The problem has become acute over the past six years, with assessment time frames for major infrastructure projects in NSW doubling from an average of 500 days to more than 1000 days, according to the NSW Minerals Council.

Addressing the time that critical projects take to be assessed by the Planning Assessment Commission should be a high priority if the NSW government is serious about supporting jobs in the Hunter, it said.

“In the lead-up to the election, Mr Baird [Premier Mike] gave a line-in-the-sand commitment to halve the average assessment time of state significant projects, including mining,” it said.

“The Premier’s commitment came with a welcome assurance that the stringent environmental standards that apply in NSW will remain firmly in place. Now that the Premier has been re-elected, it’s time for these commitments to become action.”