The NSW Nationals are calling for more support for miners who have been out of work for several weeks after a wild storm brought down transmission lines in far western NSW.
Workers at Perilya and CBH have had little to no assistance since they were stood down, after the major outage put the mines out of action on October 17.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said miners had been largely forgotten in the Minns Labor Government’s slow response.
“This severe weather event has directly impacted hundreds of workers. Some have been forced to take leave without pay, while others are burning through their annual leave to survive,” Mr Saunders said.
“Just because the mines stop doesn’t mean the bills do, and the $200 per eligible adult offered by the Minns Government will do very little to help people stay on top of things.
“What’s more concerning is applications are yet to open for this initial assistance, meaning struggling residents have been out of pocket for several weeks.”
There are also questions around the Federal Government’s disaster recovery allowance, including how many people will actually be eligible and when it will be made available.
Shadow Minister for Western NSW, Sarah Mitchell, said although some miners are starting to return to work, the government needs to provide more certainty for families in the region.
“These workers have been doing it tough, and there’s still a lot of confusion around what they will be entitled to,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The lack of support is simply not good enough, and the government needs to step up and ensure those impacted are being looked after, particularly in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“Whether it’s a loss of income or a loss of annual leave, people shouldn’t be penalised for circumstances that are out of their control, and they need to be fairly compensated for that.”
