THE NSW Minerals Council has released an election policy manifesto that calls on the Coalition and Labor to rule out any power-sharing arrangement with the Greens should the March 23 state election result in a hung parliament.
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The 13-page manifesto includes a 20-question scorecard that the minerals council wants political parties to fill out before the end of February.
Minerals council chief executive Stephen Galilee says “mining-dependent” electorates such as Upper Hunter, Orange, Barwon and Dubbo could decide the election outcome, so the council wants to ensure that people working in the industry are “aware of the policies of those seeking to represent them”.
Despite growing calls from around the world to stop burning coal for electricity generation, the minerals council points to International Energy Agency forecasts it says show a doubling of coal consumption in South East Asia over the next 20 years.
“Supporting the coal industry to make the most of these opportunities will support tens of thousands of jobs and deliver billions in royalty and export revenue to NSW,” Mr Galilee said.
On the Greens, Mr Galilee said the environmental party’s policy to shut to down the NSW coal industry within 10 years would wreak havoc on the economy and destroy regional communities across the state.
“Mining employs more than 40,000 people in NSW, is the state’s largest single export industry, directly injects around $10 billion a year in salaries and business purchases and is forecast to deliver a record $2 billion in royalties in the next financial year,” Mr Galilee said.
The council also wants more planning certainty for long-term projects, and is seeking commitments from the major parties that their policies will not involve “sovereign risk” to existing exploration and mining projects.
“Any suggestion that titles and leases may be cancelled without compensation, as has occurred under the current government, must be completely avoided,” the manifesto says.
The minerals council is also concerned about the high cost of electricity, saying that mining operations in NSW consume about nine per cent of the state’s power.
It predicts “significant energy supply disruption” if Liddell power station closes as scheduled in 2022, and calls on an incoming state government to “take responsibility” to ensure the state’s energy supply.
The manifesto supports further research on carbon capture and storage, saying “the scale of the task to reduce carbon emissions from the economy should not be under-estimated”.
It promotes a “technology neutral approach”, but says that “technology-specific policies such as subsidies and renewable energy targets should be avoided given their impact on price volatility and grid instability”.
On the other side of the argument, the Greens are pushing in federal parliament to end any similar subsidies to coal-fired electricity generators.
“If the government won’t voluntarily rule out giving public money to fossil fuels, then parliament must stop them,” Greens MP Adam Bandt said this week.
Ian Kirkwood
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
