Warkworth Coal Mine Continuation

There have already been too many jobs lost in the hunter, longevity of mining in the region is crucial to its future and failure to get this application through will only lead to more heartache for local families and businesses.

Over the passed 2 year I have seen family and friends lose there job and the affect it has on there children, wife's and husbands. As a contractor at warkworth mine I feel with out this expansion I may not have a job in the future.
Because of this I have been putting off buying a house and settling down in the hunter area.
So if this expansion is approve I believe it will give me the chance to provide a better future for myself and my family.

I support the submission. Mining within the Hunter Valley is critical to provide employment opportunities to those in the area.

I am confident of little increase in impact to the local communities from ongoing mining operations.

I would like the government to place serious weight on the continuing of the Mount Thorley Mine, I am in support of its continuation, my family relies on the income my husband receives from the mine to take care of our everyday living expenses and to save for our future! We live in the local community our children attend school and pre-school and a large portion of our income goes back into the community and is spent in local stores. Without our income we would not survive and would not be able to continue to work and live in the Hunter we would have to move elsewhere or interstate as we could not afford to live and contribute to the community without this income. We wish to stay within the local community for the long term and wish to invest in the hunter but will be unable to do so if there is no jobs to support us. What other industry is going to be able to provide that many jobs? There is no other industry large enough in the Hunter to support 1300 more works that will be without a job if this expansion is not approved. Have you considered what it will do to house prices, what it will mean for small local businesses that rely on the miners to spend their income in the community? Not to mention the royalties the NSW government make off of the mines. How will you fill that gap? It is in the best interests of all involved to allow Mount Thorley to expand to ensure job security and put an end to the instability these workers feel each and every day, the stress and worry about whether they might be able to afford their mortgage to put food on the table! I would like to see there be a future for myself, my husband and our children in the Hunter well into the future!

I believe the Warkworth Mine should be allowed to keep operating. This is incredibly important for local families and communities that rely on the mine.

It is also important as provides a regional source of jobs. Too many people are tied to the cities already for work.

Contrary to the views of some ratbag green groups, mining is an honourable profession that has brought a lot of wealth to my town, state and nation. Let's remember that by 'wealth' I mean the likes of schools, hospitals roads etc. I'm proud to be a miner and of all the good that my industry has brought to the region and the nation. My son is about to embark on a career in mining and I want him to both have a future and to be proud of his contribution to our society. Mt Thorley Warkworth should be allowed to continue!

I am seriously concerned for Singleton future and the future of many local people.

There are far too many jobs already lost in the shire.

I am also concerned with how charities and other organisations are going to cope without the generous donations from Mining Companies. If they don't get local support why should they support local organisations.

The economic benefits of mining in the hunter are far too great to be ignored.

I believe that the mining industry and other industries can co-exist.

There have already been too many job losses in mining over the past 12 months and these projects should be approved to secure employment for more than 1,300 people that rely on these mines for their income to support their families.

I am also concerned that we are going to lose valuable infrastructure that is not mining related but relies on this valuable industry.

I have worked in mining and understand the flow on effect having lost my job in Muswellbrook. If by driving around our area you can see the deterioration of businesses who rely on mining.

I would hate to see this also in Singleton particularly with the closure of 3 other mines in the area by the end of this month.

I am retired and have no personal attachment with the Mount Thorley mine site. I have never worked in the mining industry but I am saddened to see the number of people and organisations rally against this industry. Coal mining is and always has been a part of the Hunter Valley and it should continue to be that way. In the valley we are good at what we do and contribute to both the local and national economy as well as the local communities. If people continue to want to cease mining in the valley what happens to the thousands of jobs at stake and also what happens to the local economies. We should get real and support local jobs and mining in general. Certain political parties, media (especially in the Newcastle area) love to downplay mining and kick it when they can. We need mining and we need the jobs that go with it. These are real people doing real work. Let them get on with it. I am tired of listening to professional do nothings rally against this industry. Lets get on with it and let us prosper as a nation.

Mining is a vital part of my community. Although not employed in the mines, I benefit from their involvement in the community through play groups, sporting facilities and children's reading program's. I also like to turn my light on when it's dark.

