Mining-related councils work with the Minerals Council on Voluntary Planning Agreement for community benefits.
The Association of Mining Related Councils (AMRC) Chair, Mayor of Warrumbungle Shire Council, Councillor Peter Shinton said that AMRC is in discussions with the New South Wales Minerals Council (NSWMC) to explore ways and means that the Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) process might be improved.
“These contractually binding financial arrangements between miners and affected local councils can involve multi-million dollar negotiations and refinements to the process offer the opportunity to generate improved benefits to New South Wales (NSW) councils into the future.
“The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has initiated a review of the VPA process, for which it is to be commended, and the members of both the AMRC and NSWMC are key players when it comes to negotiating individual VPAs. So it makes good sense for these parties to be sharing ideas and suggestions for improvement.”
To assist AMRC in its VPA deliberations it has sought input from Warwick Giblin, Managing Director of OzEnvironmental Pty Ltd who is an expert in VPAs for mining and energy projects. In November he briefed AMRC members on the NSWMC’s draft VPA strategy.
Mr Giblin said, “Moving forward there is a great opportunity to engage more closely with the NSWMC to see how the draft strategy might be refined and jointly agreed to.”
Chair Shinton said, “Given the significance of this issue for AMRC members we have now established a team of Council General Managers and elected members who will work with our adviser to strive to negotiate improvements to the VPA process that are amenable to Local Government, the Department of Planning and Environment and the NSWMC.
“Voluntary Planning Agreements offer the opportunity for miners to fund the upgrade of Local Government infrastructure; roads for instance, which are predicted to be adversely impacted by proposed mining developments. VPAs also provide financial contributions for public benefit purposes. Relevant projects might include recreational and other community facilities and environmental protection works.
“The challenge moving forward is to provide greater transparency and clarity of process as to how the scope and quantums of VPAs are arrived at, so that it is fair, without costs being transferred to local residents and ratepayers.”
