AusBiz Magazine – March-April 2022

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76. THE FUTURE OF AUSSIE TRUCKIN’

Global AdBlue and diesel shortages combined with net-zero emission targets might just be the push we need for an all electric industry.

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Nature’s medicine Urbanisation is encroaching on the natural world. In fact it is estimated that almost 70 per cent of the global population will live in an urban area by the year 2050.

At the same time, it is well known that being in nature fosters intrinsic health benefits. Now researchers at the University of South Australia are urging governments to consider nature-based citizen science for the health and wellbeing of people living in urban environments.

“Nature-based citizen science projects can motivate people to engage with natural environments,” says the university’s Professor Craig Williams. “If they can be orchestrated, organised, and promoted in cities – particularly as part of a public health policy – then we have the potential to improve people’s health through that mechanism.”

Urban living can be bad for your health, especially due to air pollution from congestion. Craig insists that just 15 minutes of outdoor engagement can lower stress and boost both physical and emotional wellbeing.

“Whether you’re watering the garden, taking a stroll around the block, or simply watching the world go by, getting out into nature is good for your health,” he says.

HOW DATA ANALYTICS IS HELPING UNLOCK NEW BUSINESS REVENUE STREAMS COVID-19 has turned businesses upside down and highlighted weaknesses in legacy systems. Organisations are now in a position to consider either resuming business-as-usual practices or seeing the pandemic as a fresh opportunity to reinvent in order to thrive in the new economy.

Those that have gone ‘back to basics’ and rethought a more innovative, datadriven approach are strategically driving revenue, enhancing customer experience and managing costs, according to Rohan Persaud, Director of Channels and Alliances APAC at Sisense.

“More than ever before, data and analytics – combined with faster delivery, reliability and scalability – are critical to uncovering new revenue streams and enhancing commercial offerings,” he says.

There are now more than 44 zettabytes of data being generated every year.

“At an organisational level, a business can have millions or billions of data points, but it is the insights you can glean from the data that hold value,” says Rohan.

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“There are two pillars of generating revenue. First, organisations can infuse analytics seamlessly at key decision points and go beyond traditional dashboards. Second, generating revenue by embedding data into the solutions, applications and interactions leveraged by key stakeholders such as customers, partners and suppliers.”

According to Rohan, leveraging the power of data makes it easier to understand business problems and meet goals, such as generating revenue or addressing a customer issue. This therefore optimises stakeholder interactions, enhances customer experience, and manages costs.

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THINGS ARE HEATING UP A recent push for climate action in Australia comes as the past seven years are confirmed as the hottest on record.

Words: Emily riches Industry leaders and activists around Australia are calling for the government to address climate change, as the European Union’s satellite system confirmed the past seven years as the hottest ever recorded.

Experts warn that global temperatures could increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next five years, bringing increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, bushfires, droughts and other extreme weather-related disasters.

This will have devastating impacts on human health, ecosystems, biodiversity and the economy.

HOT WORLD SUMMER In 2021, Europe sweated through its hottest summer on record, with Sicily soaring up to 48.8 degrees Celsius while wildfires consumed Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Germany and Belgium were smashed by severe flooding – also the result of rising temperatures.

In Australia, communities are still recovering from the devastating 20192020 Black Summer bushfires, which burnt more than 17 million hectares of land, destroyed 3,094 homes and killed 33 people. Western Queensland is also now in its 10th year of drought.

This puts extreme pressure on our farmers, and the ecosystems on which we all depend.

NO MORE FISH IN THE SEA Experts warn that we are also likely to experience another coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef this year. In 2020, The reef experienced its most widespread bleaching event on

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record, with around 2,300 kilometres of coastal reef severely bleached.

Dr Dean Miller, the Managing Director of Great Barrier Reef Legacy, says: “Higher marine temperatures… have potentially devastating impacts on aquaculture, fisheries, tourism and marine ecosystems, including repeated coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.”

Bleaching occurs when rising temperatures cause corals to expel the microscopic algae that live in their tissues, leaving nothing but a ghostly skeleton behind. It is estimated that up to two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef has already experienced bleaching.

ON THE BRINK OF A BREAKDOWN Surprisingly, rising temperatures also put more pressure on our healthcare system which is an industry that has already undergone deep and unsettling disruptions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Doctors are seeing the effects of heat on their patients in their surgeries and emergency departments,” says Dr John Van Der Kallen, Chair of Doctors for the Environment. “Higher temperatures result in deaths and a variety of illnesses – including worsening heart conditions, mental health conditions, and pregnancy complications.”

Soaring COVID-19 cases, a lack of healthcare and emergency services staff, and supply issues with resources

such as rapid antigen tests are already stretching our healthcare system to breaking point. Yet we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to take action on climate change. Dr Van Der Kallen states: “Despite the necessary focus on addressing COVID-19… the Federal Government must turn its attention to rapidly reducing emissions to address climate change as a matter of urgency.”

RENEWABLES TO THE RESCUE Like Dr Van Der Kallen, many in climate action groups are making an urgent plea to the government to address rising temperatures. Setting climate targets and policies in line with climate science by meeting a target of net zero emissions by 2035 and replacing fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas with clean, renewable energy are the first, but necessary, steps. As Dr Van Der Kallen warns, our health – and the planet’s – is depending on it.

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Using machine safety solutions to keep workers safe

Safety is a massive priority across all heavy industries, and justifiably so. Ensuring that all on-site workers get home at the end of the day is critical, and there are a variety of safety systems and methods used by sites throughout Australia. Many of the options still rely on person-to-person communication or expensive, complex hardware setups, which can be subject to human error or blow the budget for many businesses.

Proximity and collision awareness technology has advanced considerably in recent years, with the latest systems incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically identify and alert operators to people. Blindsight is a new solution from Presien, distributed and supported throughout Australia by Position Partners, that can differentiate between humans and other objects even in challenging, dynamic environments.

“The great thing about Blindsight is that workers do not need to wear a tag in order for the machine system to detect them, which means they keep every worker safe on site,” says Josh Allan, Construction Business Manager at Position Partners.

The solution can be fitted to all makes and models of machinery, with a combination of one or more sensors, and a small in-cab alert that gives the operator audible and visual alerts when a person or traffic cone is detected.

“Blindsight is very configurable to every machine and every site’s unique

requirements, to alert the operator without adding unnecessary clutter or another screen to the cab,” Mr Allan adds.

The artificial intelligence system differentiates between different assets (person, wall, safety cones around an object, etc.) by determining their size and/ or velocity. This essentially means any time a worker enters the vicinity of a machine, or it gets too close to an exclusion zone, the system will alert the operator immediately.

For managers and safety officers, comprehensive reporting on near misses – including video recorded from the system’s cameras – can be used for training and process improvements to increase safety culture on site. This data can then be digitally accessed by the site supervisor at any time.

Systems that rely on manual reporting can be subject to fault as they essentially rely on all workers accurately reporting incidents and near-misses 100% of the time. While, in theory, manual systems shouldn’t pose a problem, any foreman or site manager knows that keeping track of every incident and near-miss on a busy site is near-impossible. Proximity systems provide a practical and accurate solution to the inconsistencies that can arise from manual incident reporting.

