SHIFT MINER Monday 4th June 138th Edition 2012
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HAPPY CAMPERS FIFOs/DIDOs just as content as locals WHAT’S the difference between a FIFO worker and a miner who lives locally? Not much, apart from where they choose to call home. A statewide survey of almost 2300 mining and gas company workers has found about two-thirds of those who live locally - and those who live elsewhere and commute to work - are happy with their current set up. “There are people out there who, even if a mining company provided a house, all they’re going to have in it is a bed and a TV on a milk crate and leave on their days off,� said mining accommodation specialist Chris Jury. “Not everyone wants to live in a mining town anymore.� The survey was commissioned by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and, despite the ongoing public debate surrounding FIFO and DIDO workers, it’s believed to be the first time workers have actually been asked if they are satisfied with their living arrangements. “The answer to that is an overwhelming ‘yes’ with almost two-thirds of resident and non-resident workers reporting that they are happy with their current accommodation arrangements, and would not change,� said QRC chief executive Michael Roche. “There is no material difference in satisfaction with accommodation between residential and non-residential workers. What this says loud and clear is that it is important for resources sector companies to be able to offer accommodation options.� Mr Jury agrees.
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Off Shift Now that’s a steak  page 21
4.46pm Weipa, Qld. Driver Frances Whittle manoeuvres a 290-tonne haul truck up to a loader.
What will you drive?
As a mother of nine, Frances knows all about challenges. That’s why she wanted to show her kids she could get behind the wheel of one of the world’s largest trucks. Rio Tinto’s looking for skilled operators, engineers, trades, project professionals, geologists and other specialists to help drive our plans for expansion. If that sounds like you, visit jobs.riotinto.com.au or call 1300 MINING.
4 CONTENTS NEWS 4 Protect your hearing
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5 BMA speaks out on strike 6 Alpha Coal gets project approval
27 7 10
7 Workers get grass cut
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110 Campbell Street, Rockhampton. Page 3 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
News
138th EDITION. 2012
Hear today, gone tomorrow THERE are increasing numbers of miners seeking help because of noise-induced hearing loss, and it’s thanks to the mining industry.
Audiologist and managing director of Clarity Hearing Solutions, Grant Collins, said hearing damage had often been done years
before the mines with increasingly specialised hearing testing equipment picking this up. “And now they can do something about it,” he said. “Health and safety legislation is so tight that people now have reduced noise exposure in every sector of their work, and this is good news for hearing.” The majority of hearing loss is industrial deafness that typically starts when a person reaches their mid to late 30s. But the damage is done when they are much younger. “When you reach a certain age, you have damage to the little hairs in your ears, and then age catches up with you.” These people are now being detected, and it then becomes a health and safety issue because it can affect a person’s ability to carry out their work safely, Mr Collins said. “For example, if there is a whining alarm and you can’t hear it, it can be a problem. It’s a safety regulation that you can hear the alarms so hearing is vital.” In 2010-11, industry operators reported 25 incidents of binaural hearing loss at mines and quarries in Queensland. It is a high priority health issue for the Queensland Government and the mining industry, and in 2009 the government established the Health Improvement and Awareness Committee (HIAC).
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Page 4 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
HIAC’s aim is to work collaboratively to develop best practice to assess and manage noise induced hearing hazards in mining. It is currently developing fact sheets for mine workers, industry operators and site health professionals on noise health issues; including the health effects of noise exposure; noise control management; health surveillance and noise monitoring. Queensland Mines Health and Safety Commissioner Stuart Bell said noiseinduced deafness is an issue he has been tracking for some time. “My own personal observation - and I am down a mine every other week - is that when workers are underground they are wearing protection, and it’s fairly strictly policed. That certainly wasn’t always the case. The trouble with hearing is that once you’ve lost it you don’t get it back. What we might be seeing is a bit of a legacy from some time ago.” Coal mining legislation is risk-based, which means companies need to either eliminate the noise or protect people from the noise, he said. “It should be a part their safety and health management plan. You can never eliminate noise completely, but it’s about getting it to the lowest level possible with personal protection like ear plugs,” Mr Bell said.
News
138th EDITION. 2012
CFMEU out of touch & out of control: BMA THE head of BMA says the coal mining union is dressing up an industrial dispute as a community and safety issue. “Us wanting to deunionise the coalfields - it’s a myth,” BMA’s asset president Steve Dumble told Shift Miner Magazine. “Just like it’s a myth that we want management running safety.” More than 3500 BMA miners are now back at work after a week-long strike - the latest in a bitter 18-month long industrial dispute to sort out a new enterprise agreement across six Bowen Basin mines. CFMEU union boss Steve Smyth said despite BMA offering to get back to the bargaining table, the strikes were necessary. “It’s a case of once bitten twice shy,” he said. “In the past we have shown our good faith by having ceasefires. But then they have just thrown it in our face.” Mr Dumble says it’s the unions that are not taking the negotiating process seriously. “We are very frustrated because the unions are running around saying we are refusing to meet,’ he said. “But we have offered meetings last week, this week and next week.” What makes this dispute unusual is it is not centred on pay - but a complex set of worker conditions including rosters, living arrangements and safety issues. But Mr Dumble has accused the unions of manipulating the message and distorting BMA’s intentions. “The CFMEU has historically pursued that the company must provide everybody a house to live locally,” he explained, on the issue of living arrangements. “But our people have decided that they want a lifestyle and residential choice that is inconsistent with the union model.
