I am employed by HVO and have been working here for 12 years, it is a well-run operation which places safety, environment and community at the forefront of it's operating principles. It has been operating for a long time now and the continuation project is vital to support the 1500 employees and thousands more in contractors and other providers. The mine supports a great many community organisations and contributes much in the way of state revenue. Yes, coal mining will eventually be phased out to a certain degree, but I believe this should be in the form of closer scrutiny of new mine sites not shutting down existing ones and putting people out of jobs. HVO will merely be continuing as it always has, without increasing tonnes per annum, and providing certainty and security for the vital economic region of the Hunter Valley.

I have been employed at HVO for 18 years and moved to the area to work here. I’ve raised a family in the local community and support local schools and business. The continuation of HVO is critical to all the workers and local schools and business who directly benefit from the project.

I support HVO North, for everyone at our site, outside industries that rely on mining, and especially for myself, I work to support our family farm in the central west, and without my help we would be in dire need.
Mining is for everyone.

The continuation will provide a income for me and my family

I support the decision for the HVO North Open Cut Continuation Project because having been in the industry for mor than 10 years, I have seen the benefits to the surrounding communities and also giving me and my family and friends a stable and comfortable lifestyle, which will benefit my family's future and also the communities around the project with future economic stability. I'm 100 % for projects that will see growth in the hunter valley and give everyone an opportunity to gain a career in the mining industry.

The local mines create great employment opportunity and financial support to our entire economy. Many young people complete apprenticeships through the mines and have excellent skills to allow employment in many fields. If we lose the mines, we lose economy, families breakdown due to loss of employment and towns lose business due to lack of population and finance.

Growing up in Singleton HVO has been a massive part of the community. During my school life HVO supported the aboriginal center at Singleton High School which I was a massive part of, they partnered with the Newcastle Knights to help with a fitness program at the high school coming to events and taking a group of us into the knights training facilities. When I was working at the local council HVO would have people involved in the national plant a tree day which I helped run on the day. Now been working at HVO as either a contractor or permanent employee just recently, working here has given me a great life from holidays to last year getting married now buying a house and having my first child this job means can give my family the best start out in life. My role at HVO isn't part of production I work in the many other roles this place provides.

I support the project due to the amount of jobs this site creates, the amount of small & large businesses in the local area that service the HVO site. As well as the ongoing charity, community grants & community work that HVO does. Support for infrastructure from the royalties & taxes that HVO pay to assist with paying for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. The new bridge across mosses crossing will assist the locals with better access during large rain events.

I am an Employee of HVO, now in my 10th year at the operation.
I and my family rely on the income from my employment there.
We live in Hunterview, we do the vast majority of our shopping, sporting and exercise at local facilities with the Singleton community.

HVO, like other mines in the Hunter Valley, are valuable in that they offer high quality, well paying employment at reasonable distances to vibrant diverse communities. This combined with reasonable total work hour weeks. HVO is unique in that it allows me to have an integral part in my young families lives on a daily basis with a 25 minute commute to Singleton. I am able to do school drop offs and/or pickups, attend events during the day and return to work. It is extremely important to be able to be there for children particularly, but any family member. When at an event and you see them looking through the crowd for mum and dad, then you do a big wave to draw attention, and their face lights up when they see you. As they get older they try to contain this somewhat, to look cool in front of friends I am sure, but they still cannot "keep the lid on" completely!

My extended family lives in Sydney region, Singleton is within a reasonable driving distance for a day trip. Often my family will come out to visit and attend functions / events with the children. Seeing Aunty/Uncle, Nanny or Papa (grandparents) in the crowd is a wonderful thing.

Many of my colleagues and employees live in the surrounding regions up and down the New England. They each have their own lives and places in their communities. They earn a respectable income, personally I am earning more than was possible for me in the past when employed in other industries. This allows me to choose to support local businesses, by local I include Australian producers. Best examples I can think of are when we buy groceries, we do not have to buy the generic milk. We have made a conscious decision to buy either Dairy Farmers, Devondale, Norco or any of the other boutique brands which are local to the area. Cheese we buy from the Hunter Belle Co, the caramelised onion and jalapeno are my favourites. This is not limited to milk and cheese. Steering myself back on track, we use local services for healthcare, recreation, hair dressing, car maintenance, local trades for home renovations and maintenance. We often go for lunch to the Pokolbin, Scone, Muswellbrook and Maitland regions on weekends, the food is amazing.

That all said, if HVO were to not be approved, there is a very significant chance I would be forced to leave the region when current approval expires. There are other mines in the area, but as a professional I can say no two mines are exactly alike. The features of HVO align with my own goals and skill set, this is not necessarily a preferable transfer to another local mine. My family would leave with me because I cannot fathom not being part of their daily lives. I believe it is essential to see them daily, face to face, when they are happy, when they are sad, and everything in between. To do things with them, teach them and be taught by them, I am able to be there for them, they can rely on me, not just Mum. When I say I am going to be somewhere, I do not have far to travel, so there is little to stand in the way of a fulfilled promise. I am not certain where in Australia I could find this combination of work and community proximity, one because I have not looked, two because I have not needed to look.

I am happy to provide further detail if required.

As a voting, taxpaying member of the Singleton community I ask that you approve the North and South continuation project please.

Thank you for your time today.

I am supporting the project as it is where I work and it helps me support my family, but it also helps the wider community with flow on work from boiler makers, welders, to contractors and labours. it should be allowed to continue operating as it is not a new mine opening up.