I support the approval of mt thorley warkworth .Its not just the job loses at the mine it's the surounding community that will suffer to.Ive spoken to people like hair dressers who are even struggling nothing to do with mining bit it's miners and there families who spend there money three .What about the company's who deal directly with the mine they will close and job loses .Its getting to the stage in this country that the bad press about coal mine will eventually win and coal mines will be closed so what next we will start to import coal ,do you think electricity prices will stay the same ,not a chance .Our car industry is destroyed soon it will be the mining industry .

I would like to support the continuation of Mining at Warkworth Mt Thorley Mine, as the economic benefits to the Future of our area depends of the mine extenstion to go ahead.
Our community and the businesses depend of this development to enable our area of growth and employment. If 1300 odd families lose their income and business shut down the community will be in serious financal hardship, with many people left without employment. Already we are seeing and feeling the effects of high unemployment and job losses, Please save our opportunities of continuation of the mine. Thank You

I chose to work in this mine because it had a long future and my family was here. I have been here since 1986 and was born in the area. My family (Father, brother, brother in law, cousins) have worked for this mine and sister mines for the last 35 years. If this mine closes it will be catastrophic for the town, schools, clubs, businesses, shops, support company's and the list goes on. This is a great place to work and allot of friendships formed. The amount of time and money Rio Tinto has put into this project has been above what has been asked and I have personally seen this effort and to hear the negative press and comments from the minority group of false facts makes me angry. I hope common sense wins the day and Singleton and surrounding area's remain strong and healthy.

Support the expansion. More jobs better economy.

1300 jobs depend on Mount Thorley Warkworth which has been part of the Singleton community for more than 30 years. The impact would be felt by so many families who have been working in the region for generations if MTW is not approved to continue mining. The effect would also be felt by so many local businesses in the Hunter. The opportunities are already reduced for people in the region, and having 1300 more people looking for work would make it nearly impossible for these people to find other jobs in the region. Please seriously consider the application that has been put forward.

Rio Tinto's commitment not just to the environment but the people and communities in it, is a credit to them. Cancelling this project will greatly impact on the wider community further than just the Hunter Valley area and the 1300 people's jobs involved.

Current impacts in coal mining are already greatly effecting employment opportunities with a large number of projects being scaled back and people being made redundant, the continuation of this project will ensure the future of Coal mining and the >1300 people and business associated with it, "Their lives, the employees future depend on it"

This application has a major impact on my family. I am relying on my future to work at this operation and do not know what I will do , as far as living locally as I have done for 14 years and for work, if the extension is not granted. Singleton is also already feeling the pinch with the industry in its downturn and will enormously damage the whole Hunter Valley economics , related or not mine related. The government needs to support the companies that still have the finances to want to invest to make up the shortfall for those who are pulling out before the industry collapses completely.

1300 jobs depend on Mount Thorley Warkworth (MTW) which has been part of the Singleton community for more than 30 years. Coming from a mining town myself, I can only imagine what the impact would be to families who have been in the region for generations if it is not approved to continue mining. But the impact doesn't stop with the people directly employed by MTW: with over $188 million spent with local businesses in the Upper Hunter. Without the approval to continue to mine at MTW, impacts will be in no doubt felt right across the Hunter region.

I grew up in NSW, and know a large amount of people that this expansion would support. Working for an Earth moving hire company, which I am base in Perth this may also me personal as we have machine on site.

As a service provider to the NSW mining industry operating outside of the Hunter Valley region, we support the Warkworth application because of the continuing business opportunities Warkworth will bring to the companies and their employees similar to ourselves in the Hunter Valley.

In a downturned market, the pressure placed on service providers as a result of an unexpected mine closure due to an application rejection can be that extreme that their only option is to foreclose, liquidate and lose all equity that has been built up. Small companies don't often recover from this type of pressure. For companies that strive to stay afloat, they may push into other NSW mining regions that are already experiencing financial strain due to the drop in coal or ore prices and they may attempt to win business by reducing their margins to zero, foregoing their running cost provisions and striving to just make wages and financial repayments. The end result is a flow on effect where even more service providers are displaced and the net number of mining service providers in NSW under financial duress increases.

Warkworth represents an important part of the overall NSW mining economy and I believe we should be supporting Rio Tinto's application at a time when commodity prices are not at their highest and where we could see any number of projects put on the back-burner or shelved until prices increase.