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Private investment is also driving significant economic activity and boosting public confidence.

These include:

• $5.7m from the BHP Billiton Foundation (BHPBF) for the construction of new Archives and the Mineral and Art Intersection project. • $460m – AGL Silverton Wind Farm project that will be built in the Barrier ranges near Silverton, just outside of Broken Hill. The Wind Farm will further bolster the region's renewable industry by generating up to six times the amount of electricity that the solar plant produces. • $166.7m from ARENA combined with $64.9m from the NSW Government to build the AGL Solar Plant.

Mining also continues to play a significant role in the regional economy and includes successful exploration and/or mining of gold, mineral sands, iron ore, silver, lead and zinc and potentially uranium.

During the past two years, three major mining companies - Carpentaria Exploration, Perilya and Consolidated Broken Hill have all announced extensions to their operations, each with minimum 10 year operational mine life.

Funding and investment of this magnitude represents a significant investment in the future of Broken Hill. Council firmly believes the city has a bright future and plenty of scope for growth and this continued investment by Government and private sector demonstrates a commitment to the future of the City.

Council also supports the recommendations of the NSW Decentralisation Taskforce Report April 2013 and the Decade of Decentralisation which aligns with Broken Hill’s Community Strategic Plan 2033 objectives including:

1. To support the development and sustainability of regional economies and communities. 2. To attract investment and skills from metropolitan Sydney to regional NSW. 3. To increase the opportunities for local communities in regional NSW to participate in Government decision-making.

Broken Hill is also open to the option of partial agency and co-location of services and core business functions that demonstrate a natural fit with the communities in regional locations.

Broken Hill City Council Council's role is to provide leadership and direction, partnering with other agencies to facilitate, encourage and maximise sustainable development economic opportunities with the expectation that the business will directly or, in some agreed circumstances, indirectly provide increased employment opportunities for residents of Broken Hill.

As caretakers of Australia’s First Nationally Heritage Listed City, Broken Hill City Council is focused on developing tripartite relationships across the all tiers of Government and partnerships with private investors and philanthropists to continue to diversify the economy and harness the opportunities to become a global visitor destination gifted to the City through the National Heritage Listing. The community has a strong economic activation program that combines a Smart Community Framework, Community Strategic Plan 2033 and an Urban Design Strategy designed to set the roadmap for future development, investment and growth.

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Broken Hill The City of Broken Hill is the largest regional centre in the western half of . It lies in the centre of the New South Wales , close to the South Australian border and midway between the Queensland and Victorian borders.

Broken Hill is a leader in remote community resilience; where the community unite to tackle problems and a global perspective is applied to deliver broad prospects for economic participation.

Our community understands the importance of economic diversity to guarantee a sustainable future for the City. A sustainable economy was by far the largest priority identified through the 2013 community consultative process, further acknowledging that diversification is the ‘key’ to addressing challenges associated with the expansion and contraction of the mining industry.

With a change in population (19,915 in 2005 to 18,856 in 2016) the emphasis the community has given towards a sustainable economy recognises the imperative to innovate, problem solve and create new opportunity in order to remain relevant in a global environment that is marked by rapid social and technological change.

In order to diversify the City’s economy, the community has identified strategies that reflect a commitment and determination to expand our thinking and adapt to remain relevant in the world as it is today. This means building on existing economic platforms, like art, culture and tourism, and on new opportunities such as technology, renewable energies and education.

The case for relocation of services to Broken Hill The Regional Development Australia Far West Regional Prospectus 2016 realises the strength of Broken Hill and region to attract and support the relocation of business and government services, most notably:

1. Affordable residential and commercial property: The availability and affordability of commercial and industrial land is attractive to potential start-up companies and existing professional organisations looking to relocate some or all of their business to more affordable locations. Affordability and rental return possibilities, coupled with extremely low vacancy rates of the residential property market has made the region an attractive option for investors from across the country.

2. Transport and Access to Markets: The region is certainly not isolated with road access to five capital cities within a day’s drive. Located on the transcontinental railway with access to the vast rail network operating between Sydney and Perth and access to ports in Adelaide and across South Australia. Rail freight has been the traditional and major method of transporting mining exports from the region and a direct rail line connects Broken Hill with Port Pirie in South Australia. Major rail providers also operate a freight service between the Cristal Separation Plant in Broken Hill and Port Adelaide.

3. Broken Hill is serviced by air services to Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Mildura and is centrally located with road access to major capital cities, including Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. With mining remaining strong, manufacturing increasing and the visitor economy growing, opportunities exist for the development of significant transport hubs to link road, rail and air freight.

4. Rental prices: Broken Hill has lower commercial rental prices than in major centres and there is an availability of commercial office space.

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5. Housing affordability: Broken Hill boasts housing affordability for workers relocating – the median house price is $117,000.

6. Modern technology and globalisation opportunities: Broken Hill City Council has adopted a Smart Community Framework. The adoption of the transformational opportunities offered by smart community initiatives and making investments in smart technologies will advance the strategy and corporate goals of Broken Hill and make the region an even better place to live, work, play and invest.

7. Travel pressure: The decentralisation of services can provide employment for people much closer to where they live, easing the pressure on traffic in urban areas and improving lifestyle. Decentralisation to a more spacious, convenient location could improve this measure immensely.

8. Skilled Workforce: The NSW Far West has established a reputation for having a highly skilled and motivated workforce across a range of sectors, which is available to enable an easy transition for business relocation. With 130 years of servicing the mining industry the region has developed significant skills in the manufacturing sector and there is a long history of training highly competent and professional tradespeople. Organisations in the Far West have also successfully attracted key senior staff over sustained periods, who seek the idyllic regional lifestyle. Currently, the largest employers for the region are Health and Community Services, Education, Retail and the Agri-business sectors. The workforce is supported through well- established and reputable local recruitment agencies that provide a broad range of recruitment and Human Resource Management support including labour hire services.

9. Education and Training: The region is home to excellent schools and training providers working constantly with industry to ensure they meet future requirements and deliver best practice, innovative and practical training outcomes. The Far West has collaborated with industry over many years to develop Vocational Education and Training (VET) pathways in our secondary schools to ensure we are training our future workforce with relevant and valued skills. Students are studying a variety of Vocational pathways from a cross section of industries including Primary Industries, Health, Engineering, Construction, Information Technology, Media, Retail and the Services sector. In 2018, the Country University Centre will also open in Broken Hill.

10. Significance of Mining Wealth: As the birthplace of BHP the region has significant mineral wealth, exploration is ongoing and new mineral deposits are being discovered. Current projects include mining of iron ore, gold, mineral sands and the sun – through the AGL Solar Plant. The Regional Development Australia Far West NSW Regional Plan 2013-2033 identifies continued support for mining and exploration in Far West NSW is an important activity. Regional support for mining offers scope for more certainty and cost containment in moving from exploration to development with relatively easy access to exploration areas, limited if any opposition to mining activities and access to locally based contractors and employees in some cases.

11. Ideal Climatic Condition: The climate in the Far West allows for early harvest of produce, including stone and citrus fruits, olives, herbs, native bush foods and a large variety of flowers suitable for the floriculture industry. The dry warm climate that lends itself to numerous storage and warehousing options including aircraft storage.

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