Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

This week, as the shadow assistant minister for resources, I've been able to meet with a number of organisations during Minerals Week and attend the Minerals Week parliamentary dinner in the grand hall. This is an important week in Australia's calendar, with events organised by the Minerals Council of Australia, because mining remains—despite the effort of those opposite—a key driver in our nation's economy. Mining contributed $213 billion to Australia's gross domestic product last year. That's over eight per cent of our entire economy. Mining directly employs 290,000 Australians and provides almost 11,000 apprenticeships and traineeships each and every year. And, for every job in mining, there are another six jobs created in manufacturing, in construction, in engineering, in local services and in transport. In my own electorate of Parkes, mining has coexisted with agriculture as a mainstay of our economy for more than a hundred years.

It's hard to tell the Australian mining story without recalling the history of the 'Silver City', Broken Hill, where one of the world's largest silver, lead and zinc deposits was discovered back in the 1880s and BHP was born. In communities like Parkes, Gunnedah, West Wyalong, Nyngan, Forbes, Narrabri, Condobolin and Cobar, mining has been the absolute foundation of the community, providing employment, driving growth and funding infrastructure. In 2025-26, in the Parkes electorate, there were 3,838 full-time mining jobs, $545 million was paid in wages, there was $1.1 billion in annual direct spending and the industry supported 874 local suppliers.

Agriculture and mining have, together, built towns and cities across our great nation. In 2023-24, mining related companies invested more than $660 million in regional programs, including sporting clubs, environmental projects, emergency health services, child care and community organisations. The Minerals Council of Australia have advised that, in the 2022-23 financial year, the mining industry paid $74 billion in tax and royalties, making it the biggest taxpayer in our nation. Of all company tax collected in that financial year, 30 per cent came from mining. That is money for hospitals, for schools, for aged care, for roads, for child care, for police and for much, much more.

Critical minerals are becoming more and more sought after for their role in modern technology, and Australia has strong reserves. The Standing Committee on Primary Industries is inquiring into factors shaping social licence and economic development outcomes in critical minerals projects across the country. This inquiry is now open for submissions, and I encourage individuals and organisations to share their views.

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