects jobs, finance the town of Singleton will lose out even more if jobs are lost.

i need this extension to go ahead

I rely on MTW for my income as do 1000's of employees, contractors and local businesses. I see first hand the efforts made to minimise dust,noise and other environmental factors and believe this small area is a reasonable request which will greatly benefit Singleton n its people.

I wish to expresss my concern about the MTW mine not receiving the approval for the extention plans currently being sort after.
I currently am the sole income earner in my household and i am supporting my partner in her studies at university. If this extention is not approved my ability to support her will be greatly affected and may result in her having to defer her studies indefinatly. I also have a mortgage to consider and my ability to servicve this loan will result in having to sell this property. As i have been in mining now for 5 Years i would find it extremly difficult to find another well paying job in the hunter valley and may result in having to move away from the area. This would result in lost revenue for the immediate area and would have a flow on effect for a number of surrounding businesses ranging from the local supermarket, service station, bakery all the was to the clothing and retal stores in which i currently spend money in right around the region.
The Hunter valley has been a mining region for over 100 years and has supported the growth of the region and has worked well with the surrounding communities with financial support and dontaions as well as providing assistance for local community groups. i strongly believe that this would effect the local community in many ways that may have a detrimental effect on numerous community groups, and charity groups who rely on the support of MTW.
Please consider the familys of the MTW workers who will also be greatly effected by this decison and help us and the company provide a strong and prosperous future.

Dear Minister,

I support Coal & Allied's Warkworth Modification application to gain access to an additional 350m of land owned by the mine, to avoid a significant drop in production and employment.

I was previously an employee at MTW and developed many friends with the great people that work there. My wife is currently on maternity leave from MTW returning to work in August next year. We are currently building a house locally with a Singleton builder, installing power with a Denman contractor and we (our small family of 5) will rely on her continued work to pay the debts.

Mount Thorley Warkworth provides a stable income for over 1,300 full time employees in the Hunter Valley. And the operation of the mine reaches into many other businesses that supply MTW. Thousands of people depend on this mine and if production was to drop, the result could be devastating.

We need certainty. We've been wondering what the future holds now for four years. If this minor modification to an existing, 30 year old mine does not get approved, I am worried about what this will mean for local jobs and investment across the NSW mining industry.

Please accept this submission in support of the Warkworth Modification.

Regards
Brendan O'Brien

I support the proposed modification to the MTW mine. I have worked at MTW for 3 years and this modification will help ensure my future at this mine.

I support the modification. If my employment at MTW was terminated due to slowed production my whole family would be affected. My fiance is unable to work because she has to look after our 1 year old son who requires a lot of care, and I rely on my current job and it's generous wages to support my family at home and fund all necessary care products for my son.

On a larger scale, MTW mine is one of the largest mines in the Hunter Valley and closure of the mine would be detrimental to local economy. Many small businesses in the Mt. Thorley industrial estate rely on our mine for a large majority of the income. Local real estate business would be greatly affected if MTW's 1300 employees were forced to live elsewhere to gain employment. Hundreds of small businesses stretching from Newcastle and the Central Coast to Muswellbrook and Scone will be affected by the closure of MTW mine.

Personally, it would be detrimental to my life at home and for my fiance and my son.

I have been employed at MTW for the past 2 years.Prior to this i was a member of the Royal Australian Navy for 21 Yrs. I left the Navy with the intention of spending the remainder of my working career in the mining industry. If MTW was not to get approval for the extention, the majority of workers will be out of employment. This will mean more people applying for un-employment payments.

I support the submission for the extension because if Warkworth don't get the extension it will effect my chances of having employment at the mine because as a contractor we are the first to be terminated. I have a mortgage wife and 4 kids and not having a job will affect me, and not only that all the small businesses from Maitland to Warkworth will also be affected with the chance of losing all of the workers on the way to and from work.
I really believe that the extension will help the community in all surrounding areas of the Hunter Valley

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i agree with the mtw extension as my husband works there as an operator he has been there for 4 years and with out this extension my husbands employment could be at risk of been stood down this would affect our family life as my husband supports our family 100% im unable to work my self and myself and our son depend on his income to survive.

i am a single income earner in a family of five and i am only a contractor for rio tinto.if this submission is not approved me and my family will loose our family home and be looking for accomidation without a job. please put this submision forward.

