Warkworth Coal Mine Continuation

Please keep Mount Thorley Warkworth Mine open and operational to its full capacity. The mine has enabled past employees to be part of a thriving community. Generations of men and women have learnt valued trades and skills in these local mines and would like to think that their future is secure enough to continue for years to come. Extensions and continuation of the mine is a must, so please make the right decision and allow this great area to be a wonderful place to live, play and work.

I wish to support the warkworth extension . This extension will continue to give a lot of people a job to go to & also support the local communities in which we live.

I am in support of the Mt Thorley Warkworth (MTW) mine extension.

Many close friends work for MTW or businesses that directly support the mine. It is their families who will be positively or negatively impacted based on the decision to extend or to deny the extension of MTW. I myself am a former local resident having just relocated internationally in Jan 2014 for family reasons & I am still an active investor in the Singleton community. I am familiar with the impact of the mining cycle on the community, notwithstanding the loss of jobs that are completely avoidable. I am also friends with families that live in Bulga, many of whom are employed in mining and understand the impact the mine has on their lives.

As a former employee of MTW (I ceased employment in 2010), I am well aware of the day to day issues facing the Hunter mining industry as a whole, as well as the unique environmental and community concerns for this site.

The complaints around dust and noise generation from the community are valid however these complaints are not unique to MTW, nor is mining the only culprit. Singleton also cops its fair share of dust from the mines in the region. To penalise MTW and its hard serving employees for the issues facing the entire industry in the Hunter does not sit well with me.

In past community publications mailed to the residents of surrounding areas, MTW has outlined their commitment to reducing their impact by introducing sound suppression across its fleet & large investments made in dust suppression equipment/infrastructure, aerial seeding of inactive areas and other initiatives. Farmland, west of the Hunter Valley mining belt contributes to dust generation in the region also.

An article in the Newcastle Herald (20th Aug 2013) titled "Dust in the Wind" speaks of Mr Hedley's decision to move his business Hedweld Engineering to the USA. He cites dust from Mt Thorley as the major contributing factor. If dust were the only issue to moving the business, then any other industrial park in the region would be acceptable. In my personal opinion, I believe the dust issue is being polarized as an excuse for moving the business out of Australia due to the high cost of labour and Mr Hedley's vested interest as a resident of Bulga.

Recently, I have moved into an apartment right next to a train line (in North America) whereby freight trains sound their horns 3x times for every level railroad crossing. These trains come through every hour or two. It can interupt my sleep certainly, but there are things I can do to minimise the impact. I have installed insulation and double glazed windows. I knew the train line was there when I moved in. Now that I am there I cant ask the trains to cease operating at night. The plan & mining lease for MTW to get as close to Bulga has always been there in place - I find it sad that now that the prospect of the mine coming closer to the town is finally a reality, that residents complain. My understanding is that MTW is not seeking to increase their active mining footprint, but simply to extend the mine operating life. This being the case, if the mine is currently operating in a way that is unacceptable to the community now, then the mine should be shut now through the existing government regulations in place. If the mine is getting too close to a town, then it should acquire the property at a reasonable market rate to compensate the residents for loss of value - processes which already exist in the region. Other mines such as Bengalla operate very close to a major township and have done so well over an extended period of time - I see no reason why MTW should not be given the opportunity to do so also.

With regard to disturbance of ecologically sensitive land, I am aware of the 8:1 offset package proposed by the company of 8 times the land offset in other areas of similar sensitivity for every 1 unit of area of sensitive large disturbed. I think this is an excellent way to preserve other areas of nearby land for generations to come.

My wish, Is to see jobs preserved for the long term and the sustainability of the region maintained. I wish to return to the region in the years to come, and would like to have jobs in the area for my children.

Note. The address I have used is of my home in Singleton which I plan to return to in coming few years.

Please consider my submission to keep Warkworth operational and productive for the next 35 years. Without this expansion, the mine will not only be affected, but the region as a whole. Families would leave, business will drop and 1300 people will be out of work. We need to think of the bigger picture and not the will of a few people. Thankyou for your consideration.

As an employee of RTCA and as a resident of Muswellbrook I have come to see to significant benefits that RTCA brings to the Hunter area. Through direct and indirect jobs and sponsorship of numerous community events and organisations, RTCA is a name that the community highly values and respects. It is seen as a organisation that maintains high environmental standards through robust environmental management systems coupled with close community engagement.

I fully support the Warkworth continuation.

Supporting jobs in the Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle areas

Supporting jobs in the Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle areas

Any job losses will greatly affect not only Singleton but all the
Hunter Valley. As happened a number of years ago the
Retail industry suffered as well as hospitality,entertainment etc.
with more loss of jobs.

I support the proposed extension at Walkworth and with it, its 1300 Staff that work there, their families and external Businesses that rely upon the mines ongoing future.

Strike Force Services provides cleaning services to the Walkworth Coal mine. We currently have over 30 team members including sub contactors who depend on the ongoing works within the mine.

Like most cleaning company's the cleaning sector of our business is a minimum wage industry, often with an unskilled work force. Walkworth provides the perfect foundation to secure a future for the team and their families. The mining Industry and our local community have been struggling for last 2 years.

The People in the Hunter Valley are not asking for handouts just an opportunity to continue to look after their families and play their part in the community.

I started with MTW mine 3 years ago with the intention of moving my family from Penrith to Singleton and starting a new live in Singleton, but since the extension got disapproved in the environmental court hundreds of co workers, sub-contractors and suppliers have been made redundant over the last 3 years. I have not moved my family to singleton and i live up here during the week and travel home on weekends due to my job being insecure and not knowing when i will get a tap on the shoulder and as i don't see a improvement in the near future I am now thinking about moving back home to Penrith to be with my family and finding work in Sydney.
I am disappointed that it has come to this because of a few individual people (mostly retired) affecting 1000's of family's who have lost their jobs and homes ( I hear 800 homes for sale in Singleton now), The mine land is not virgin bush but farm land that was cleared years before the mine started and has now grown back because it is not being farmed any more, the people at Bulga should have a good look at them self and realize that the land that they live on has been cleared from bush land who also have brought the land cheap knowing that the mines are near by.
It's about time that people realize how much the mines in the Hunter valley mean in revenue to the Australian government, all the local business and 1000's of family's who depend on the mines for their likelihood. If the extension is not approved it is good business sense in these times to shut down the MTW mine until things improve. Bad for the community

I work among the 1300 employees at Mt Thorley Warkworth, our company strongly supports local communities and businesses. With the closure of Camberwell and Drayton Sth's uncertainty our community needs jobs or it will spell a very bleak future for the state with mass unemployment in country areas and young people with no future career options. Everyone has the right to work, the communties need these jobs and the state needs the royalties, please support mining.

our family depends on this mine site to provide my husband with a job to support or 4 kids and put a roof over our head

this mine is needed to secure the future of our workforces in the hunter and seems like this company gives back to the community and hires local people

this mine provides a stable income to our family which allows me to look after my 86 year old father without the use of government handouts

This mine provides my family income to support my wife and 4 kids

I support this mine and what it gives back to our local area through support ,jobs, roads ,community charity

Theres to many families livelihood at stake if this extension doesn't go ahead.

I fully support the extension at MTW. The growth of the mine will support the growth of Singleton and the local community.

I support this submission because I work at MTW and I have invested heavily into this area, support our local community and shop locally as well. If this extension does'nt go through my family and I will have to leave this area in search for work. Taking our community support with us along with many others.