Mackas Sand Project secures long-term resource on Stockton Bight
28 September 2009Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Paul Lynch today announced the NSW Government had approved the Mackas Sand Project on the Stockton Bight near Williamtown.
The project will be undertaken within land granted to the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 in 2001.
Mr Lynch made the announcement with the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council at Stockton Bight.
He said the project would secure a reliable sand supply for the Hunter and wider Sydney region over the next 20 years.
Mr Lynch said the approval of the $1 million project, which would generate around 60 operational and contract jobs, would unlock a resource valued at up to $320 million.
“There is an ongoing need to develop new sand deposits to meet the demands of the Hunter and Sydney construction industries, so this approval will ensure that this demand is satisfied in the long term,” he said.
The project involves the extraction of 30 million tonnes of sand from two sites on the Stockton Bight at a rate up to 2 million tonnes a year for a period of up to 20 years.
The project follows the protection and long-term conservation of more than 4400 hectares of the 5000 hectares originally granted in 2001, through an historic agreement between the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council and the State Government in 2007.
Mr Lynch said the project was an example of the role the Act played in delivering economic benefits to communities.
Earlier this month, the NSW Parliament passed amendments to the legislation, paving the way for land councils to drive economic development and generate jobs.
“The amendments deliver more confidence to the property industry when they engage in land dealings with Aboriginal land councils,” he said.
“The also regulate processes, providing certainty for third parties to enter into consultancy or partnership agreements with land councils,” Mr Lynch said.
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Williams 0408 602 936
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