“Many of our employees and their families have elected to live on the coast and it is not appropriate or possible for us to take this choice away from them.” The current EA means the company is required to provide heavily subsidised residential housing in towns like Moranbah and Dysart - but currently a lot of that accommodation is filled with non-resident workers, not families that live locally. “We would all rather see children riding their bikes down the local streets and have families in our houses, rather than see these houses filled by single workers with mine vehicles parked in the streets. “We want to put single men into subsidised accommodation and free up homes for families. We want to offer that as an option, and we just want to make it all above ground.” Mr Dumble concedes the company still has much work to do in terms of getting its point across to employees, who earlier this month voted down the latest agreement in a resounding ‘no’ vote. “I think there are a couple of things at work here. Our people are needing to understand what are some fairly complex workplace and community issues; it’s not straightforward,” he said. “There are a lot of myths and misinformation being spread by the no vote - that everyone will be put on a seven-on sevenoff roster; that we will fly workers in from Dubai on 457 visas; that we will have safety officers sitting with their feet on desks. “Employees say to me, who do I listen to here? The challenge is that I can’t run around making outrageous statements. We deal in fact, and everything we say is based in fact.” But Mr Smyth said BMA’s agenda is
clear, and he is not backing away from claims the company wants to de-unionise the Queensland coalfields. “BHP have locked themselves into a corner by saying inflammatory things like ‘this is the fight we have to have’. They have drawn a line in the sand.” “We are not glorifying strikes, we want to end this dispute, but our members are frustrated about how they have been treated. If BHP comes back to the table and is serious this could be resolved within weeks.”
Here at Shift Miner Magazine, we love hearing from our readers. Here’s what one thinks about the ongoing industrial dispute at BMA mines. economy is struggling with Union a few isolated pockets. The Does the current rank and file fully understand the union? Karl Marx is dead. Vlad Lenin is dead. The great Socialist experiment failed. The USSR collapsed. Google is illegal in China. Free press is illegal in Korea. Trotsky rejected the idea of an organised worker representative group as he felt it was only a channel for discontent, not action or result. The actions of the unions in the Bowen Basin lately seem questionable. For example: The United States of America’s economy is in the toilet. Some Euro countries went down the gurgler recently. Generally the world
Bowen Basin in Australia is one such pocket.
The average deal is more than $100k and even-time rosters for anyone setting foot on a Bowen Basin mine - plus food, transport (buses), gym, housing (on roster), super and uniforms. The union could be seen to be fighting for an extra slice for the well-fed. Are the unions encouraging the staff of Kmart/Target etc to strike for double time on Sundays? Are the unions sticking up for the 15-year-olds cooking gruel at MacDonalds at 8pm on school nights? Grandstanding and pissing contests followed by a walk out of possibly the best paid worker group on planet. Does the rank and file understand the union?
Comment or SMS 0428 154 653
FAST NEWS LNG funds new homes GLADSTONE’S LNG industry has built 58 new homes for workers and provided housing assistance to 36 apprentices and trainees in the past six months. As part of the go-ahead for the massive projects, Queensland’s CoordinatorGeneral stipulated the three LNG proponents must assist in building housing for their workforce in the port city, which has one of the tightest real estate markets in the state. A report prepared for the Coordinator-General has detailed that the industry has so far invested more than $22 million in housing initiatives in the region since December. .........................................................................................
Surat Expo nears
THE 2012 Surat Basin Energy and Mining Expo is now less than a month away. The event will be held at Toowoomba Showgrounds on June 20 and 21 and is experiencing strong interest from sponsors, exhibitors and companies wanting to attend. Event Organiser, Bob Carroll said added features to the event include the all new welcome function, “underground” luncheons, networking events and a $13,000 tradies pack up to win. Further event details, including registration, are available from www.suratbasinexpo.com.au .........................................................................................
Pipeline approved
THE delivery of the 435-kilometre gas pipeline has moved a step closer, after the Queensland Coordinator-General approved a key 44-kilometre section of pipeline within the Callide Infrastructure Corridor State Development Area (CICSDA). This pipeline section is a key component of the network needed to deliver gas from the coal seam gas fields to Curtis Island for Santos’ GLNG project. .........................................................................................
Mayors on road team
THREE regional mayors have been appointed to the new Bruce Highway Crisis Management Group. Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow, Cairns Mayor Bob Manning and Gympie Mayor Ron Dyne are to join the state government formed team. The engineering-based Crisis Action Plan for the highway is expected to be completed by September. Around 60 per cent of deaths on Queensland’s national highways occur on the highway which is a critical route for the state’s mining and resources sector.
Page 5 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
News
138th EDITION. 2012
Alpha project approved but still plenty to do ONE of Australia’s biggest mines the $6.4 billion Alpha Coal Project has been granted approval by the Queensland Government with strict conditions. The mine is the first in the untapped coal rich Galilee Basin. The open cut mine, 130kms south-west of Clermont, will produce 30 million tonnes per year and this will be shipped 495kms to Abbot Point near Bowen. The Federal Minister for Environment is yet to complete his assessment under Commonwealth environmental legislation. If this approval is granted construction is likely to start next year. Comprising six separate open-cut pits, with a total strike length of 24km in a northsouth direction, the mine will take about three years to construct. The approval has brought into sharp focus the need for just one rail corridor from the Galilee to the Coast. This is something landholders have been campaigning on for some time. There are currently six lines proposed in central Queensland, crisscrossing 100 different rural properties.
In some cases farmers, many of whom have joined the Corridor to Coast Galilee Network lobby group, have multiple lines tracking across their large beef and cropping properties. Indian company GVK, which is the majority owner of the Alpha Coal project - with Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Coal the minority partner, is now the frontrunner for developing a single line. In a statement GVK says it has already advertised for expressions of interest for additional users on the railway, and there has been a high level of interest. Deputy premier Jeff Seeney said last week a coordinated rail approach was needed. “Those discussions will take on a new urgency and we will be moving quickly to find a solution,” he said.
