Briefs

Leighton win

Leighton Holdings's contracting arm has been awarded a $146 million contract by LandCorp to deliver the Ord East Kimberley expansion project in Kununurra. The project will provide 7500 hectares of new farmland.

COAL SEAM GAS

Royalties push

A West Australian-style royalties program would be needed to help NSW communities cope with any expansion of the coal seam gas industry, the NSW Local Government Association president, Keith Rhoades, told a state parliamentary inquiry yesterday.

HARLEY PLANT

200 jobs to go

More than 200 jobs will be lost when Harley-Davidson shuts down its Adelaide wheel-manufacturing business and heads to China. The South Australian government criticised the company for giving no prior indication of the closure of the North Plympton facility.

NATURAL GAS

AGL holds off

AGL Energy has deferred a plan to drill six natural gas exploration wells in NSW to allow for more consultation. The drilling will start once an independent study has been completed but it doesn't plan to use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

FUEL SPILL

Alcan Gove fined

Alcan Gove Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, has been fined $160,000 after admitting to a large fuel spill in June last year in the Northern Territory where it runs the Gove alumina refinery.

JOBS BOOST

NSW rate falls

Better employment figures for NSW will provide a boost to consumer confidence as Christmas approaches, the state's Treasurer, Mike Baird, says. While the national unemployment rate rose to 5.3 per cent last month, NSW was the only state to witness a fall.

EXPORT AWARDS

State winners

NSW companies shone at last night's Australian Export Awards with Laservision, a lighting entertainment firm, Finisar Australia, a technology manufacturer, and Health Projects International, a health planning business, winning top prizes.