“In addition to the day-to-day safety enhancements provided by systems like these for operators and workers, the data trends and reporting over time can give managers the big picture overview they

need to identify ongoing hazards, training needs or process improvements,” Mr Allan said.

In addition to the Blindsight AI solution, Position Partners offers other proximity detection and collision awareness systems to suit the needs of all projects.

In controlled environments for example, where workers can wear a tag, a solution like Blue Electronics can provide reliable machine-to-machine, machine-to-person and machine-to-avoidance zone safety.

“Position Partners offers a variety of safety solutions depending on your site’s requirements,” Mr Allan said.

“We also back every system with the training and support you need to keep everyone productive and the technology working properly.”

Position Partners has a 300+ strong team, with service and support across Australia, New Zealand, and SouthEast Asia. Within Australia, we have 10 branches, to ensure customers get the assistance and support required.

“We’re always sourcing and working with new technology partners to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

The Blindsight solution by Presien is an exciting addition to our portfolio and is already proving to be very popular with customers looking to increase safety.

After all, there’s nothing more important than sending everyone home safely to their families at the end of the day,” Mr Allan said.

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THIS PAGE: FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, DOLPHINS HAVE BEEN VISITING THE SHALLOWS OF MONKEY MIA, RESULTING IN THE 'DOLPHIN EXPERIENCE', IMAGE BY TOURISM WA.

WILDLIFE

WILD ABOUT DOLPHINS Professor of Biology and Psychology Dr Janet Mann has been researching Shark Bay and Monkey Mia dolphins in Western Australia for 33 years. The Shark Bay Dolphin Research Project is the longest-running study of wild cetaceans in the Southern Hemisphere, and the secondlongest study of dolphins worldwide. Here Janet shares her insights into what the world has learned from the hand-fed (provisioned) wild dolphins of Shark Bay. Interview: Darcy Watt

TELL US ABOUT THE SHARK BAY DOLPHIN PROJECT AND YOUR ROLE WITH THE ORGANISATION. I am currently Director of the Shark Bay Dolphin Research Project and have served in that capacity for many years.

I started researching the Shark Bay dolphins when I was at The University of Michigan in 1988. I started my position at Georgetown University as an Assistant Professor in 1991. Our research has been primarily supported

by The National Science Foundation in the US, and also The National Geographic Society and The Australian Research Council (with collaborators at University of New South Wales and The University of Queensland). I lead the behavioural, ecological and demographic aspects of the research.

My close collaborator, Dr Céline Frère, at The University of Queensland, leads the genetic studies of the dolphins.

Shark Bay is an outstanding place to conduct wild dolphin research because the waters are clear and sometimes calm. There have been few direct human impacts on the dolphins in Shark Bay, as it is a remote UNESCO World Heritage Site.

THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF SEVERAL DOLPHIN DEATHS AT MONKEY MIA OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS – SOME DUE TO OLD AGE OR SHARK ATTACKS. IS THIS TRUE, AND ARE THERE ANY EFFORTS TO ATTRACT NEW DOLPHINS TO THE PROGRAM – WHICH BRINGS AN ESTIMATED 100,000 VISITORS TO THE AREA EVERY YEAR? Four of the six provisioned adult females have died since 2015: Nicky, Puck, Surprise and Shock. Three were elderly when they died. Nicky was 39, Puck was 40 and Surprise was about 40. Shock, Surprise’s daughter, was only 24. Shark attacks are not uncommon as nearly 75 per cent of the dolphins in Shark Bay have shark bite scars, some from multiple attacks. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has been trying to recruit more dolphins to the provisioning program, but these young dolphins may have other priorities right now and do not seem that interested in accepting dead fish. Historically, adult MAR/APR 2022

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WILDLIFE TOP TO BOTTOM: MOTHER AND CALF SWIMMING OVER SEAGRASS BY EWA KRZYSZCZYK; MONKEY MIA DOLPHIN BY GREG SNELL.

DOLPHINS FORM STRONG FAMILY BONDS AND ARE EXTREMELY SOCIAL CREATURES. THIS IS HOW THEY LEARN VITAL HUNTING AND SURVIVAL SKILLS. COULD THE HAND-FEEDING HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DEATHS? SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO INTERACT WITH WILD ANIMALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF TOURISM?

females with nursing calves are the ones who are hungry enough to take dead fish from humans. Even Nicky, Puck and Surprise did not regularly take fish until they had their own calves. Possibly this is because freshly caught fish simply taste better.

Dolphins that are introduced to provisioning too early can become dependent on the handouts. There were two cases where young male dolphins (under age 10) started accepting fish and both died prematurely. Males are no longer fed – largely because they are more aggressive than females, both with people and with other dolphins.

Adult females from two families have been successfully recruited in the past.

The exciting element is that these are wild dolphins and people can stand on the beautiful beach or the jetty and watch dolphins engage in natural behaviours. When they are hunting, it is better to stay out of the water, so we are not in the way.

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ONSLOW AIRPORT IN WA REPORTED THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AT 50.7 DEGREES CELSIUS ON JANUARY 13. WHAT SORT OF IMPACT DOES GLOBAL WARMING HAVE ON DOLPHIN ENVIRONMENTS? Although Shark Bay is relatively pristine, it cannot escape climate change and extreme climate events. In 2011, Shark Bay and much of Western Australia experienced an extreme marine heatwave sustained over weeks. This caused devastation of the seagrasses (about 80 per cent die-off in some areas) and had consequences for the Shark Bay dolphins. The Monkey Mia dolphins are all seagrass ‘specialists’; they use seagrass habitat substantially more than other dolphins. Calf mortality spiked, but the effect was delayed, possibly because it was initially easier for the dolphins to hunt in sparser seagrass; the fish had nowhere to hide. There are some signs of recovery now a decade later, but we’re still monitoring the impacts. We just hope there isn’t another heatwave like the last one.

The hand-fed dolphins pass down a number of socially learned behaviours to their offspring, including hunting behaviour, home ranges and social networks. Although we have shown that the calves born to carefully managed hand-fed dolphins can have high survival to three to four years of age (and sometimes as late as eight to nine years of age), juvenile survival at about age 10 is not so high.

One reason for this is that calves may benefit from their mum’s extra food source when nursing, but juveniles have to hunt for themselves and may not be as well-equipped as those born to mothers who are not hand-fed.

In addition, juveniles from hand-fed families have smaller home ranges than other juveniles, likely because they still like to stay near the area where their families are – the Monkey Mia beach.

This is one reason to try to minimise the impact of provisioning and make sure recruitment does not occur until the dolphin is fully capable of hunting and looking after her offspring. Whether the provisioning can or should continue is ultimately a question for the local Shark Bay community and government agencies. Monkey Mia is a fabulous place to visit – but I must recommend that we should put less emphasis on feeding and marvel more at their natural behaviours.

DOLPHINS ARE CONSIDERED ‘NEARTHREATENED’ BY THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN). IS THE SHARK BAY DOLPHIN PROJECT WORKING ON ANYTHING TO HELP FOSTER SAFER ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE ANIMALS? The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our ability to do regular fieldwork, but we are very interested in how seagrass specialists, including the Monkey Mia dolphins, are changing (or not changing) their behaviours since the seagrass die-off. In a recently published paper, we did not see any shift in terms of changing their home range size or where they hunted years after the die-off, but we would like to see if the younger dolphins might adapt to the environmental changes. We have always worked closely with DBCA to help reduce human impacts.