“There are rail proposals that criss-cross that part of central Queensland like twisted spaghetti and we cannot allow that.” Changes were still possible to the Alpha rail project line, he said. Grazier and Agforce State Councillor Peter Anderson said the current route chosen for the Alpha Coal project could affect the flow of water and impact on a key cattle grazing region where tens of thousands of cattle feed each year. Landholders were not against the project, Mr Anderson added, but believed not enough planning has gone into where to best build the railway. “There is an alternative and that is to build it on the north or north-western side of the Belyando River,” he said. “But that option has not been explored.”
“There are rail proposals that criss-cross that part of central Queensland like twisted spaghetti and we cannot allow that.”
Page 6 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
Great Galilee opened up 40 years on
FORTY years after Lang Hancock first pegged some of Hancock Coal’s Galilee tenements, and the mine has been given the green light by the state government. The $6.4 billion Alpha Coal project, which is now majority owned by the Indian infrastructure group GVK, will be one of the biggest mines in Australia. It’s the first mine in the Galilee Basin to be given the go ahead; there are another nine proposed projects in the region. The project is expected to create 3600 construction jobs, and almost 100 jobs when the mine is up and running. “There’ll be an estimated $11 billion boost to the economy during the mine’s three year construction phase, and 80 per cent of that will be retained in Queensland,” said deputy premier Jeff Seeney. “Australia can expect an $80 billion dollar rise in exports over the life of the mine.” The Coordinator-General has given the mine the go ahead with 128 conditions, as outlined in a 393-page report. The mine still requires federal government approval to proceed.
News
138th EDITION. 2012
John Holland sends men to cut employees’ grass FLY-IN, FLY-OUT (FIFO) workers at John Holland can look forward to strangers cutting their grass and performing other manual tasks under a groundbreaking FIFO support program. John Holland has numerous mining contracts in the Bowen Basin, and has seen its workforce double in the last five years with 60 per cent now on a FIFO roster.
Speaking at a Bowen Basin Mining Club lunch in Moranbah recently, the company’s Matthew Wood said the skills crisis was a huge issue. “I think everybody in this room would understand how hard it is to get people at the moment, this is not unique to John Holland it is industry-wide,” Mr Wood said. “We acknowledge that we are going to
have to offer career paths and a family-friendly work environment or we will lose our people.” As a result, John Holland has introduced a FIFO support program for employees’ families. “It is essentially about sending someone out to mow the lawn, or sending around carpenters and plumbers so that the families of our employees don’t have to wait until their partner gets home. “It has been a great success,” he said. Like many companies in mining, John Holland is concerned about the implications of the imminent “Baby Bust”, a term coined to explain the broad scale retirement of the baby boomer generation. As much as 20 per cent of the mining workforce falls into this category, and Mr Wood says those people coming to replace them have different needs. “The figures show that the mining industry failed to fill 15 per cent of its graduate positions last year. We are now dealing with the Y Generation who want the big dollars, but they want the city lifestyle.” The experience of John Holland adds weight to the findings of the Kinetic Group’s Heartbeat Report, released last week. That report found 22 per cent of employees in the sector are more than 50 years old, and 3.2 per cent are over 60.
“The industry is constantly recruiting new people to help support its exponential growth but a third of these new recruits are aged 50 years and over,” said Kinetic Group CEO Derek Hunter. An ageing workforce is concerning because it exposes the industry to significant risk in terms of losing critical skill, knowledge and experience to retirement. Interestingly, the Heartbeat Report also showed problems at the other end of the age spectrum. It found that less than 10 per cent of the workforce is under 25, which the report said reflects the fact that industry is more likely to employ staff once they enter their late twenties. That finding reinforces the notion that industry employers are actively seeking workers with previous experience or transferable skills. “Our main concern with this figure is that it highlights the lack of pathway programs for young people to enter the industry,” Mr Hunter said. “If the Queensland mining industry is to grow a workforce to meet productivity goals, we must improve our capacity to introduce new workers to the industry in a timely way. Industry must do significantly more to create pathway programs and foster the development of school leavers.”
heights
Page 7 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
News
138th EDITION. 2012
FROM PAGE 1
I’ll tell you why I live where I live... “From a business point of view, the greater range of accommodation options you can give, the greater employee pool you have to draw from. If you only have residential housing you are going to miss out, and vice versa.” Mr Jury says the game-changer for miners was the widespread introduction of 12-hour shifts back in the 1990s. “Prior to that, when it was eight-hour shifts and five-days-on, two-days-off, people needed to live locally. But with 12-hour shifts, they could suddenly go and live on the coast, and many people embraced that.” Interestingly, the survey found there was very little difference in the demography, family characteristics, or time spent in the resources sector between the local residents and FIFO/DIDO workers. This suggests that the different accommodation arrangements do not attract or suit a particular type of person or personality - dispelling many myths about the type of person attracted to FIFO or DIDO rosters. “Single, married, with or without children - there is no stereotypical linkage between resident and non-resident workers,” said the QRC’s Michael Roche. That’s backed up by Mr Jury, who has worked in HR for BHP, in senior manage-
ment at The Mac Group and now runs Castra Consulting - providing accommodation advice to major mining companies. “Certainly there are no behavioural differences between the two groups (locals and FIFO/DIDO workers),” he said. “Look, some of the local pubs can get rough on a Saturday night and we’re not talking about a FIFO/DIDO problem.” He said strict drug and alcohol testing for miners had also changed the state of play. “The stories from 20 to 30 years ago would curl your toes, but those kind of incidents are very rare now.” Mr Jury said the survey showed different living arrangements suited different stages of life - not different types of people. “I don’t think it is a case of Person A who lives in a mining town, and Person B who lives in a city,” he explained. “It’s Person A who starts out living in the city when they’re young and want to go out, and then when they couple up they move to a local community to raise their kids and spend more time at home, and then later on they may move away to have access to different high school options.” The full report, by research agency URS is available on the QRC website at www.qrc.org.au
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The Mackay Tinnie and Tackle Show and Australian Offshore Superboat Championships are teaming up for a second year at Mackay Marina!
