NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the budget papers also confirmed taxpayers received an additional $300 million in royalty revenue above previous estimates in 2016-17, bringing the total budget royalty boost to NSW to more than $1 billion dollars.

“It’s great to see increasing royalty revenue delivering a significant boost to government finances and contributing to the very strong budget outcome,” he said.

“With an additional $300 million in royalties received this year … the people of NSW are set to receive a billion dollar budget boost from the state’s mining sector … helping fund key infrastructure and services that the people of NSW expect and deserve."

This billion-dollar budget royalty boost will help the NSW government deliver more for the regions.

“Over the last few years we’ve joined others to call for more funding for regional NSW, and mining communities in particular, so it’s great to see signs in today’s budget that those calls have been heard,” Galilee said.

“In particular, we welcome the announcement in today’s budget of the establishment of the $1 billion Regional Growth Fund, and the confirmation of the Deputy Premier’s recent announcement of an additional $50 million contribution to the Resources for Regions program.

“However, it’s unclear how much more of the $1 billion Regional Growth Fund will be allocated to Resources for Regions in the future. To avoid ongoing uncertainty about the future of the program, the Government should clarify its future plans for Resources for Regions funding.

“Mining communities need a consistent Resources for Regions funding stream and we will continue to argue on their behalf for at least $60 million a year for the program.”