As part of the Australian Government’s review into security and economic interests in the WPA, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism commissioned ABARE-BRS to investigate the potential economic impacts of mine developments within the WPA. Using ABARE-BRS’s AusRegion model, this report investigates the impact eight separate hypothetical mine developments in the WPA could have on key economic variables such as GDP, exports and employment at the national and South Australian level.
ABARE notes: “The mining sector is important to the Australian economy. It is a large contributor to economic growth and export earnings, and is a significant employer in regional Australia. The capacity of the sector to contribute to Australia’s future economic growth largely depends on its ability to continually develop new mineral deposits. A potential location of future mine developments in Australia is the Gawler Craton basin located in central South Australia. However, a large part of the basin lies within the WPA, a globally unique military testing range of strategic interest to the Australian Government.
“The potential for conflicting land use demands arising from mine developments within the WPA is an example of how the benefits of mining activity need to be considered against the environmental, social, cultural and security costs associated with such activity. This report is intended to assist the Australian Government in understanding the potential economic benefits of a wide range of potential mining developments within the WPA.”
Download a copy of the report at http://www.abare-brs.gov.au/publications