Open 9am - 5pm both days Catch all the action of the Mackay Superboat Races
This year the Festival expands into Mulherin Park where there’ll be live entertaiment across the weekend. Check out Queensland’s leading boat brands on display - sailing boats, offshore fishing boats, tinnies, fibreglass boats, engines, PWCs, marine electronics and accessories.
Live entertainment Onsite parking
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Page 8 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
Less local miners FEWER than half of Bowen Basin miners now live locally, according to the latest population snapshot of the region. Of the 7200 people who moved to the mining belt last year, 80 per cent of them were FIFO or DIDO workers. In fact, one in five people in the region is now a FIFO or DIDO worker - with 20,520 nonresidents workers living there while on shift. The unprecedented growth spurt is recorded in the latest population report, put together by the Queensland Treasury’s Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR). According to the survey, 6000 non-resident workers moved into the Bowen Basin in July 2011 - a 40 per cent jump on the previous year. Now, 53 per cent of the region’s miners don’t live locally; and most travel to work by road, not air.
The report found 41 per cent of the region’s mine workers were DIDO, compared with 12 per cent on FIFO rosters. A quarter of those workers live in Mackay, and another 9 per cent travel from Rockhampton and Gladstone. Where are all these non-resident workers sleeping? According to the report, nearly 5000 more beds have been added to accommodation villages across the region - a 28 per cent jump taking the total number of beds to 22,730. More than 3000 of the new beds were added to the Isaac region. The report also projects the mining town of Moranbah’s population will increase from 12,530 to 19,910 by 2018, due largely to its non-resident population. Comment or SMS 0428 154 653
“I don’t think it is a case of Person A who lives in a mining town, and Person B who lives in a city.”
Gas shuts down Carborough VALE’S Carborough Downs underground coal mine was shut down last week, after high levels of carbon monoxide were detected. Last Tuesday, the Mines Inspectorate ordered all workers be evacuated from the Moranbah mine, and operations be suspended until gas levels normalise. Mine management has also been ordered to review and validate it “trigger” levels that are used to kick into action its response plan to higher-than-normal gas levels. Vale first told the Inspectorate about elevated carbon monoxide levels in a longwall area of the mine four days earlier. It’s believed to be associated with accelerated oxidation - or self-heating - of the coal seam in the longwall. Inert nitrogen has been injected into the area to reduce oxygen levels and minimise the likelihood of an underground fire or explosion. Meanwhile, 27 miners were potentially
exposed to toxic fumes at Anglo American’s Lake Lindsay mine near Middlemount earlier this month. At about 4.30pm on Monday 21 May, a shot was fired in a pit, but the fume broke the one-kilometre exclusion zone. Operations were suspended immediately, and 27 miners were checked by a medical team on site, before 19 were taken to Dysart hospital for further monitoring. They were all released later that night with the all clear from doctors. Last year, fumes from blasting at Queensland’s open cut coal mines extended beyond exclusion zones more than 30 times, and 62 miners were taken to hospital after an event. However, none required medical treatment or reported any negative long term health effects. As a result of the rise in incidents, new shot-firing guidelines were also drawn up for the industry.
“Inert nitrogen has been injected into the area to reduce oxygen levels and minimise the likelihood of an underground fire or explosion.”
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Hidden workforce discovering job options THE Bowen Basin’s “hidden workforce” is continuing to be prompted to step forward and find employment that fits their circumstances and they enjoy. For more than 18 months the Regional Economic Development Corporation (REDC) based in Mackay has been hosting a series of seminars to promote the issue and show what opportunities there are in the community for those seeking work. Mackay is one centre that has a wide range of part-time job vacancies because of the resources boom with local employers and recruiters resorting to sandwich boards on the street and signs in shop windows in a daily bid to find appropriate workers. The latest seminar has just been held and REDC’s economic development manager Laura Sorensen said at the launch of the project that while retailers and the hospitality sector were crying out for staff, there was a hidden workforce in the region that just needed a confidence boost. “We’re talking about those people who are not technically unemployed like stay-athome mums, retirees and students,” she said.
“They are people who are looking for flexible employment but aren’t quite sure how to go about it.” The latest Getting Back Into the Workforce seminar was the fourth and again was very successful. It is believed that barriers for Mackay residents to find work include family commitments, long absences from work due to care giving duties, lack of confidence, lack of skills and age discrimination. REDC has identified that the need for flexibility was the most important consideration for those Mackay residents thinking of returning to work which is not surprising when how family-work arrangements have changed over the past 30 years. REDC is still encouraging job seekers and employers alike to seek flexible work arrangements for the benefit of families as well as our region currently experiencing a skills and labor shortages. Further information on what support is available and future seminars is available from the REDC website at www.mwredc. org.au
Sign of the times - REDC has found its latest range of seminars are helping get people back into work in Mackay, Moranbah and surrounding towns and reducing vacancies.
Gold Coast closer to FIFO THE Gold Coasters are remaining tight-lipped but the city is believed to be close to announcing a fly-in, fly-out service with a major airline. As the country’s sixth largest city and with relatively high unemployment about six per cent the Gold Coast has been campaigning and planning for months to get FIFO from the airport at Coolangatta. This would open up greater FIFO opportunities for workers in the south-east of Queensland and northern NSW. The airport straddles the border. Connecting Southern Gold Coast boss Murray d’Almeida and Gold Coast City Council staff have just been to Canberra for talks with the chief adviser to the Minister for Regional Australia and Regional Development, Simon Crean, as well as his Opposition counterpart, Barnaby Joyce. The delegation addressed the Senate Select Committee on FIFO matters. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia hearings into FIFO and DIDo move to the Victorian town of Maryborough on June 13. The hearings, chaired by Independent MP Tony Windsor, are to gauge first-hand how workers and communities cope with FIFO and DIDO. The committee’s final report will provide insights on the extent and projected growth of FIFO/DIDO work practices and well as the provision of services, infrastructure and housing availability for FIFO/DIDO employees. Queensland has 38 projects set to start by 2017, including 23 coal mines and 12 coal seam gas projects, supporting 30,000 new workers, according to latest government figures. Many of these will utilise FIFO and DIDO.
