The leader of an Outback WA council says road diversions due to mining are driving away grey nomads and other tourists.
Shire of Menzies president Greg Dwyer told the Kalgoorlie Miner that some historic town sites in the Goldfields were missing out on some of the economic and community benefits that travellers bring.
Mr Dwyer said mining developments had led the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety to place a veto over certain town site blocks.
“By having road diversions, particularly through old town sites, it’s taken the tourism traffic away from visiting town sites,” he told the Kalgoorlie Miner.
It is feared that mining activity is negatively impacting tourist numbers. PIC: Enrique / Pexels
“Encroaching development of mines is moving throughout the town sites and particularly the old abandoned town sites . . . the residents (are) moving away from the town sites and then it, of course, gives the opportunity for the mining companies to move in and request that these changes take place.”
Cr Dwyer said the issues could not be resolved as the region was dependent on the mining industry, but he said the benefit of mining was not reflected in investment into the towns ‘like it was in the good old days’.
“We need that investment to come back into the towns to help us,” he said.
Cr Dwyer told the Kalgoorlie Miner that an example of what he was talking about was that the Riverina mine site in the Menzies shire had caused the diversion of the Golden Quest Discovery Trail for new mining development.
“It is a shame that when town sites sprung up around early mine sites . . . the township was built up around a mine site and not moved well away from the mine,” he told the paper. “You’ve got to admit that Leonora (and) Laverton are doing very well in the mining boom, but it’s impacting on the towns’ sites tremendously and the lack of available land is becoming a problem … there needs to be more allocated land for, let’s say light industrial areas and residential areas.”
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What nonsense, we’ve just been touring the goldfields over the last few weeks and there aren’t any issues with mining. Cue caravan park was extremely busy while we were there and there were plenty of vans etc. in the goldfields area. Gwalia was also busy at the free camp there.
It is not the mining activity that discourages me but the attitude of the local councils. They all want us to stay in their areas but are not willing to provide any services.
We have just traveled from Kalgoorlie to Port Hedland along the Goldfields Highway. Stopping at all the old gold towns and the new Mining towns this has been a great part of our 12 months traveling WA.
What a load of rubbish. If tourists are not coming it’s not because of mining. It’s because people can not afford it anymore fuel rego insurance is all a lik
Your spot on Warren.