Mr KNIGHT - 2007-04-18
I am aware that the annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar was recently held in Alice Springs to provide industry with the latest technical information that will point to future discoveries. Could you update the House on the state of mineral and petroleum exploration in Central Australia and outline any other initiatives to encourage explorers to the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. The annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar was held in Alice Springs late last month, within these very walls. It was run by my department and we had over 300 attendees, which is a record. That number is gradually building each year, which is great. These attendees regard the seminar as the place for explorers and potential investors within the Territory. Several presentations were undertaken by my department updating the industry on what is happening in the Northern Territory of late, and several explorers and potential investors also updated the industry on the latest initiatives.
I opened the seminar that week, and I had the opportunity to mix with many of the mining fraternity. I can assure you that there is a buzz in the industry within the Territory. There is intense interest, and that goes for all points of the Northern Territory. I had the pleasure of meeting people from Thor Mining who own the Molly Hill tenement just north-east of Alice Springs, as well as Arafura Resources, which have Nolans Bore which is north of Alice Springs, and Tennant Creek Gold which has quite a good prospective deposit in the Sandy Creek area. There are very positive vibes from those companies in the not-too-distant future and they are hoping that that will come to fruition later this year.
In conjunction with that conference, a Mining Services Expo was held. There were several stalls established in the hallways and foyer of the convention centre where local traders and mining supply businesses could set up and display their wares and the latest initiatives within the mining sector. They are also excited with the prospects of what will be happening within the Territory over the next couple of years. This government will continue to promote local businesses and services within the mining area.
The minerals and petroleum industries are underpinning our Northern Territory economy at the moment, which is bucking national trends and is contributing around $3bn a year. The exploration industry is a highly competitive worldwide market and we have to keep our nose in front and encourage explorers to come to the Northern Territory.
The government has committed $12m over the next four years to attract investment to the Northern Territory. That is going to be undertaken under a new program called Bringing Forward Discovery. That will ensure we create more jobs in the Territory and, obviously, keep our economy strong. That will be done by expanding the mining sector. The Bringing Forward Discovery program is the government’s long-term exploration and investment strategy.
In support of the AGES seminar, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, or APPEA as we know it, held a seminar in Adelaide on Monday and Tuesday of this week. There were over 1500 attendees at the seminar at the Adelaide Convention Centre, and there were many companies which exhibited, along with a lot of service industries. APPEA is the peak oil and gas industry body for Australia and attracts worldwide interest. I had the pleasure of making a presentation on behalf of the Northern Territory on Tuesday morning, where I was exhibiting the potential of the mining industry and, obviously, developing relationships for Northern Territory industries.
I met with some significant players. Some of them have current projects on the board, and there are some exciting new projects in hand in the not-too-distant future. ConocoPhillips and Santos are, obviously, two of those significant players, along with ENI, which has the Blacktip gas project, and AED, which has just discovered a multilevel oil find in the Timor Sea at the Puffin Field. The most excited person I met that morning was the Exploration Manager of Sweetpea Petroleum. They have just undertaken some seismic surveys for oil and gas north of Tennant Creek and they have found some potential. They intend drilling in June and are looking forward to it.
In talking to industry, I had glowing commendations from all the players over our government’s initiatives, our openness and, obviously, our ability to assist industry through the due processes that have to be undertaken. Departmental staff play an important role in all of this, and I congratulate them for their commitment to the Northern Territory. The industry has paid great tribute to them also.
Our hard work is attracting exploration, and it is paying dividends. The program over the last four years has increased petroleum exploration by 783%. This is an outstanding figure for a small constituency such as ours. We will continue our hard work to promote and attract mining interest in the Northern Territory.
Madam Speaker, this is a great news story. The future is bright for the Northern Territory and, what is more, the future is bright for Central Australia.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling.
Mr Wood interjecting.
Mrs BRAHAM: I was only pretending. Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: The call is entirely up to the Speaker, member for Nelson.