Page 10 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
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GET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE
No plans for overseas workers: BMA CENTRAL Queensland’s biggest employer has ruled out using foreign workers en masse in its Bowen Basin coal mines. “This is one of those issues that frustrates the hell out of us,� BMA asset president Steve Dumble told Shift Miner Magazine. “We have the largest local residential workforce in the Bowen Basin and we intend to grow it.� “Yes, we intend to introduce FIFO at our new Caval Ridge mine, but we have no plans to bring in foreign workers.� But elsewhere, it is a different story. The federal government has given the green light for Gina Rinehart to bring in 1715 overseas workers to create the 8000strong workforce needed to build the $9.5 billion Roy Hill iron ore project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Leading CQ academic Professor John Rolfe of CQUniversity has voiced his support of overseas workers in the past. This week he said it appeared inevitable that an influx of foreign workers was required to allow the large-scale projects to go ahead. Without them, Professor Rolfe said there would be delays to projects and ultimately production as there aren’t enough skilled
workers in Australia that are available or willing to travel to remote locations to carry out the work. “With construction I don’t think this is a bad thing at all,� Professor Rolfe told Shift Miner Magazine. “It allows these large projects to be done. “There is no doubt that in Western Australia and to some extent in central Queensland growth has been pretty huge and that has brought some (staffing) challenges that have to be met.� Professor Rolfe said in the construction phase of projects he didn’t see any problems with overseas workers, but there were greater issues surrounding long term use of foreign workers to run mines. The two views that critics formed of foreign workforces, he said, were one of workers paid less and kept in poor conditions (compared to other Australian sites) and the second was all the money surrounding a project disappearing overseas. Brisbane-based recruiter Mark Powell of Stellar Recruitment said so far there hadn’t been a surge in companies seeking overseas workers.
Where will the workforce come from? FIFO is growing in Australia and still it’s likely overseas workers will be needed in large numbers for major projects.
However, he added all the jobs for large projects will need to be filled to allow projects to proceed. The just-approved Alpha Coal project, partly owned by Mrs Rinehart, requires
3600 workers alone. If positions aren’t filled projects will slow but that is expected to force up the wages of existing workers as competition for their skills increases.
“Yes, we intend to introduce FIFO at our new Caval Ridge mine, but we have no plans to bring in foreign workers.�
The most outstanding part of our new brand could be you A new brand is only as good as the people who wear it. Right now we have over 100 vacancies for people to carry our brand and business into the future. We understand what it means to have a good work life balance, so our roles are Australia wide and have varying rosters to suit your needs.
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Page 11 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
News
138th EDITION. 2012
Miner HIV accusations slammed THERE is no evidence to back up claims Queensland miners and migrant sex workers are behind a steep increase in HIV rates over the past decade. The President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ), Dr Richard Kidd, says miners and migrant sex workers could be responsible for the 50 per cent jump in newly acquired HIV in
Queensland and Western Australia. “You have to ask why it is happening in these states and not others,” said Dr Kidd. “We can’t stick our heads in the sand and not ask questions about what’s going on.” Dr Kidd said the increase was probably due to a combination of factors, including the increase in HIV-infected interstate and overseas migrants to Queensland and a
decrease in the number of people heeding the safe sex message, particularly gay men. Sex tourists could be bringing the disease back to Queensland, and the possibility of infected migrant workers spreading HIV to mining communities could not be ruled out, he said. Dr Kidd said he based his comments on anecdotal evidence, some from a neo-natal nurse in central Queensland. “In the Rockhampton and Mackay regions, they are having pregnant women in early pregnancy being treated for gonorrhoea and syphilis. When these women come back for check after they have given birth, they have been reinfected again,” he said. “These women’s partners are working at the mines and come back and re-infect them.” He said he had also seen cases in his clinic. “I have had patients come into my clinic who had gone to Thailand, not necessarily for a sexy weekend, but they have become drunk, had a tryst, but not sure if it’s a boy or a girl,” he said. But the chief executive of the Scarlet Alliance, the national organisation for sex workers in Australia, Janelle Fawkes has dismissed Dr Kidd’s comments as without scientific basis. “I am disappointed and surprised by these comments as in Australia, we say we need evidence-based policies,” she told Shift Miner Magazine. “But there is simply no evidence to base these comments on.” “Unfortunately it feeds into people’s misconceptions so beautifully that people don’t question it. It is really placing blame when it couldn’t be, and it creates stigma and discrimination.”
Quick statistics: • Annual HIV diagnosis rates have more than doubled in 10 years from 2000 to 2010 form 2.7 per 100,000 population in 2000 to 5.4 in 2010. • Newly acquired HIV diagnosis has increased from 0.7 to 1.1 per 100,000 in the past decade. • In 2010 there was an estimated 3400 people with HIV living in Queensland.
• Australia still has one of the lowest rates of HIV in the world. • In the UK, the rate of infection is 142 per 100,000; US is 470 per 100,000 and Thailand is 1300 per 100,000. • In Queensland, from 2007 to 2011, cases of gonorrhoea has gone from 1328 to 2879; syphilis 200-340; chlamydia 12500 to 18300.
