Mining regions in the state’s central and north-west areas face extinction following two wasted years of inactivity by the State Government at a time they should have been preparing for the future, the National Party has claimed.

They argue that the 'Future Jobs and Investment Authority' announced in the recent State Budget was little more than a renamed version of the previous Coalition Government’s 'Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund' that was designed to guide the transition from mine production to other industries in the charge to net zero.

As part of the Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund, a series of expert panels were established to represent the Hunter, Illawarra, Central West and North-West regions, with claims they have been told not to do anything since their last meeting in August 2023, NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said.

“There are so many cities and towns across regional NSW that are underpinned by mining, and as the sector changes they are still no closer to getting any certainty about what things might look like moving forward,” Mr Saunders said.

“The Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund was set up to identify new economic and employment opportunities, as well as make strategic investments in planning, workforce development and enabling infrastructure so these communities don’t shut down as soon as the mines stop operating,” he added.

He said that the government was simply setting up another bureaucracy to do the job of the old, as mining communities face being put out of business by net zero, with none of the money set aside for their future being used on improving their prospects.

“It’s a disgrace to think instead of rolling out the $100 million sitting in the bucket and getting on with this important process, the government would rather waste almost $30m and even more time establishing a new version of what has already been set up and is ready to go,” Mr Saunders said.

Failing to prepare for a carbon-free future will lead to the collapse of local communities throughout regional NSW, State Member for the Upper Hunter Dave Layzell said.

“The coal mining industry currently supports about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs, and if we don’t have a Plan B we’ll see a massive rise in unemployment,” Mr Layzell said.

“Workers will lose the ability to support their families, the small businesses in these towns will lose their customers and there won’t be anything to attract people to our region,” he concluded.