Guy Barnett,Minister for Resources
There is no stronger or more consistent supporter of the mining and minerals sector than the Hodgman majority Liberal Government and we are committed to grow the industry.
We are delivering on our Mining for Tasmania's Future Policy, which is providing the right settings to encourage investment and ensure the mining and minerals sector remains an economic cornerstone of Tasmania.
This is a sector that provides more than 55 per cent of Tasmania's commercial exports, and employs more than 5,600 jobs, many in regional communities.
The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures demonstrate that confidence is translating into new mineral exploration with Tasmania recording an increase of 8.5 per cent in the June quarter, a greater increase than any mainland state for the same quarter.
This hasn't happened by accident, the Tasmanian Hodman majority Liberal Government is supporting industry investment and creating jobs through our $2 million Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative, which underpins the next generation of mineral discoveries in Tasmania, supporting greenfields mineral explorers with grants of up to $50,000 for direct drilling costs to identify new mining opportunities.
Together with our $1.4 million Geoscience Initiative and our Mineral Exploration Investment Attraction Plan, we are attracting the new investment required to sustain and grow Tasmania's mining industry for the long-term.
We are supporting real investment and real jobs, for example Venture Minerals has invested over $50 million in exploration and is now commencing mining at its Riley Iron Ore Mine, providing up to 100 local jobs.
This is great news for all Tasmanians unless you're part of the anti-investment, anti-jobs Labor/Greens.
At least the Greens are open in their opposition to job creating investment, while Labor make bold statements about supporting the economy and jobs at their weekend retreat, then spend the next two weeks voting alongside the Greens.
Actions speak louder than words and Labor's actions show they cannot be trusted.