Sex, lies and FIFO submissions
‘Fears as sex workers cash in on the new mining boom’; ‘Sex, drugs and dongas - a FIFO life’. “Coal girls hit paydirt at Queensland’s booming mining towns’. It is sensational headlines like these that have prompted the Australian Sex Workers Association the Scarlet Alliance - to take action. Tired of the media hype, the Scarlet Alliance has made a submission to the federal FIFO inquiry and appeared before the committee in NSW last week to set the record straight. “What we would like to see is recognition FIFO submission for health, accommodation and service needs that are not currently being met,” said Scarlet Alliance chief executive Janelle Fawkes. Headlines linking sex workers to the rise in sexually transmitted infection rates are inaccurate and ill-informed, according to Ms Fawkes. “We want a recognition that sex workers are safe sex educators and the most practical way of getting the safe sex message through,” she said. “Sex workers are the best way of promoting safe sex, so rather than seeing them as the problem, we should seeing them as the solution.” In the submission, the Scarlet Alliance states that inflammatory stories miss the fact that sex workers, like other workers, travel for work. It reads: “Sex workers are a valid part of the FIFO and DIDO workforce. Like other professionals, sex workers may travel and migrate for work opportunities, career advancement and improved conditions and pay.” The submission also points to research that shows sex workers have lower rates of STIs and HIV than the general population, and Australian sex workers have amongst the lowest in the world. There are 20,000 sex workers in Australia, but it is not known how many are FIFO or DIDO workers in the mining areas, Ms Fawkes said.
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OFF SHIFT 138th EDITION. 2012
İnk running in your blood
THE entrants are pouring in for the Shift Miner Magazine tattoo competition. Keep them coming - send us an email or upload your pics onto our Facebook site (see below for details).
Meet Carly, an operator at Dawson mine with an awesome tatt, and a bit of a back story:
Catrina Gollan, who works at German Creek mine, has this tattoo of a little critter whose name is very similar sounding to her own...
And our serial tattoo man, Grahame Goddfrey from Blackwater is back:
Meet Josh, he’s a man of few words when it comes to explaining his ink, but he says this time tattoo is dedicated to his brother Kieran.
Katrina says: Lord of the Rings is a good movie and this tattoo reminds me of Gollum.
Frank’s thoughts: This tattoo is actually the symbol for the ‘ASG’, otherwise known as the ‘Australian Stalkers Guild’. The leaves and twigs represent the camouflage often utilised by the seasoned stalker to conceal their presence. I used a similar disguise to get close to the female curator of the local botanic gardens. Unfortunately her trained eye spotted my fake foliage and I was caught—and unceremoniously cast out of the ASG.
Grahame says: I got this because people get tattoos to look at, but this one is looking at you
Frank’s thoughts: Now I believe this tattoo actually serves a very scientific purpose, it seeks to confuse people, just like butterflies seek to confuse their predators with intricate patterns that look like eyes on their wings. I think I might actually get a tattoo like this, if I can confuse women into thinking my eyes are elsewhere I’ll be able to get some serious ogling done!
As usual, we have our resident life guru, Frank the Tank, on hand to “decode” the latest entrants.
What does it all mean? Let’s ask Frank: Well, faithful readers, it’s that time again. Last week I was walking down the street and I saw a grown man convulsing on the sidewalk with a copy of Shift Miner Magazine beside him. I asked his friend what caused this debilitating delirium, and it turns out his mind just wasn’t strong enough to handle the wisdom of Frank the Tank. So once again, prepare to have your puerile minds moulded by the muscular hands that are my unfathomable wisdom. Please note: Frank the Tank and Shift Miner Magazine will not reimburse people for blown minds or incur drycleaning costs for garments soiled as a direct result of blown minds.
Carly says: I got this tattoo when I was in Thailand. I was supposed to be married in October last year and it didn’t go ahead - five weeks before it was called off. I got this tattoo of the koi fish because it means courage and strength. Koi also turn into dragons which are fierce and don’t put up with or take any shit.
Frank’s thoughts: I’ve seen quite a few people with tattoos of these fish and I think I’ve finally worked out the meaning. They’re all Pauline Hanson supporters. I know it might sound strange, but remember, Pauline used to own a fish and chip shop, so what better way for her fans to throw their support behind her? Personally I would have gone for an Australian flag with a battered sav Union Jack and a dim-sim southern cross.
Page 13 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
around town 138th EDITION. 2012
Blackwater residents were out in force during the May Day celebrations.
MAY DAY FESTIVITIES
Troy Winter, Brian Moss, Troy Firth and Darren Ingram
Stan Tobane, ,Rick Gibson and Rick Kitching
Karen Christmas, Selina Pitt, Laureen Fenner , Kerry Anderson and Lydia Dagan.
Leesa Connolly and Blair Reynolds
Collo, Len Ryan, Hopper, Matto and Leigh Robe
MORANBAH GETS INTO MAY
Winners of the Red Faces competition held on the May Day Weekend Salome Chifadza (3rd) Jax Ryan (1st) and Zoe Russell (2nd)
Kiiri Glaum, Emma Milton, Mimmo Cisternino and Kelly Wardle
Rex Sandilands who has just retired after 40 years in the Mines in Blackwater.
Braden Sauer, Lachlan Ferguson and Grant Collins
Not to be left out, Moranbah folks also got into the May Day spirits.
Holding a social event you want photographed? Call the Shift Miner office on 4921 4333 to let us know. You can also give our office a bell if you’d like a copy of any of the photos in this edition.
Page 14 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
around town 138th EDITION. 2012
Industry heads and mining magnets - and just regular folks - got together for a chinwag at the Bowen Basin Mining Club Moranbah lunch.
TALKFEST
Peter Cutbush, Greg Carroll, Marley Cutbush : Concise Training Solutions
Susan McGuire: Mayo Hardware, Tania Gook,Tracey Parcell : Prime Rentals
Brian Wirth: Cleanaway, Joshua Bechmann: Rimtec, Darby Salmon: Discount Tyre & Mechanical
Graeme Mackenzie: Bechtel Australia, Sheree Picken: Sargent
Simon Cohn: MEC, Gordon Kerr: Cloudbreak
Harry Mostert DTH Products, Jeff O’Keeffe Mastermyne
BULLS LOSE FIGHT
Matthew Wood: John Holland, Jon Evans: Head of Production BMA
The Moranbah Bulls went down 50-28 to Emerald on May 12. The very cold day saw lots of injuries.