WHAT SORT OF FEEDING TECHNIQUES DO THE DOLPHINS AT MONKEY MIA USE (SUCH AS MUD-RING FEEDING OR KERPLUNKING)?

COULD CONTINUING TO HAND-FEED THE DOLPHINS NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR NATURAL HUNTING TECHNIQUES? Kerplunking is when a dolphin slaps its tail hard on the water in seagrass habitats and is a way that the dolphins disturb fish so they are easier to see and catch. It doesn’t occur very often in Shark Bay, but one can sometimes see this behaviour east of Monkey Mia. Mud-ring feeding doesn’t occur in Shark Bay, but we have over 20 other foraging tactics that we routinely see that are much more exciting. In fact, Shark Bay is known worldwide to have tool-using dolphins! A small – and mostly female – proportion of the population use small basket shaped

sponges to ferret prey from the seafloor. They get the sponges in the deep channels, wear them over their beak/jaw and primarily target bottomdwelling fish that are hard to see. The sponge disturbs these fish from their hiding places and then they are an easy catch. Shark Bay is also famous for the ‘beaching’ behaviour at Peron Point. Once again, female dolphins are the primary beachers; only one family does it. They go after mullet primarily and basically hydroplane (swim very fast at the surface) to chase the fish onto the beach where they can catch it and U-turn back into the water.

HOW DOES THE GENETIC MAKEUP OF ‘PUCK’S LINE’ INFLUENCE SURVIVAL RATES WHEN IT COMES TO BEING PROVISIONED, AND CONSEQUENTLY HAVING A SMALLER HUNTING AREA? Puck’s line is doing well. In addition to her daughters, Piccolo and Kiya, who do accept fish, there are six living female offspring and grand-offspring.

There are also a few living male offspring and grand-offspring.

Puck’s younger brother, Cookie, who never took fish even in the days when males were offered a hand-out, is 34 and doing well.

WHAT DID THE RESEARCH FROM ‘BLOW-SAMPLING’ SHOW IN REGARD TO PROVISIONED AND NON-PROVISIONED DOLPHINS? We collected blow from the provisioned Monkey Mia dolphins only and compared it to dolphins in captivity. The blow or respiratory vapor contains dolphin DNA; we were the first to show that you could collect dolphin DNA from blow. We also were the first to look at the lung microbiome this way. The lung microbiome, just like your gut microbiome, has lots of bacteria – some good, some not so good. We found that the wild provisioned dolphins have much more diverse microbiomes than captive dolphins – which is what you would expect and hope for. But we also found that the provisioned dolphins had human bacteria in their lungs, just like captive dolphins do. This shows that by closely interacting with humans, they pick up our bacteria and potentially our diseases. So we have to be very careful – especially since we don’t know if they can get COVID or other dangerous respiratory diseases from us. We usually think about zoonotic diseases – what we get from other animals. But the reverse can happen too!

THIS PAGE: MONKEY MIA DOLPHINS VISIT THE BAY ALMOST DAILY, IMAGE BY TOURISM WA.

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TOP FIVE HR TRENDS FOR 2022 COVID-19 has heralded the biggest changes in how we work since the advent of the Internet. In this report, we look at five trends shaping human resource management in 2022 and beyond.

Words: Ian Lloyd Neubauer

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BUSINESS

THE HYBRID WORKPLACE The most recent Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey by the University of Melbourne found almost 70 per cent of Australians who have been working from home during the pandemic would like to keep on doing so. But the Federal Government’s Families in Australia Survey found just under half of parents surveyed who were working from home had a hard time combining work and care responsibilities.

“Working from home is not a one-sizefits-all approach,” says lead researcher Dr Jennifer Baxter. “Some are enjoying the added flexibility while others miss the vibrancy of the office and those face-to-face conversations. Often, it can be about striking a balance between the two,” she says.

The takeaway is clear: the 9 to 5 office routine will not return to the way it was before the pandemic, but the workforce will not continue to work remotely all the time. Enter the

hybrid workplace model – a trend already manifesting in a wide range of knowledge-based industries, and which presents endless new challenges for HR, from recruitment to remuneration, retention and retrenchment.

THE FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK First proposed in the 1970s, the four-day workweek has gained fresh momentum during the pandemic.

A trial that saw 2,500 public sector workers in Iceland reduce their working hours to 36 per week found participants suffered less stress and reported “dramatically increased” wellbeing, with no decline in productivity or service. Productivity at Perpetual Guardian, a firm in New Zealand, increased 20 per cent after it adopted a four-day workweek, while a four-day workweek trial at Microsoft in Japan led to 40 per cent productivity gains as well as savings of 23 per cent

for electricity and 59 per cent on paper.

In Australia, the number of businesses offering four-day workweeks has increased by 9 per cent over the past four years, according to Mercer’s most recent Australian Benefits Review.

“The pandemic has accelerated the way in which employers respond to the mental health needs of their people,” says Chi Tran, head of market insights at Mercer. “It’s not surprising that organisations are investing in benefits that prioritise flexible work arrangements.”

BENEFITS TO PREEMPT THE GREAT RESIGNATION Fears that the great resignation in the US – which saw the monthly quit rate hit 2.9 per cent, the highest on record – will be replicated in Australia have proven unfounded, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But some of the key elements underwriting that economic trend, such as burnout MAR/APR 2022

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as one of Australia’s top employees, accounting firm KPMG produced a documentary showing the company’s historical good deeds, including managing the Lend-Lease Act to help defeat the nazis and certifying Nelson Mandela’s election victory. It also created an advertising campaign that challenged employees to tell stories about how their jobs connect with a higher purpose. More than 10,000 staff entered submissions, which were used to produce ads like ‘I combat terrorism’ and ‘We champion democracy’.

THE RISE AND RISE OF HR

"I believe CEOs will have to respond with action to retain and attract the best talent." and a rethinking of the work/life balance, are also present in Australia, while job vacancies are already at their highest level in 50 years.

Proactive HR managers seeking to pre-empt resignations can offer higher wages – but so can their competitors.

Employee benefits offer a potentially better alternative. Traditionally these came in the form of health and retirement packages, although with COVID-19 forcing many of us to reevaluate our mortality, workers are demanding perks that deliver benefits today. Investment advisor BrightPlan’s Financial Wellness Barometer survey found more than 80 per cent of employees want guidance from their employer for financial planning, while a survey by Paychex and Future Workplace found nearly 30 per cent want better mental health support.

Subsidising tuition fees for up-skilling is another way to retain staff. Giving away free iPhones? Not so much.

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SEEKING EMPLOYERS WHO DO GOOD Research by Forbes magazine found more than half of knowledge workers would quit their jobs if they discovered their employer’s values did not match their own.

A recent survey by Gartner, a global consultancy company, found nearly three-quarters of employees expect their employers to become more involved in the social issues of the day, and that the percentage of employees who are ‘highly engaged’ in their workplace increased from 40 per cent to 60 per cent when their employer acted on social issues.

“I believe CEOs will have to respond with action to retain and attract the best talent,” says Brian Kropp, who oversees support for human resource managers at Gartner.

