MAYORS from across the region are calling for immediate financial commitments from both major Federal parties and the NSW Government to reinvest coal royalties back into the Hunter.
According to the Hunter Joint Organisation (HJO), a collaborative body that brings together the ten councils in the region (including Dungog Shire), the Hunter region is facing a “critical challenge with the impending loss of over 10,000 jobs by 2030 due to an expected decline in coal demand with the uptake of renewables across the globe”.
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The HJO is calling for a $20 million investment to enable Hunter councils to:
– Pilot the reactivation and repurposing of current and former mining lands and infrastructure, across a range of scenarios, to create urgently needed new employment lands across the region.
– Directly de-risk industry investment and strategically inform and accelerate industry attraction, skills development and job creation urgently needed as the Hunter’s economy rapidly transforms away from coal.
Last week, mayors from Dungog, Newcastle, Maitland and Singleton visited Bloomfield mine in Maitland to highlight the potential for repurposing the site.
“Sites like Bloomfield can be transformed to create new employment opportunities,” the HJO said in a statement.
“The Mayors have a plan with $20.7 million in proposed pilot projects to map coal mine sites, develop action plans, and create master plans for future use.
“If just one percent of mining royalties were directed to support our communities, it would generate approximately $133 million over the next four years.”