RESOURCES and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts, the man responsible for NSW's mining and gas development, said the industries would continue to develop under his leadership.
He told an industry gathering last week that despite the recent rise of renewables, with $13 billion worth of projects in the pipeline in NSW, gas and coal would be essential to the state's energy needs, employment and revenue.
"Anybody that says renewables don't deliver jobs is quite frankly incorrect," Mr Roberts said.
He also highlighted two measures that would promote fossil fuel industries.
It was "unjustifiable" that NSW only sourced five per cent of the gas demanded by its 1.3 million consumers from within the state and new gas production (which can only come from regional NSW due to exclusion zones for residential areas) was needed to increase the state's energy security and put "downward pressure on prices", he said.
The "tough measures" in the NSW Gas Plan, a set of proposed reforms to ensure sustainable development of CSG resources has seen NSW buyback Petroleum Exploration Licences (PEL), at a cost of $212,500 each. Before the buybacks, 60 per cent of NSW was covered by PELs, which has reduced to about 8pc now.
Mr Roberts said NSW's coal industry was key to the state's future as "the backbone of the economy", supplying 80 per cent of the state's electricity and supporting 120,000 jobs.
He acknowledged coal was in a downward cyclical trend, but "time and time again" the industry had proven its resilience.
Government had paved the way for future production "with a transparent and accountable framework" developed by the Coal Exploration Steering Group.
"The (group's) new approach includes identifying areas for release only after environmental, social and economic factors have been considered and the community has been consulted," Mr Roberts said.
The new framework was set up to reduce the opportunities and incentives for corruption in NSW's management of coal, following alarming findings from the Indep-endent Commission Against Corru-ption.
Mr Roberts accused the "highly paid and highly trained" activists that opposed coal, and mining more broadly, of hypocrisy.
"I don't know where they get their mobile phones from, or whether the fairy brings it... and the fact is it is made from something that is mined, so is their bus, their bike and their home."
Mike Foley
Senior journalist for The Land.
Senior journalist for The Land.