Mrs BRAHAM: I am going to have to square off with the member for Nelson. It was really his turn, but still.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. The annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar was held in Alice Springs late last month, within these very walls. It was run by my department and we had over 300 attendees, which is a record. That number is gradually building each year, which is great. These attendees regard the seminar as the place for explorers and potential investors within the Territory. Several presentations were undertaken by my department updating the industry on what is happening in the Northern Territory of late, and several explorers and potential investors also updated the industry on the latest initiatives.
I opened the seminar that week, and I had the opportunity to mix with many of the mining fraternity. I can assure you that there is a buzz in the industry within the Territory. There is intense interest, and that goes for all points of the Northern Territory. I had the pleasure of meeting people from Thor Mining who own the Molly Hill tenement just north-east of Alice Springs, as well as Arafura Resources, which have Nolans Bore which is north of Alice Springs, and Tennant Creek Gold which has quite a good prospective deposit in the Sandy Creek area. There are very positive vibes from those companies in the not-too-distant future and they are hoping that that will come to fruition later this year.
In conjunction with that conference, a Mining Services Expo was held. There were several stalls established in the hallways and foyer of the convention centre where local traders and mining supply businesses could set up and display their wares and the latest initiatives within the mining sector. They are also excited with the prospects of what will be happening within the Territory over the next couple of years. This government will continue to promote local businesses and services within the mining area.
The minerals and petroleum industries are underpinning our Northern Territory economy at the moment, which is bucking national trends and is contributing around $3bn a year. The exploration industry is a highly competitive worldwide market and we have to keep our nose in front and encourage explorers to come to the Northern Territory.
The government has committed $12m over the next four years to attract investment to the Northern Territory. That is going to be undertaken under a new program called Bringing Forward Discovery. That will ensure we create more jobs in the Territory and, obviously, keep our economy strong. That will be done by expanding the mining sector. The Bringing Forward Discovery program is the government’s long-term exploration and investment strategy.
In support of the AGES seminar, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, or APPEA as we know it, held a seminar in Adelaide on Monday and Tuesday of this week. There were over 1500 attendees at the seminar at the Adelaide Convention Centre, and there were many companies which exhibited, along with a lot of service industries. APPEA is the peak oil and gas industry body for Australia and attracts worldwide interest. I had the pleasure of making a presentation on behalf of the Northern Territory on Tuesday morning, where I was exhibiting the potential of the mining industry and, obviously, developing relationships for Northern Territory industries.
I met with some significant players. Some of them have current projects on the board, and there are some exciting new projects in hand in the not-too-distant future. ConocoPhillips and Santos are, obviously, two of those significant players, along with ENI, which has the Blacktip gas project, and AED, which has just discovered a multilevel oil find in the Timor Sea at the Puffin Field. The most excited person I met that morning was the Exploration Manager of Sweetpea Petroleum. They have just undertaken some seismic surveys for oil and gas north of Tennant Creek and they have found some potential. They intend drilling in June and are looking forward to it.
In talking to industry, I had glowing commendations from all the players over our government’s initiatives, our openness and, obviously, our ability to assist industry through the due processes that have to be undertaken. Departmental staff play an important role in all of this, and I congratulate them for their commitment to the Northern Territory. The industry has paid great tribute to them also.
Our hard work is attracting exploration, and it is paying dividends. The program over the last four years has increased petroleum exploration by 783%. This is an outstanding figure for a small constituency such as ours. We will continue our hard work to promote and attract mining interest in the Northern Territory.
Madam Speaker, this is a great news story. The future is bright for the Northern Territory and, what is more, the future is bright for Central Australia.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling.
Mr Wood interjecting.
Mrs BRAHAM: I was only pretending. Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: The call is entirely up to the Speaker, member for Nelson.
Mrs BRAHAM: I am going to have to square off with the member for Nelson. It was really his turn, but still.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016