But just doing good isn’t enough: companies need to encourage staff to get involved. Consistently ranked

The role of HR has undergone massive transformation and expansion over time and the pandemic has lit a firecracker under the trend, throwing the entire business world into a state of flux with no end in sight as employers try to figure out how to lock in the innovations and gains of the great shutdown.

As the dust continues to settle and companies adjust to a new normal, HR professionals have emerged as key members of executive-level management, working alongside CEOs and heads of technology, real estate, finance and business development to ensure a safe return to the office.

The recent promotion of former Unilever Chief HR Officer Leena Nair to CEO of French luxury fashion house Chanel offers a textbook example of just how important management of the well-being of every employee has become. Before being named CEO of General Motors in the US, Mary Barra was vice-president of global HR for the carmaker. A recent study by the University of Michigan found HR executives are one of the three highest-paid professionals and exhibit leadership qualities that overlap with CEOs. If any more evidence was needed, HR is now also in charge of vaccine strategy in many Fortune 500 companies, in essence helping to keep their staff alive.

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HOPE FOR RENEWABLES IN A POST-FOSSIL FUEL AUSTRALIA University of Sydney student and climate activist Alana Ramshaw reports on Australia’s approach to a “gas-led recovery” from the impacts of COVID-19 as part of our Young Voices for AusBiz initiative.

Words: Alana Ramshaw

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YOUNG VOICES

In the 17 approximate months since the novel COVID-19 virus reached Australian shores, the economic detriments of the pandemic have been felt in almost every sector of Australian society. The impacts are far reaching and we are faced with the long and winding road towards recovery.

The past two years, marked by several mass strikes and discourse around the climate crisis, have seen an increasing demand for the establishment of public Australian renewable energy infrastructure. The pandemic presented an opportunity for the federal government to pursue alternatives to coal. The solution they reached was, instead, an expansion of coal seam gas projects, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing plans for a ‘gas-led’ economic recovery from COVID. This plan involves the authorisation of the Narrabri Gas Project, a $3.6bn project “headed by Australian energy giant Santos, which will see up to 850 unconventional gas wells being drilled into 1,000 hectares of Gamilaraay land.”

The plan also involves the development of a $600m gas plant in Kurri Kurri in the Hunter region, which

has been rebuked by scientists as “the wrong thing at the wrong time… it will just do damage to the local environment and cost the taxpayer”.

increase its profits, and government investment in CSG fails to meet this objective.

THE NUMBERS DON’T ADD UP

The use of coal and gas for the purpose of export and domestic consumption is becoming increasingly inviable. An alternative solution presents itself in the form of investment into public renewable energy infrastructures, including adequate transmission networks. In August 2020, government investment into large-scale renewable energy had fallen to its lowest since 2017. In June, the International Energy Agency broke ground in their recommendation against the development of any new coal, oil, or gas projects.

The emergent academic consensus is that there is no strong economic argument against the complete transition to public renewables, nor for the continued use of fossil fuels in energy production.

A levelised analysis of energy costs released by Lazard Pty Ltd in 2019 revealed that the costs of coal as an energy source remained functionally unchanging in the decade prior to

The issue identified by economists is that CSG, as it is currently mined in Australia, is a stranded asset, unable to meet a viable economic return.

National Energy Security Board Chair Kerry Schott noted that the Kurri Kurri plant “makes little commercial sense given the abundance of cheaper alternatives flooding the market”.

Neoclassical economic frameworks and philosophies have formed the foundation of Australia’s National energy policy, with tenets of free market competition and profit cited as justifications for the continued support of mining corporations. Moreover, the Morrison Government’s identification of CSG as a viable avenue for economic recovery is an inherently neoclassical one by virtue of its reliance on private industry to facilitate the recovery process.

Friedman famously posited that the social responsibility of business is to

A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE

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YOUNG VOICES

the analysis’ publication, falling by only 2 per cent. On the other hand, due to improvements in photovoltaic technologies, the production costs of solar electricity fell 89 per cent within the same ten-year timeframe.

On a large scale, there is a financial benefit to the implementation of solar infrastructure in comparison to the continued expansion of fossil fuel industries. A full transition to publiclyowned renewable energy, as a fiscal policy prescription for economic recovery from COVID-19, would utilise state funding and revenue to deliver a comparative net benefit for the national economy.

A POST FOSSIL-FUEL AUSTRALIA If our country was to leaving fossil fuel behind, it would need to facilitate an employment transition for the workers who would consequently be left without jobs. The conceivable path through this challenge is a comprehensive program to re-skill workers with the aim of providing each and every person with a job in the

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expanding renewables sector, should they wish to take it. The connection between the labour force and the struggle for public renewables is one I would be remiss to acknowledge, with trade unions at the forefront of industrial action on climate change.

One could argue that a complete employment transition away from fossil fuels is a dream utopian beyond viability, but escaping the ecological consequences of not pursuing such a transition is an end that, in my view, justifies the means.

Eighteen months on from the beginning of the pandemic, we are starting to emerge from its economic grips. The economic courses of action pursued by the federal government have reflected a continued capitulation to the will of corporations such as Santos. While the Morrison government boasts improvements in employment statistics and other metrics of economic health, their championing of CSG is an abdication of responsibility for the welfare of the Australian population, and for the survival of future generations.

In its simultaneous announcements of economic recovery and its support of fossil fuels, the government is making a Faustian deal to gain short-term economic profit, at the expense of our planet and economy.

The government’s shirking of responsibility for these consequences is fundamentally illegitimate on the grounds that the construction of a sustainable world is difficult.

The world I wish to see is one powered by large-scale publiclyowned renewables, facilitated through a just transition for the labour force of the fossil fuel industry. This world may not manifest in a year, nor a generation. To proclaim that this world is forever out of reach, as many have, is to reject every academic, worker, and activist who believes, as I do, that in the war to save our planet, the last battle is never fought.

This article was written by University of Sydney student Alana Ramshaw as part of our Young Voices for AusBiz initiative. Alana is also a member of the USYD Enviro Collective.

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SHE’S ELECTRIC It’s no secret that Australia’s trucking industry is a multibillion-dollar sector: our economy is dependent on transport. To keep up with emission targets and supply shortages, Australian trucks could soon be shifting gears to electricity.

Words: Darcy Watt

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INDUSTRY

The Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) and the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) have collaborated in a national first to develop policies necessary for the electrification of trucking throughout Australia.

With an aim to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, last year Australia’s Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan was released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor. According to the EVC and ATA, to achieve this goal, electromobility for trucks needs to be at the forefront in the transport sector.

Only 14 of the 58 electric truck models on the global market are available in Australia, making the need for reform urgent. According to the EVC/ATA media release, electromobility would assist trucking businesses by ending dependency on diesel and its fluctuating price and availability. It would also positively impact air quality and noise pollution, therefore improving the urban environment.

“Being able to power our supply chains with local electricity is surely a national sovereignty imperative.”

Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council.

THIS PAGE: THE HYZON HYMAX-450 HAS ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS AND CAN DRIVE 650KM ON HYDROGEN ALONE.

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INDUSTRY

RIGHT: REFUELLING UREA AND DISESEL OIL TO A TRUCK

“Every government in Australia has committed to a net-zero, but this can’t be achieved without decarbonising the transport sector,” says Behyad Jafari, CEO of the EVC. “If we implement [the policy recommendations] swiftly, the benefits to Australian trucking, our economy and our environment will be truly massive.”

