Warkworth Coal Mine Continuation

I believe that the Warkworth expansion will bring more jobs to the community and will give the current workers piece of mind with their jobs. I am currently on the wait list to start my traineeship at MTW and can't wait to get the phone call with a start date. This job will help my family be more financially stable. I support it 100%.......

As a resident of Singleton and an employee of Mount Thorley Warkworth I know that the continuation of the mine is critical, not only for me and my family but for the community and the other 1300 people that work here as well.

I have lived in Singleton for 14.5 years and have raised my family here and a large proportion of our wages go back into the local economy. If the extension doesn't go ahead we will be forced to move as there are very few opportunities for employment currently in the Singleton area.

Singleton is already feeling the affects from the mining downturn as mines/businesses are closing, unemployment is on the rise, numerous houses on the market for sale and retail in general is struggling as people are not spending as there is so much uncertainty in the mining industry.

Lets all work together and get some stability back into the industry/community and secure the jobs for 1300 people that their livelihoods depend on the Mount Thorley Warkworth mine.

our area really needs this extension. so many people will be affected if this extension does not get approval including myself. RTCA Is committed to helping the local community.
there are so many procedures that we follow on a daily basis to keep our neighbours happy

i support the warkworth continuation project, my family of 4 relies greatly on business from MTW, as our workshop backs onto MTW pit we get alot of work from them to keep our business running and support my fellow workmates and there families.

Its great for the local economy, alot of jobs would go, and alot of the local businesses rely on the local mine.

Effect of downturn in mining, speciaally coal mining can be seen clearly in the Hunter Valley towns. Mount Thorley Warkworth mine is a major employer in the region. Its future and thereby employment of all those associated with the mine, depends on continuation of the mine operations. If it starts shutting down next year, the impact on Hunter Valley towns nearby will be huge. Its continuation is vital for the economy of the region.

Plese approve the application to enable Mt Thorley Warkworth mine to continue. Lots of families depend on the jobs created by the mine either directly or indirectly.It would be a great tragedy to see them have to move elsewhere to find employment with the local prospects being so slim.

As an employee at mtw my family rely on the mine's income to pay for our house,car and bring our young family up

My husband is the primary income earner for our young family, im not sure what we would do without the extention going thru

This mine supports so many small businesses in the hunter

I support the application to continue mining at MTW. 1300 jobs depend on Mount Thorley Warkworth which has been part of the Singleton community for more than 30 years. It is important to understand the important contribution this mine makes to the local community and the regional and national economy.

MTW works within the existing strict environmental guidelines set by the relevant authorities, and also according to the strict procedures of Rio Tinto. It is very efficient and is a world class operation. It needs to be allowed to continue.

PROTECT THE JOBS!!!!

Ever since I can remember , when someone mentioned singleton the first thing I would relate it to was mining, I have rented a unit in singleton for the past 3 years to be closer to the mine but am now commuting between the central coast and singleton since the new expressway has opened.so mount Thorley warkworth not only helps the singleton area but it also supports the economy of many surrounding areas which will suffer dramatically if the mine were to close.
Years ago I had the attitude of a lot of people who have spoken against mining,I was against mining in every way, but for you to understand why I have changed my mind , I will tell you a bit about my history.
I am a horticulturist by trade and for nearly all of my working life I have been actively involved and dedicated to the revegitation and regeneration of the east coast of Australia , mainly nsw, I have planted and researched millions if native plants and have advised clients such as national parks and wildlife, Cairo,greening Australia , landcare,rta and various farmers throughout nsw on endemic species in their areas and how to plant and care for them.
During this time I have witnessed some terrible cases of salinity and erosion and in all of these it was due to the fact that all the vegetation had been removed from the site and the areas had been used for cropping or livestock for many years without trees with tap roots to bind the soil and absorb excessive salts and water.
About 5 years ago I accepted my first role in earthmoving which was ironically in the remediation project for the hunter river and realised we are so much better educated than we were 50 years ago, that we know what causes all these problems and how to prevent them from happening again.
To criticise mining would make me a hypocrite as just about everything we use comes from the earth in some way and after witnessing the effects of farming on the surface of the soil for long periods of time with the constant use of chemicals and the lack of deep rooted trees , I would be more inclined to say that it will be agricultural land that will be suffering in another 50 years time. Yes mining changes the structure of the soil and direction of water but we are all doing the same thing in our own backyards with building houses and landscaping our yards and this all contributes to the changed direction f water flow and impacts the environment.
So firstly I became educated , then I became a realist.
So much of what we live off and depend on comes from mining,in a time where the worlds economy is in such a crisis, Australia is prospering because of mining.
The fact is we need mining as much as we need the surface of the soil to produce food, but we are so much smarter at it now and can now continue to mine with minimal impact on the environment.
When I commenced at mount Thorley warkworth I was very impressed when I saw all the greenery.i noticed quite a few of the indigenous species from warkworth sands and thousands of eucalypts and acacias which I haven't been close enough to identify but can assume by what I have seen that they are also species endemic to the area.
Everything I see at MTW in the way they are implementing the remediation is exactly what i would have implimented to protect this site from erosion and salinity and to reduce the impact on the fauna. I'm not sure who they have working on their environmental section but they are doing a marvellous job and I have great faith in their ability to restore this site with minimum impact to our environment.
The fact that they are using waste products and mass planting the surface of the remediated areas will all help to put back the first horizon of the soil and this is the most important as this is where all biological activity takes place and by doing this the soil will eventually repair itself as all the organic matter breaks down and provides a new fibrous layer for more organic matter from the new plantations to accumulate to help retain the water and nutrients.
I have also noticed the amount of wildlife inhabiting these revegitated areas and am often slowing the truck to avoid hitting all sorts of animals that dart out from these areas, so I know that fauna will have no problems with relocating to the newly revegitated areas.
Come and see the road that we have all renamed the green mile, go for a drive up to the old swan lake dump and see the thousands of eucalypts that have germinated and come and see the thousands of employees who rely on this mine to feed their families, come and see the MTW care for the environment, community and employees , come and learn about their strict policy they have in the use of chemicals to help minimise the effects on the environment, staff and community and the program's they have in place for their employees health and fitness.
Come and ask the employees about the amount of times we have been asked to stop running and turn off our equipment to stop the dust and noise from affecting our neighbours,come and see how they are fitting all their trucks with noise suppression systems to minimise the impact of noise pollution.
Yes Mount Thorley Warkworth does care and I am proud to work for them.
As an operator at MTW , I promise to do everything in my power to minimise the effects of noise and dust pollution to our neighbours and I know all of my work colleagues will also do their best to minimise the impact on the community.
This is my dream job and I have worked very hard to get here, please don't take it away from me

