THE PURPOSE of my letter is to support the views put forward by Alison Wroth in last month’s letters in The Toodyay Herald.
Alison’s letter pointed out that a proposed Chalice mine in Julimar may bring opportunities for young workers and school leavers hoping to be able to secure local apprenticeships.
My personal experience is that young school leavers who want to get apprenticeships for skilled employment really struggle to get that opportunity in Toodyay.
Our son wanted to be a heavy diesel mechanic only to find that opportunity out of the Shire.
Two of his school friends who also wanted to become mechanics had to leave the Shire as well to find apprenticeships in Perth.
Employment self-sufficiency in Toodyay is poor.
Read more
Information I recall seeing recently, is that the Shire of Toodyay has an employment self-sufficiency of just over 50 per cent.
Broadly, this means that half of our residents can’t find work within their own Shire.
This obviously indicates that employment opportunities and particularly opportunities for school leavers seeking apprenticeships, are very poor.
Debate around a proposed mine appears to be centred around the protection of an endangered animal.
From information I can see, the currently proposed mine is on farmland that was cleared decades ago.
Exploration has been proposed to seek extensions of the mineralisation into the State Forest.
Obviously, environmental controls over exploration in a reserve will be, and should be, far more rigid than farmland that has been cleared for decades.
Chalice Mining’s discovery of a “world class” deposit of “green metals” does not sit well with some in our community.
It would have been far more convenient if this was in the Goldfields … but it isn’t.
A carbon-neutral future is dependent upon electric vehicles and hydrogen.
Minerals discovered in Julimar contain the metals required for this transition away from coal and petroleum.
Any future decision on whether to allow mining in the forest needs to balance the interests of all parties in our community, as well as the planet.
Frank Panizza
Nunile