One of the electric trucks available on the Australian market is the Volvo FL Electric, which is a two-axle truck and has a gross weight up to 16.7 tonnes. The FL Electric battery can be charged in as little as two hours with a 250 kW DC (stationary charging station) system. Volvo believes that by 2030, 50 per cent of all its trucks sold in Europe will be electric.

According to David Smith, Chair of the Australian Trucking Association, the benefits to our environment, trucking industry and economy will be exponential.

He says: “It costs about $117 to fuel a diesel truck for 300 kilometres, but just $18 for an electric truck.”

Although moving to electric trucks would not entirely remove all emissions such as those from tyres, brakes and general road wear, it would give the industry access to areas currently off-limits for diesel-powered trucks. The ability to drive inside buildings, drive at night through residential areas and drive at off-peak periods would be beneficial to the economy.

China is one of the largest producers and exporters of urea. Urea is a liquid added to de-ionised water to create AdBlue, a liquid used to reduce emissions from diesel exhaust systems. Supply and demand issues for AdBlue emerged late last year after China cut back on exports.

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RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EVC/ATA POLICY AGREEMENT:

• Set target for zero-emission trucks of 100 per cent by 2040.

• Mandate Euro VI emissions standards for HR models from 2024.

• Electric trucks to be exempt from urban curfews.

• One tonne concession for electric and zero emission trucks.

• Exempt electric/zero emissions trucks from stamp duty.

• Truck width increased to align with standards used by major electric truck supplier economies.

• Incentive payment to reduce price of charging infrastructure installation and purchasing price of electric/zero emission trucks as well as investment in public charging infrastructure.

• Set sales targets for zero-emission trucks.

“The AdBlue shortage crisis was a potent warning about our extreme fuel insecurity.

Why should Australia be dependent on China and the Middle East to keep itself moving when we could be using homegrown power?” says Behyad.

At the moment, truck operators are facing access issues from both the electric and diesel market. According to the EVC/ATA policy, the recommendations outlined here are the first step towards the electrification of the Australian trucking industry, and overall a more secure Australian transport sector.

GLOSSARY • Electromobility: cars, buses, trains and trucks that are part or fully powered by electricity.

• BEV: battery electric vehicle charged from the grid.

• FCEVs: fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen, which is converted to electricity while the vehicle is in motion.

T R U LYAU S .CO M

YERRANDERIE – A 'GHOST TOWN' IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, NSW.

THE PLACE TO FIND REAL AUSTRALIAN STORIES

INDUSTRY

MOTHER TRUCKERS Theresa Scott has been driving trucks of all colours, shapes and sizes for a decade. Coasting through 18 gears on a road ranger without using the clutch was not where she started, but it’s where she is now.

Interview: darcy watt with Theresa Scott

After years of working FIFO and living in tents, Theresa Scott started applying for jobs driving trucks. But it wasn’t an easy road.

“With all my experience from working in the bush, no one would hire me,” Theresa Scott says.

In the end she accepted an offer from her boyfriend at the time, who was working in transport. They’re now engaged and work a two-up schedule together hauling fresh produce in triple road trains in Western Australia.

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“I’ll never forget my first day,” Theresa says. “They chucked the keys at me and told me to have the such-andsuch trailer on the Woolworths dock at 9am, and that was it.

I’d never backed into a dock, let alone knew how to undo a tautliner. By day three, I was in tears.”

Theresa describes herself as stubborn and independent.

She stuck with it, and as the days went by she gradually found her feet. “I used to joke that Perth lived off HarleyDavidsons, TVs, Pottery Barn

INDUSTRY

“It’s becoming easier with technology; even social media plays a part in supporting drivers. It’s a truly fantastic industry to be in – you can see the country and be paid for it.” and Pfizer, as that was all I’d bring over from Sydney,” she clearly recalls.

Women make up just 2 per cent of the Australian truck driving workforce. But Theresa says the men who make up the other 98 per cent are encouraging and respectful. “I find that the people who give me grief or make jokes at my expense aren’t actually drivers themselves, but the people on the fringes of transport.”

Among her career highpoints, Theresa recalls when she first drove a line haul solo. “And driving my first quad road train,” she adds.

The biggest truck she has ever driven was a Kenworth T909 tri-drive with Toll belly dumpers carting ammonium nitrate – a solid substance used as agricultural fertiliser.

ROLL WITH IT There’s no doubt being behind the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 130 tonnes is daunting at the best of time. And when you pull into Meekatharra and discover that the whole town has no power, it is downright terrifying. No power means no fuel.

Theresa had just travelled from Cue, a 1.5-hour drive away. “I decided to double back. I did some calculations and figured I’d have enough fuel to make it,” she says.

“What I didn’t factor in was the four 8m oversized loads that I would have to pull over and

stop for. That really chewed through the fuel. Eventually, I got to the top of the hill in Cue and I could see the fuel station at the bottom. That’s when the truck completely shut down.”

Theresa asked herself if she should risk it, at 130 tonnes loaded with nitrate. She couldn’t un-hook the trailer as you can’t leave ammonium nitrate unattended: it’s a Class 5.1 oxidising agent under the Australian Dangerous Goods code. She also had no power steering or air compressor to keep the brakes open. “I’ll give it a crack,” she said to herself.

Theresa coasted down and pulled up perfectly right at the pumps. A quick re-fuel, and she was back on track. She remembers the incident with a chuckle, but admits there were too many things that could have gone wrong, and says that next time she’ll be patient and wait.

HIT THE ROAD Theresa has now been all over the country. She’s witnessed electrifying lightning storms in the wet seasons up north, and cruised along miles of endless outback. Her largest trip – which she refers to as the ‘triangle of death’ – is a very tiring six-day trip from Perth to Sydney to Brisbane, and then back again to Perth.

“The industry is changing.

This year alone I’ve seen more ladies getting behind the

wheel than ever before and I am so proud,” Theresa says.

“It’s becoming easier with technology; even social media plays a part in supporting drivers. It’s a truly fantastic industry to be in – you can see the country and be paid for it.”

From driving alone, to driving oversized loads and ugly freight – awkwardly shaped goods that can’t be freighted through regular channels – and everything in between, Theresa has certainly left her P plates behind.

She and her partner have just had a baby, and when she returns from maternity leave she hopes to train newly accredited multiplecombination drivers to drive triple road trains.

“There’s a gap in training for these types of rigs and very few drivers are taking up the work. I’d love to be involved in gearing up the next generation,” Theresa says.

ABOVE: THERESA SCOTT AND HER PARTNER COURT IN FRONT OF THEIR ROAD TRAIN.

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WITHOUT TRUCKS, AUSTRALIA STOPS The history of Australian truck driving is a wild ride with more hairpins than a hairdressers. One thing is for certain, though: trucks aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Words: Darcy Watt

ABOVE: A SHELL TANK BEING TRANSPORTED BY LORRY IN HOBART, 1939.

PHOTO BY NEWSPIX. BELOW: DIAMOND T M20 BALLAST TRACTOR, 1953.

PHOTO BY J.H. MEFFERT.