I believe the MTW extension is very important both to the community and on a personal level for the following reasons:

The mining industry brings a large amount of business and trade to Australia and by rejecting this extension I believe it will have an extremely negative effect to the local community in the Hunter Valley.

As a contractor I am fearful for my future and career if this extension does not get approved. As the mining industry has already had a hard time with coal prices and the mining taxes, it is extremely hard at this point in time to find alternative work. If this extension was to be approved, it would hopefully mean my career here at MTW will be safe and I can continue working here for a long time to come.

I live with my partner and we are planning to get married in September 2014. We also have just took on a mortgage for our first home that will commence building in March 2014. I am very worried that if this extension does not get approved that I will no longer be able to have the wedding my partner and myself have always wanted and that we possibily may even need to sell our house because we just simply won't be able to afford it if I lose my job here at MTW.

I strongly believe that this extension needs to be approved otherwise it is going to effect A LOT of families and their livelihood.

As a Contractor with Resco I Strongly agree with this extension process as I believe that with many more years added onto this mine site it will allow more opportunities for the people currently employed with Rio Tinto, contractors and the future up and coming employees.

I believe that the close towns near the mine site will take a huge hit if this doesn't go through and with no jobs and that it is a lot of peoples only income and they will have to travel elsewhere and not be with there family.

Being a younger person just moved from WA to start in the coal industry from the gold mines I moved back to start fresh and was looking forward to a long career in the hunter valley, but if this doesn't go through a lot of people will have to look else where even interstate which again will mean not near family just to earn that money you could of got while working in the hunter valley.

I strongly agree with this extension and definitely agree that this should be approved for everyone in the surroundings townships for the future living and well beings of everyone that works here at the moment and many more to commence.

I have worked at MTW for over two years as a maintenance electrician and my family life is fully dependant on my employment here.
My husband works for a training company who gets alot of work from MTW and he will be struggling to find work if the mine reduces its production.
We have just signed up for a loan on a second home for my husbands mother to live in and would be finacially in alot of trouble if this extension is not approved.

I would like the submissinon to be approved because I support a family of 3 and I dont know if I would be able to stay in the area, I have lived in the area all my life and I would not like to leave, this would affect the local community as a lot of people would move out of the area because a lot of people would lose their jobs. MTW supports a lot of local businesses not just directly but indirectly by the wages they provide and where people spend their money, these small businesses would suffer or even close down if there isn't the people to shop there.

I support this.

I believe it is in the interest of the local communities for this submission to go ahead.
It could lead to a collapse of the town's economies.
Recent role reductions in the mines in the area have already effected the housing/rental market in Singleton.

Dear Minister,

I support Coal & Allied's Warkworth Modification application to gain access to an additional 350m of land owned by the mine, to avoid a significant drop in production and employment.

I have been working at MTW for almost two years, i am an Electrical maintainer at the South CHPP, my role involves breakdown repairs and Plant Maintance on a day to day basis and shutdown situation.
My whole family is dependent on this mine staying open as i am a young person who is trying to support my young family, and have family who contract to this mine for work to support there young families, without MTW there is not much for us. I enjoy what i do and have grown up in this area, i would hate to have to pack up and leave due to this mine shutting as there is no other work, during this process the number of jobs for contractoring companys have fallen and the number of jobs that Rio Tinto offer has stopped, leaving not much out there for anyone.
If MTW were to close or downsize meaning a cut in the work force it would affect myself and the team i work with who are a young team who are trying to support young familys, by closing or downsizing just makes life hard for us the workers fulltime, part time, contractors, etc.
Mount Thorley Warkworth provides a stable income for over 1,300 full time employees in the Hunter Valley. And the operation of the mine reaches into many other businesses that supply MTW. Thousands of people depend on this mine and if production was to drop, the result could be devastating.

We need certainty. We've been wondering what the future holds now for four years. If this minor modification to an existing, 30 year old mine does not get approved, I am worried about what this will mean for local jobs and investment across the NSW mining industry.

Please accept this submission in support of the Warkworth Modification.

Regards
Andrew Ernst

I fully support the application as my future employment as well as my collegues future employment could possibly rest on the outcome of this submission.I also believe the economic benefits of this expansion could bring to the local Area,NSW and Australia would benefit everyone in the community