BUY THIS AND MANY OTHER IMAGES AT
www.shiftminer.com Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together Page 15 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
stuff to the editor 138th EDITION. 2012
Stuff to the Editor Our Miner’s Trader section has had some fan mail this week. So go, open it up and tell them they’re dreamin’ (or make an offer):
R E N I M T F I SH S
Here’s one to make you chuckle: Australia’s carbon tax has already started to combat global warming by producing the coldest May in Canberra for fifty years. Julia did not tell us that her tax was retrospective. Viv Forbes, Rosewood
The Federal Member for Dawson George Christensen has told federal parliament that Mackay miners can’t understand why they have to undergo drugs tests, but it’s not required for people on the welfare. I agree with them. If it’s good enough for a hard-working miner, who pays taxes, to undergo a mandatory drug and test, then it’s good enough for the person who receives those taxes in welfare. To argue against drug testing for Newstart recipients is to foster illegal activities, while undermining the economy and the self-respect of
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future generations. If you cannot pass a drugs test to receive the dole, you are automatically ruling yourself out of employment opportunities and Newstart is about helping the unemployed into the workforce. We have to make working in regional centres attractive and make sitting at home on the couch less attractive. If the job opportunities are there and training is available, then young mobile welfare recipients who refuse to take up gainful employment in the regions should not expect to continue to receive those benefits. George Christensen, Mackay
Send us your text messages or phone photos to 0428 154 653 Or email to alex.graham@shiftminer.com
Rum Rum and coke (or any mixer) is a sign of a weakening culture - a watering down of 200 odd years of brewing on our soil. Rum, traditionally was a drink of the sailor. As Australia was founded by seaborne explorers, it is easy to think of it as the first spirit white man ever consumed here. I’m not sure quite when Bundaberg started making rum and cola cans but I hold that point as the vanishing of our national drink.
SEEN SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T? Prizes for the best mining photos. Take it on your phone or camera and send it in
Text to 0428 154 653 alex.graham@shiftminer.com
FROM THE EDITOR
Darren Sekac
Got something to share?
Redmond’s Rants
Sent in anonymously
The Queens
Locally Own
Mate, I don’t know why anyone bothers trying to sell their stuff any other way. I’ve had heaps of calls. T.R, Bundaberg
l news
rce of loca
ity’s best sou
commun land mining
SO Australia squandered the mining boom? We dropped $75 billion from the last boom from 2002 to 2008 with the government trying to shore up votes and lift its popularity. The Per Capita study that showed how we could have been smarter as a nation in the boom (see page 26) but did make some well chosen decisions - paid $36 billion of debt and $69 billion into savings. That was then and this is now, you might say. But is it? The challenge to us all now is to ensure this wave of investment, surge in prices and demand is not squandered. The Gillard government, and the Newman Government and its Western Australian counterpart, have the best opportunity possibly in this generation to make the best of the royalties that are flowing their way and could do at current levels for decades.
That brings into question how we are going to extract the minerals and ship them overseas. It seems the future of Australian mining will involve teams of overseas workers. This is confronting to some sections of the industry despite many companies within the sector being overseas owned and driven by overseas shareholders. The coal and gas may be under Australian soil but it’s being mined for the global consumer by global companies. Overseas workers will come in greater numbers to help build our projects and then possibly run and manage them. Their expertise and know-how is already here, just not in the numbers that have been talked about in the past week. The question, like the money generated from the boom, is not if it will happen but how we will handle it when it does.
Greg Sweetnam
The musings of a CQ miner... The old school bush horseman and ringers of the Australian outback never mixed coke - or anything except a punch up - with their rum. Imagine Breaker Morant wearing a pink T shirt and white sunglasses at the Bushveldt Carbineers xmas party while mixing soft drink in his rum? I think not. If you poured anything soft into Ned Kelly’s rum you probably ended up with your teeth on your feet and your butt on the dust. I wonder what disgust a proud, dour Russian would feel toward a UDL mixer bottle of
Page 16 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
vodka and raspberry? How would a bearded ranga kilt-wearing Scotsman react to getting his scotch topped up with bit of Pepsi? The Italians are extremely fussy - and rightfully so - when it comes to their vino, how about mixing it with some lemonade?
If you find you can’t take it straight , order only the coke and enjoy your drink. Or get the barmaid to bang you up a milk shake, grab a freddo frog and whack some Nickelback on juke box.
I would like to ask all Australians to consider banning the mixer with our sacred rum. Rum is a reflection of our national identity - it’s strong, warm takes some getting used to, has a proud history and is not to everyone’s liking, just like us Australians.
Redmond was born in a cross-fire hurricane and now resides in Queensland. Former Golden Glove champ turned champion shearer, his shearing career was cut short when he entered the adult film industry and made 3467 films in three months. He now enjoys semi-retirement and lives happily on his 100,000 acre property with his seven wives. He has received the annual Golden Pen award from the Writer’s Guild four years in a row in the Truth Telling category...
Who is Redmond?