INDUSTRY

In 1863, steam-hauled road trains were introduced in a copper mine in South Australia, and were the first example of trucks being used anywhere in the country. Prior to steam, the common mode of transport was a horse-drawn cart. Although a lot has changed since the 1800s, we still refer to a unit of measurement for the power of an engine as horsepower.

Brambles is one of the oldest examples of an Australian freight company still in operation today. It began with Walter Bramble working as a ‘cut up and deliver’ butcher, transporting meat to his customers in a horse-drawn cart in 1875. He progressed through varying levels of horsepower and, in 1877, expanded into transport and logistics operations, while based in Newcastle, New South Wales.

Internal-combustion engines were introduced in 1912, and two years later petrol-powered vehicles started being manufactured. World War II was another catalyst for the trucking industry: vehicles such as the Diamond T tank-transporter series operated during the war years and well into the 1950s, hauling tanks and other supplies across Australia’s rugged terrain.

LIVING IN THE FAST LANE A key milestone for the industry was the ‘Razorback Blockade’ of 1979, which saw truckies block major roads across the country for nine days in protest at working conditions and road taxes. The blockade started on the Hume Highway at Razorback, New South Wales, and virtually crippled the supply route between Sydney and Melbourne. As a result, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland agreed to drop the road maintenance tax that had been introduced in 1956.

Similarly, the Hume Highway was blocked at Yass in July 1988, this time in protest at a proposed price increase on truck registration fees, and demanding the removal of the 100km/ hr speed limit introduced that year for

“Aussie truck drivers were being hailed for their efforts in helping supply a nation in lockdown.”

all heavy vehicles. Around 1,000 trucks and semi-trailers were held up, parking across the highway and on side streets.

Traffic was escorted through, vehicle by vehicle, by police until the blockade was lifted.

AN INDUSTRY IN TURMOIL From the 1960s onwards, alcohol and stay-awake substances became an industry-wide issue. In July this year the notorious Douglas Crabbe will be up for parole, having been jailed for murder after driving his road train into a hotel near Uluru in 1983, killing five people. He had been kicked out of the venue for being intoxicated.

In the small hours of 20 October 1989, a semi-trailer truck struck a bus full of passengers in a horrific accident that killed 21 people and injured a further 22. The accident occurred on the Pacific Highway near Grafton, NSW. An inquest found the truck driver – who was among the dead – had a

high concentration of ephedrine in his blood at the time of the collision.

Accidents linked to driver fatigue have continued to plague the industry.

In 2012, Paul Kershaw pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death after his prime mover drifted to the side of the road in Myalup, south of Perth. He had been driving for around 13 hours at the time of the incident.

However, regulations to ban stayawake drugs, limit uninterrupted driving time and mandate rest stops are paying dividends. Overall, between 2010 and 2019, fatalities in heavy vehicle-related crashes dropped by an average of 2.7 per cent per year.

A CHANGE IN TREAD Despite this progress, in 2019 the truck driving fatality rate more than doubled over any other year during the previous decade. An electronic work diary was approved in 2020, and a zeroalcohol policy for all truck drivers was introduced in April 2021.

By September that same year, Aussie truck drivers were being hailed for their efforts in helping supply a nation in lockdown. Then in December came the nationwide AdBlue shortage, which in turn sparked debate for a new era of electric-powered trucks.

The pandemic years have certainly seen dramatic gear shifts for the transport industry. Soon, five zeroemission Hyzon Motor prime movers will be on the roads in North Queensland. The trucks will transport zinc to the Port of Townsville and run off renewable hydrogen, not diesel. It’s a world-first initiative, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency – a sign of things to come.

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PROPERTY

HOT PROPERTY: TRENDS IN 2022 Last year saw house prices soar and the regional property market boom. What will 2022 bring? We give you our best property predictions for the year ahead.

Words: Emily Riches The ongoing impacts and restrictions of COVID-19 are shaping all aspects of our lives: not least property design and development, and the way we inhabit and furnish our homes. With a slowing housing market, people are now turning to renovations and home improvements, often with an environmental conscience at the forefront.

SPEEDING UP AND SLOWING DOWN Australia’s soaring housing market saw massive increases over 2021. House prices rose 22.2 per cent nationally – the largest annual increase since 1989 according to data from CoreLogic, a property analytics organisation.

Property values are tipped to keep climbing this year, but at a much slower rate.

Factors such as affordability constraints, rising mortgage rates and tighter lending standards will impact price growth, as well as buyer demand.

“If you’re expecting housing values to rise by a similar amount, I think you’re going to be disappointed,” says

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Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s research director. “Values are still broadly rising, but nowhere near as fast as they were in early 2021.”

Westpac has predicted capital city prices to rise another 8 per cent this year. However, Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan notes that there is a more meaningful slowdown in price growth already happening in Melbourne, while smaller cities like Brisbane and Adelaide are still accelerating.

Coastal centres close to capital cities are still some of the most popular for buyers looking for a sea change but still wanting to be able to commute. This includes the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland and Shoalhaven in NSW.

RENOVATION NATION This year will see a boom in renovations across the country. With two years of pandemic lockdowns, limited overseas travel and state border closures, people have had plenty of time (and cash) spare to reassess their housing needs and preferences.

Eleanor Creagh, senior economist at realestate. com.au’s data arm PropTrack, says, “home renovations have boomed nationwide as more time spent at home combined with ultra-low loan rates, government grants and improved household savings became the perfect combination of factors to drive heightened demand for renovations.”

Big changes include creating home office spaces

to allow for flexibility in working from home, and creating spaces that can be used for multiple purposes. Getting creative with vertical or hidden storage, cupboard desks and office nooks shows that multifunctional spaces are firmly set to become an everyday feature in our lives, with people choosing to optimise space rather than invest in a larger property.

Eleanor says, “for some,

PROPERTY

the constrained supply of properties for sale in 2021 would have added to the impetus to renovate and upgrade their current home, over selling and looking for a subsequent property to purchase.”

The proof is in the pudding. The end of lockdowns and easing restrictions across Sydney and Melbourne at the end 2021 led to record numbers of jobs posted to online tradie marketplace hipages.

Chief customer officer of hipages Stuart Tucker notes that larger suburbs in capital cities had the most jobs posted, but there were also “suburban mums and dads” driving the increased tradie demand.

Some of the top suburbs for tradie job postings include Point Cook (Vic), Berwick (Vic), Craigieburn (Vic), Frankston (Vic),

Kellyville (NSW), Werribee (Vic), Tarneit (Vic), Blacktown (NSW), Baulkham Hills (NSW) and Castle Hill (NSW).

GREENER FEATURES As we become more conscious of our ecological footprint, we are also making greener and more eco-friendly choices in our homes to reduce our environmental impact.

Homes that include more environmentally sustainable features are now in high demand.

The development industry is also taking action to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions. More sustainable inclusions in new builds are now common, from double-glazed windows – which keep rooms cooler and reduce the need for airconditioning – to the use of recycled steel, as well as the

installation of solar panels and battery storage.

Tanya Steinbeck, CEO of the Urban Development Institute of Australia in WA, says, “water and energy efficient packages that include sustainable fixtures and fittings in new homes, along with native or water efficient landscaping packages, are becoming commonplace.”

