The latest NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey has confirmed the critical role mining plays in the Hunter, Illawarra and Central West regions.
Hunter region
Mining companies that participated in the survey supported over 15,300 jobs in the Hunter region in the 2022–23 financial year (FY23), which is 1700 more jobs from FY22 and is the highest number of jobs reported in the survey’s 12-year history.
The participating mining companies directly injected $8.2 billion into the Hunter region’s economy in FY23, representing a $2 billion increase from FY22.
About $1.9 billion of the spend went towards wages and salaries and $6.3 billion went towards goods and services purchased from over 2700 mining supplier businesses across the Hunter region.
The $8.2 billion of direct mining spending in the Hunter region is the highest survey result ever reported.
“Mining companies in the Hunter are spending at record levels, while also supporting a record number of Hunter jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local mining communities and the region’s economy,” NSW Minerals Council chief executive officer Stephen Galilee said.
“These record results are a timely reminder of the need for policies that support a strong mining sector for the future of the Hunter.”
FY23 also marks the fourth consecutive financial year in which direct mining spending in the Hunter region has topped $6 billion.
Illawarra region
Mining companies that participated in the survey supported over 2060 jobs in the Illawarra region during FY23, an increase of over 200 jobs compared to FY22. This marks the fourth time in the survey’s history that Illawarra job numbers have surpassed 2000.
They also injected $964 million into the Illawarra region’s economy, a $160 million increase from FY22.
Almost $190 million was spent on wages and salaries and $774 million was spent on goods and services purchased from over 400 mining supplier businesses across the Illawarra region.
“Mining companies in the Illawarra are spending more in the local region than they have in almost a decade while also supporting an increased number of Illawarra jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local mining communities and the region’s economy,” Galilee said.
“These very strong results are a timely reminder of the need for policies that support a strong mining sector for the future of the Illawarra.”
Central West
Mining companies that participated in the survey supported over 5500 jobs in the Central West region during FY23, marking the fourth consecutive year in which mining jobs in the Central West equalled 5000 or more.
The mining companies directly injected $1.2 billion into the Central West region’s economy, which was the second highest level of spending the region had seen since the survey was first undertaken.
It also marked the fourth year in a row where mining expenditure totalled $1 billion or more annually. Almost $460 million was spent on wages and salaries and nearly $760 million was spent on goods and services purchased from over 1000 mining supplier businesses across the Central West region.
“Mining companies in the Central West are maintaining record levels of spending in the local region while supporting ongoing record levels of Central West jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local mining communities and the region’s economy,” Galilee said.
“Over the last four years, mining has contributed around 20 per cent or more of total economic activity of the Central West, demonstrating its ongoing importance to the region.
“These very strong results are a timely reminder of the need for policies that support a strong mining sector for the future of the Central West.”
The survey also revealed that participating mining companies injected a record amount of $23.6 billion into the NSW economy in FY23.
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