“We have met with workers from local coal mines and power stations to hear their concerns about employment, education and apprenticeships and securing a long economic future for Lithgow,” she said. 

“Fantastic opportunity to hear from working people and people who represent local people standing up for their community demanding to know the future of this community.” 

Lithgow CFMEU spokesperson Anthony Honeysett said the meeting went well. 

“Biggest issue in the Lithgow community is unemployment and that is what we are pushing for,” he said. 

“We need something to happen.” 

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Another issue that was discussed was maintaining the jobs in Lithgow and building that, and getting indication from the government that they will support the group. 

“Once you lose a job in the coal mine, then you lose four to five in the community so when we lost Angus Place Mine and Baal Bone before that we lost an industry,” he said.

Dr Jess Jennings said that the message they were promoting was that Labor had Lithgow’s back. 

“Whether that is education and training or ensuring a realistic and viable future for the power industry,” he said. 

Deputy Mayor Wayne McAndrew attended as an observer of the meeting.

Mr McAndrew said he made sure to raise the issue on the jobs, and to get across that Lithgow needs support from both state and federal government.

“I made the point, that I am well aware that in regional and rural Australia they are doing it hard with the lack of job opportunities but we have the double whammy here because we have got all of that but equally our two biggest employers, two biggest industry’s are under the gun so I got that point to them clearly that we are a special case...” he said. 

“Because we are caught up with all of the constraints but equally our two big industries are under the spotlight so I got that through.” 

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