Dear Premier,
I'm writing to ask your Government to approve the Mount Thorley Warkworth continuation project, which will help secure jobs and create a thriving local economy for the Hunter Valley.
I am one of the 1,300 mine workers facing an uncertain future, if the continuation project is not approved.
This decision will not only affect me, but my family as well. My wage, allows me to support my wife and four children, and pay off a mortgage. If I no longer had a job, the consequences would be devastating. Due to commitments such as a mortgage it would be imperative that I found work within a very short space of time, and in this unstable economic climate there would be no guarantee of finding another job. It would literally mean a fly-in, fly-out position, or relocating my family interstate. Or even, no job at all.
If MTW was forced to close or downsize, there is a very real probability of my family needing Government assistance (Centrelink) as I am the sole income earner in our household. This is not an acceptable situation to me. I do not wish to be a burden on society, but a capable contributor.
There is no reason the MTW continuation project should not be approved. The mine has had a positive effect on not only employee's but the wider Singleton community. The mine is one of the reasons for the higher standard of living in the area, and plays an integral role in maintaining local businesses and facilities.
And then there are the many businesses that supply MTW. They will be forced to cut staff as well, and then this will have even more far-reaching effects. Investments in the NSW mining sector will slide, and this in turn will put significant strain on an industry that has long been propping up Australia's economy.
The expansion decision-making process has been underway for four years. It started well before I commenced work with Coal & Allied at Mount Thorley Warkworth, and now it could affect my life in an extremely negative way. It has already added an enormous amount of stress and uncertainty, as there is no guarantee of employment if this continuation project is not approved.
There are many livelihoods at stake if this continuation project is not granted. In my opinion, this decision has the ability either to be helpful or harmful to the Hunter Valley. If the NSW Government believes in a prosperous and secure Hunter Valley mining sector, they will approve this continuation project application.
The proposal to extend the life of the mine to 2035 - on land already owned by the mine - includes many measures to accommodate concerns of nearby neighbours that go above and beyond the existing mine management measures.
These measures include offering over 1,800 hectares of land towards a National Park in the Upper Hunter and new training and employment programs to support young people in the Upper Hunter.
I fully support mine workers and the MTW continuation project - do you? Please show you support miners and their families, local businesses and our region by approving this submission.
Yours faithfully,
Jamie Blewitt (Mining Operator - Pit Services A Crew)

I support the Mount Thorley Warkworth extension because it not only supports me and my family but the Singleton community. It sponsors and gives grants to numerous non profitable organisations in the hunter. Also the downturn is having an impact in the hunter. There are numerous vacant shops in the main street and if we were to lose that many local jobs it would have a disastrous effect on many other businesses who are already struggling. My husband is in his 50's which makes it harder to get job opportunities especially with all the lay offs and rising unemployment happening here already.

We are a young family who rely on this mine as our livelyhood.
Not only do we have 2 small children we are co-carers for a catastrophic stroke surviver. We both work hard to support 2 families and 2 mortgages. The extension approval is paramount for the lives of so many families. These people are committed to a life of mining & if this does not go through it will break up multiple families, force them across the country away from loved ones & place enormous strain on already difficult situations.
The extension is justified in its entirety & worthy of approval.

Singleton town and residents need this expantion for MTW as it will impact on our homes our jobs and our town if this doesn't go ahead and all these people lose there jobs that's a hell of a lot of people's money the town will miss excpecially the ones that have mortgages they could lose there house or be forced to put there houses on the market . The housing market is already suffering with contractors being put off let alone a whole mine closing down I think most of singleton residents and business are 100% Behring the expantion of MTW or any other mine in the district.

I have worked at mtw for 2 and a half years and have been in the mining industry for five years. as the industry stands at the moment if mtw was to shut myself and 1300 of my work colleagues would find ourselves unemployed and looking for new employment in this current economy a quite scary prospect. consider all the vendors contractors and all other associated business' that need mtw for its survival they will be starting down the barrel of losing there jobs to.. think of the economic benefits associated with mtw staying open also millions and millions of dollars to improve infrastructure and services in the state... please keep mtw open its for the benefit of the majority..

After moving back home to the hunter, after serving in the army for 12years, and relocating my family back, without securing my employment further with MTW for years to come, I fear I will have to relocate my family again away from home and the hunter valley.
I feel without an approved extension to the current mining plan 1300 jobs, 1300 families and 1300 residents of the hunter will be looking at leaving because if job security is lost so is all confidence

My family depends on my income from Mtw and the current family friendly roster allows me to be there for my children to help lead them on the right path as they are approaching their teenage years,if this mine closes it would affect hundreds of families like mine.