The purpose of the meeting is to discuss a plan that will help to protect the current 60,000 resource sector jobs and the tens of thousands of jobs across the 24,000 businesses that support the industry.

The QRC said it was not looking for bailouts or subsidies, but the entire sector needed certainty and support in the shape of commitments to reduce red tape and unjustified government-imposed costs, its CEO Michael Roche said.

“The Queensland resources sector is facing some of the toughest conditions in decades, with more than 20,000 jobs lost over the past two years as a result of the downturn,” he said.

“The sector is also seeking a long-term commitment to royalty stability beyond the life of this parliament.”

Even in these most difficult of times there are companies prepared to invest in new job-generating projects because of the strong growth in demand for resource commodities in India and South East Asia, Roche said.

“However those projects are locked up in interminable court appeals by green activists. We need government action to get those projects out of the courts, instead creating thousands of construction jobs and thousands more permanent jobs.”

It comes a week after Queensland Nickel slashed 237 jobs from the Yabulu refinery in Townsville. Only days later, the company went into administration, putting the remaining 550 jobs at risk.

The government mobilised its rapid response team to offer support to the sacked workers.