Interviewed recently Ian Macdonald, Minister for Primary Industries and Mineral Resources (amongst others) cited 3000 jobs from mining would be generated in the Caroona area.
 We ask him to substantiate these figures.  We ask him how many agricultural jobs and tiers of agro-business will be lost as a result of farmers and their families leaving.  With mines closing all over Australia, qualified miners being thrown out of work with little notice and places like mine-filled Muswellbrook suffering one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the country, we wonder just where does he get his figures from?.