It’s my pleasure to be writing to you all as we head towards the holiday season after yet another extremely busy year in the WA mining and resources sector.
I was fortunate to catch up with many of our members at the annual CME Christmas function at Lamont’s Bishops House last week. It was a great event, with fantastic addresses from Premier Mark McGowan, Minister Madeleine King and Minister Bill Johnston.
There has been plenty on the policy agenda for CME of late, including the progress of new industrial relations legislation through Federal Parliament and the recent responses by the Federal Government to the report published by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia and the Samuels Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
In the past fortnight, CME also undertook media engagement around the WA Government’s progress update on the actions it is implementing as a result of the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Sexual Harassment Against Women In The FIFO Mining Industry. Eliminating all instances of sexual harassment and assault remains an absolute priority for the WA mining and resources sector, and CME’s Safe and Respectful Behaviours Working Group continues to make strong progress in relation to the recommendations from the Parliamentary Inquiry that were directed towards industry.
I’d like to thank the entire team at the CME for their warm welcome in my first eight weeks in the job, and the support they have provided on a wide range of issues.
November also saw the WA Government launch the Resources Community Investment Initiative with the support of CME and member companies. Our industry has a proud track record of contributing over and above what it is required and helping fund important social and community initiatives throughout Western Australia. It is pleasing that this initiative offers yet another mechanism for our industry to make a positive impact on everyday life in WA.
From my own perspective, I’ve had the privilege of travelling to the Pilbara, the South West and the Goldfields in October. It’s been great to get out to member company operations and speak to a variety of stakeholders on the ground about key issues. I recently attended the annual Miners’ Memorial event in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, which was a poignant reminder of the absolute focus on safety that our industry must always hold itself to.
To those members I’ve had the chance to engage with so far, I thank you for the interest and generosity you’ve shown towards me. The very best part of this role is talking to our members about what’s important to them – both opportunities and challenges – and I look forward to catching up with many more of you over the months ahead.
In addition to existing operations that are the backbone of State and Federal economies, our sector currently has $57 billion of resources projects under development and a further $87 billion in medium and longer-term projects in the pipeline – projects that will not only help shape our State’s future but play a pivotal role in global decarbonisation.
I look forward to working closely alongside you all as these projects come to fruition, in 2023 and beyond, and I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our membership and stakeholders a happy, safe and healthy holiday period.