While these greener, energy-saving features add to the cost of a build, interestingly it is people in the 25 to 34 age bracket who are most willing to shell out extra cash for energysaving features, with 35 per cent willing to pay between $5,000 and $10,000 extra.

BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN Creating a space that feels simple and warm is at the heart of making the home a haven for 2022.

In interior design, there is a move towards bringing more natural colours and sustainable materials into the home – perhaps another side effect of the COVID-19 lockdowns, as people craved connection with nature but were often unable to leave the house.

We are likely to see natural materials such as timber, stone and concrete

incorporated into interiors, with warmer materials such as travertine taking over from marble for kitchen benchtops, side tables and flooring. Light, bright spaces with earthy browns and green tones will also be popular.

People are shopping local, preferring local and sustainable furnishings over mass-produced goods. This extends to homewares, particularly with handmade, vintage or artisan pieces, which bring a sense of warmth and uniqueness to the home.

Moving into the garden, there is a renewed interest in vegetable patches and herb gardens, making kidand pet-friendly upgrades, exploring Indigenous and native planting, and a focus on outdoor entertaining areas to make up for lost time with friends and family.

“The past couple of years have given so many of us the opportunity to reflect on who we are and how we want to live,” says interior designer Joshua Smith on these recent style trends.

“Our homes should inspire our minds and nourish our spirits.”

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MAR/APR 2022

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MINING

THE FUTURE OF MINING 30

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MINING

Tune into the debate on renewable energy, and you could be forgiven for believing there’s no future for mining in Australia. But the industry has grown 4 per cent annually over the past five years, and will continue to grow in new, interesting and unforeseen ways.

Words: Ian Lloyd Neubauer

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MINING

WHITE GOLD Electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries account for just 7 per cent of new car sales today, but uptake is building strongly in China, the US and Europe and will continue to do so, as governments set deadlines to phase out combustion engines – which account for about 20 per cent of carbon emissions. Futurists estimate sales will rise 10-fold by 2030.

Combined with demand for lithium batteries for mobile phones, demand for electric cars is making spodumene concentrate – the raw material used to make lithium hydroxide – one of the most sought-after commodities in the world: the new gold, or white gold as it’s known, due to its silvery-white colour. The global trading price of spodumene concentrate has skyrocketed from $585 per dry tonne in 2020 to $1,595 in the last quarter of 2021, with indicative prices of around $2,500 per tonne for the first half of this year.

Australia has one-third of all demonstrated deposits of spodumene concentrate and is already the world’s biggest supplier. All seven existing mines are concentrated in the southern half of Western Australia, including Greenbushes, the world’s largest producer of spodumene concentrate.

There are two new lithium mines in the pipeline in Australia. Wesfarmers is spending billions on a new lithium mine at Mount Holland in WA, 450 kilometres west of Perth, while exploratory drilling indicates up to 7.4 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate lies beneath the ground at the new Finniss Lithium Project on the Cox Peninsula near Darwin, which is scheduled to go online next year. A host of junior miners are also trying to jumpstart lithium projects in the Pilbara.

THE ALL-ELECTRIC MINE Nearly two-thirds of mining industry executives expect the next generation of mines to be electric, according to the State of Play: Electrification report released in 2020. But with diesel-powered mining vehicles accounting for up to 41 per cent of total mine site energy usage, the transition from diesel to electric operation will be a huge hurdle in mining’s road to decarbonisation.

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The good news is the journey has already begun, with a growing number of Australian businesses now retrofitting diesel light vehicles into custom electric vehicles for use in underground mines.

Murray Engineering in Western Australia has started manufacturing electric LandCruisers as well as underground-ready DC vehicle chargers. GB Auto has signed a deal to retrofit 2000 LandCruisers into electric vehicles at its facility in Orange, NSW. JCB in Smithfield, NSW, is making electric mini excavators that are five times quieter than diesel-powered excavators.

And in Switzerland a consortium has developed the largest electric vehicle in the world. Based on a retrofitted Komatsu HB 605-7, the Elektro Dumper has a giant electric engine that acts like a generator, recharging its battery during descent into mining pits.

The Dumper then uses this stored energy to travel out of the pit and can in some situations actually feed surplus electricity back into the grid. On top of that it saves 50,000 litres of diesel per year.

“The technology is very quickly getting better and better; if not every day, at least every year,” says University of Adelaide School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering lecturer Ali Pourmousavi.

MINING

BELOW: RIO TINTO HEADQUATERS IN PERTH; TOYOTA HAS PARTNERED WITH BHP TO TRIAL A BATTERY ELECTRIC (BEV) LANDCRUISER 70 SERIES AT A WA MINE SITE.

COAL IS HERE TO STAY Australia has pledged net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in favour of renewable energy. Ten coal-fired power plants have already shut down in the past decade and another eight to 10 will be retired by 2030 amid pressure from the G20 group of nations, which wants to phase out coal as early as 2025.

But if coal is near its end in Australia, it’s very hard to see. Bravus, formerly Adani, will soon begin exporting coal from its huge Carmichael Mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, while Wollongong Coal’s Russell Vale Colliery expansion plan has now been approved. There are currently still 38 coal mines operating in Australia, concentrated in the eastern states.

Together they produce about 70 per cent of Australia’s electricity, employ some 50,000

people – mostly in remote and rural areas – and generate a whopping $50 billion in export earnings every year. That makes coal our second most valuable commodity after iron ore.

Many regional communities depend on coal to survive, while a recent poll by the Sydney Morning Herald shows close to half of all Australians want to keep mining and exporting coal for as long as overseas buyers want to pay for it.

“Coal consumption throughout Asia is forecast by the International Energy Agency to grow over the next decade to meet the energy demands of countries like China, India and South Korea,” says Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt. “Australia has an important role to play in meeting that demand.”

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MINING

MORE LEGISLATIVE REFORM Concerns over climate change have introduced a greater focus on sustainable mining and introduced a raft of new laws and regulations to mitigate its impacts.

In South Australia, recent changes to the Mining Act aimed at enhancing landowner rights gives more time and support to landowners when dealing with mining companies.

In Tasmania, community members are calling for stricter exploration licences over concern for a mine in the Tarkine wilderness area in the state’s north-west.

In NSW, legal reforms are impacting lease conditions and environmental reporting requirements. And in WA, where Rio Tinto triggered a global outcry after it accidentally destroyed two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock

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shelters in 2020, a new law was introduced in December that strongly encourages miners to work more closely with traditional landowners. It also includes more detailed definitions of Aboriginal heritage sites to prevent a similar tragedy happening again.

“In recent years, we have seen continual changes to each state’s mining legislation, which can be difficult for mining corporations to keep up with,” advises Hetherington, a Brisbane-based mining consultancy specialising in environmental approvals and compliance in its respected industry blog on the Future of Mining in Australia.

Mining corporations are essentially now an open book as the public examines their ability to conduct environmentally conscious and moral practices.

ABOVE: A PROCESSING PLANT AT A WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINE THAT USES MECHANICAL PROCESSING TO REFINE LITHIUM SPODUMENE CONCENTRATE.

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ARTSPACE

WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE NFTS? Owning a rare and unique piece of art is often associated with wealth and superiority. In a rapid change to the status quo, a new world of digital art has changed the game for investors.

Words: Darcy Watt

To answer the question, NFT stands for non-fungible token. NFTs are digital works stored on the blockchain and can be anything from an artwork, a piece of music or even a game. If you’re now wondering what a blockchain is – put simply, it’s an online system of recording a trail of data associated with an NFT. Every transaction that occurs with an NFT is verified by peerto-peer computer networks, which makes NFTs almost impossible to replicate or hack. It’s the same technology used by Bitcoin.

It’s a seemingly daunting space to invest in for those only new to the NFT world. Michelle Grey who was the Global Creative Director for The New York Times has recently returned to Australia and launched Culture Vault alongside two business partners – Sam Linas and Sean Tolkin. Culture Vault is a new and exciting NFT curated platform and creative agency based in Sydney.

“The idea of fakes and fraudulent behaviour is not specific to the NFT world. It’s ubiquitous amongst many different facets of fashion, art and music. Blockchain has been around for a number of years, especially with the fame and rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum. We thought managing and curating NFT collections was a really exciting and interesting space to get more involved with,” says Michelle.

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ARTSPACE

TO-TEM COLLECTION

BY MY NAME IS WENDY TO-TEM-GOLD IS A 1/1 3D ANIMATED SCULPTURE BASED ON 2D ILLUSTRATIONS.

“The idea of fakes and fraudulent behaviour is not specific to the NFT world. It’s ubiquitous amongst many different facets of fashion, art and music.”

Michelle Grey, CEO Co-Founder, Culture Vault

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MAY/JUN 2021

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ARTSPACE

THIS PAGE: LEFT: SNAPSHOT FROM TIGER QUEEN BY FEARLESS PROPHET. RIGHT: TOTEMIC BY REKO RENNIE.

Culture Vault offers a one-stop shop for both first-time NFT buyers and seasoned digital art collectors. The first collection that Sean and Sam worked on was Never Forever with Australian musicians Flight Facilities and it saw great success according to Michelle.

“When it comes to art, it is very difficult to figure out what piece to buy, what artists to believe in, and what work to invest in.

We hope that through our curatorial lens at Culture Vault, we can help people connect with artists and creators that provide value to them, whether that be through an NFT or physical asset.”

A $69.3 MILLION NFT. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT In March 2021, an NFT by Digital Artist Beeple titled Everydays: The First 5000 Days sold for $69.3 million at Christie’s auction house. Christie’s was the first major auction house to offer a purely digital work of art in a historic moment for the art

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world. According to Christie’s, it propelled Beeple into the top three most valuable living artists.

In the same way that video art surged in the 80s and 90s, Michelle explains that virtual art and virtual galleries are becoming an increasingly comfortable concept, especially after COVID-19.

Michelle envisions virtual galleries being shown over dinner with friends at home or infinitely across the Internet. “We use Instagram as a way to express ourselves; what we wear, what we eat and where we travel,” Michelle says. “In the future, I think a virtual gallery or even a custodial wallet will become much like a social passport in the same way that Instagram is.”

BEHIND THE TOKENS Culture Vault works with a wide network of local and international artists, musicians, fashion designers and more. Reko Rennie is a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay/Gamilaroi artist based in Melbourne. His work can

be found in all state galleries and the National Gallery of Australia. His NFT collection titled Totemic features a mix of animated sculptures that explore concepts of Indigenous identity and ancestry.

Bright neon colours are striped across sophisticated angles in this triptych NFT sculpture series.

“As an artist, I am always looking for new mediums to create work in and I feel this digital realm is not something to ignore,” Rennie says. “Working with Culture Vault is a great opportunity to explore the endless possibilities within the digital world of the arts.”

Culture Vault artist Fearless Prophet is based in the USA and their work reflects the spirit of now through popular culture.

The art (or NFTs) moves to propel viewers from the 2D portal of online dimensions into a 3D image that captures viewers’ intrigue. Tiger Queen is a collection of 77 digitally unique works that are centralised around never-before-seen images of Anna Nicole Smith, captured in the 1990s by Daniela Federici.

“Culture Vault is running the cultural gamut. It’s not just fine art. It’s music, fashion, sculpture and photography,” says Michelle.

Culture Vault’s inaugural physical-meetsdigital exhibition The Future Is Phygital will be open to the public from 18 March to 20 March at Verona Studios Sydney. Entry is free. Alternatively, you can visit culturevault.com

OUR DOORS ARE OPEN We continue to welcome visitors while we work to expand our galleries. Plan your visit and book free tickets online.

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D O Y I L K C T L R T H I

A O A D D G E E D U E D R

N T M R E J J Y M E E R D

O H I O L U Z B F I C B T

M I L C I Z L F T D L I F

E E K C I E O E H A R K O

L U E F R C A R A M E L S

AusBiz.

MEDUSA GOBLIN PIXIE GNOME NYMPH DWARF OGRE

D

40

BANSHEE MERMAID CYCLOPS CENTAUR BUNYIP DRAGON SPHINX

K

LEPRECHAUN WEREWOLF MONSTER UNICORN VAMPIRE PEGASUS PHOENIX

A

25. Young chap started like a dream (3)

C

27. Cook taco mix for parrot (8)

H

23. Raised cattle, branded, and went (4)

O H I O L U Z B F I C B T T

26. Hope deer is let loose (6)

N T M R E J J Y M E E R D C

21. Come before tea to see a heavenly body! (5)

20. Foil what’s often on the rocks (6)

A O A D D G E E D U E D R

H

24. Cancelled producing child before spring (3)

D O Y I L K C T L R T H I

C O C

16. Sole position in the way (9)

E M O A W I E W T P I J N

B O O B O O

23. Mistake made by Yogi’s partner (3-3)

Y S S L R A H S R A P N K

E

15. Horse-drawn transport for a theatre instructor (10)

H S A U Q S N O M E L A K

R

22. Dashes off other half of code (4)

E U P E T A L O C O H C K

D

19. Depress some prudish ear?

Tenacious! (10)

M I L K S H A K E M B K O

R

7. Insert a leader in Russia (5) 13. Anna kissed Dick, said to be antigovernment (11)

W O R A N G E J U I C E C

I

6. Do they break in to steal mice? (3,8)

I

18. Complaining bitterly about fence (7)

5. Lord’s wife seen with Chatterley’s lover! (4)

T

17. Longed for Ned after 12 months (7)

S

14. I leave train games for ships (10)

4. One who carries grizzly animal and queen (6)

C

12. Temptation changed a bit (4)

Find all the words listed hidden in the grid of letters.

They can be found in straight lines up, down, forwards, backwards or even diagonally. Theme: BIG BIGGER

T

11. Be salver or be disloyal (6)

WORD SEARCH

S

3. Weird spade adapted for use by many people (10)

T

2. Beat a retreat, initially, to pub (3)

E

9. You can count on it (6) 10. Raft no longer right behind (3)

C

1. For each grade, journalist put on an act (9)

M

DOWN

8. Give lawful permission to call on league allies (8)

D O

ACROSS

D

26

E AST H OT E L .CO M . AU

Experience a holiday with the comfort of apartment living.

Apartment style living with full kitchen and lounge spaces. Located in the centre of Canberra, you can live like a local with the best culinary, cultural and adventurous experiences right at East Hotel’s doorstep.

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