FAIR DINKUM 138th EDITION. 2012
Fair Dinkum! IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA - What do you do when a bird craps on your car? Don’t take her out again. Well an emu in Denham, WA, has taken this classy joke a notch further by sauntering into a pub and parking a poo on the carpet. Administration Manager, Ben Jones of the Shark Bay Hotel told news.com.au that it took three staff members to clean up the unholy mess before the start of dinner service. “I thought, at least have the courtesy to ask where the toilets are!” Asked if the brazen bird would be welcomed back into the pub Jones replied: “As long as it has money for a drink!” IN THE UNITED STATES - Further proof that animals and pubs spell trouble. Jerald Reiter a farmer from Dubuque, Iowa, was pulled over by police in the carpark of the town’s Dog House Lounge on suspicion of drink driving, with three-month-old zebra PeeWee and macaw Izzy in the front seat. Police said the 55-year-old had a blood alcohol level of 0.14, almost twice Iowa’s legal limit.
Reiter told the Des Moines Register that he just wanted to take his friends out to share a drink. He told the paper, “I said, ‘Let’s go for a ride.’ I ain’t been away from the farm for almost two months because I’ve been planting corn and everything else. So I opened the door, the zebra jumps in, the macaw loves to go for a ride, so we went for a ride.” IN GERMANY - Peeing while swimming has caused a massive fish kill. About 500 fish in a northern German lake have died following an algal bloom blamed on swimmers urinating between strokes. Apparently, the peeing swimmers are responsible for a rise in phosphate, and that is causing the algae outbreak. According to local fishermen, the average swimmer is releasing half a litre of rine per day. More than $650,000 worth of anti-phosphate has been thrown into the lake, but it’s done little to alleviate the problem. For the time being, all swimming is banned.
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“Streakin” good love advice
Dear Frank, My wife and I have been married 25 years and we have three wonderful kids; I couldn’t be happier. There’s just one thing that’s bothering me. My eldest daughter just turned 17 and has recently started dating. I’m having a tough time coming to terms with this. I don’t want to smother her, but I want to make sure she doesn’t wind up dating some drop-kick. How can I strike the right of balance of being involved and still respecting her independence? Bruce, Emerald
Bruce, you’re in an unenviable position, as we all know girls are almost invariably attracted to ‘the bad boy’. In my youth I used to wear a leather jacket, ride a motorcycle and hang out at the diner all night with my friends Richie and Potsie; it drove the ladies wild. The best part about it was all the really horrible sexually transmitted diseases hadn’t appeared yet, so any ill-fated date could be long-forgotten with that magic drug they call penicillin. Ah, happy days indeed. You only need to look at Hollywood movies to see I’m right. Super-villains always have an entourage of good-looking women willing to do their bidding. Why? Because women love a bad boy. I mean let’s face it, the ladies wouldn’t be lining up to go steady with the Penguin if he didn’t have an evil lair and a bank vault full of dynamite. I know what you’re going to say, “That’s
Sensible Susan Bruce, It is certainly a tricky situation you find yourself in, and it’s completely normal that you’re feeling a little protective
fiction.” Well, I have an example grounded right here in non-fiction (or reality as some call it). Have you ever heard of those women who write to prison inmates and then wind up marrying them? It’s a real phenomenon, and do you know why it occurs? Because women love bad boys! It defies all logic that a woman would marry a man already incarcerated — and quite possibly for murdering his previous wife — but such is the allure of the bad boy mystique. Now the million dollar question, what can you do to stop your daughter marrying a murderous psychopath or a Hollywood super villain? You find a nice guy and make him a bad boy. Do some skulking around your daughter’s school (do this carefully, a middleaged man skulking around a school can sometimes arouse suspicion) and find a nice bookworm kind of guy. Offer him a hundred bucks to take your daughter out a few times under certain strict conditions. Then when he shows up for the date cause a massive scene claiming that he’s a troublemaker and that you would never allow your daughter to date such a rebel. She’ll swoon and the ruse will be complete. If this backfires and you’re unassuming bookworm turns out to be bad news you can always revoke his bad boy status. Just tell her that you caught him watching an episode of Glee and your daughter will drop him faster than a drunk girl’s undies. Frank.
of your daughter. In this instance I would recommend backing off just a little bit. If you fly off the handle and try to control who your daughter sees it’s likely you’re going to push her towards someone you don’t approve of. Show your daughter that you respect her right to choose who she dates and I’m sure she’ll come to the right decision on her own. Susan.
If you have a question for Frank and Susan Email Us at: franksusan.shiftminer@gmail.com
Page 17 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
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Page 18 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
HOUSE FOR SALE *5$&(0(5( ,PPDFXODWH %5 KRPH %,5 VRODU panels. Fully insulated $ & &HLOLQJ IDQV bathrooms. 2 Toilets. 'RXEOH ORFN XS JDUDJH Stainless steel kitchen appliances. Spacious open SODQ NLWFKHQ GLQLQJ ORXQJH 3RWHQWLDO UHQWDO UHWXUQ DERYH S D $429,000 Ph: 0418 796 074
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k.pdf 2010
5 minute fiction
OFF SHIFT 138th EDITION. 2012
by Bernard S. Jansen
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“The strike is about the hot water system in the bath house,” said Darren. “It stopped working just as the night shift were completing their showers this morning.” “Just as they were finishing?” said Prop, smiling. He leaned back in his chair in the corner of Darren’s office and put his hands behind his head. Darren tried not to show his irritation: this was not a joke. “Yes,” he said. “As they were finishing their showers, the water went cold. The oncoming crew has refused to go to work. They will be voting shortly on whether to extend industrial action for a twenty-four hour period or to return to work.”
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Last editions solutions
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H E A D A CH E R A B C O R E J O I C E D S B E D D A OCC A S I ON S R T W A A NON P E A V E DOO RWA Y W I U L S A E L I A R S ME A N A T T S K T R I B A L L E B E L N S DR E A D S S T R
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Prop nodded. “And you want to stop them taking the twenty-four?” Darren threw his clipboard down onto the table. “Yes, of course I do!” Darren had been Mine Manager of Montrose Colliery for only two weeks. Today was his first confrontation with the union on site, and he was determined to win this battle. Prop would be an invaluable asset in achieving this. While Darren was an underground cleanskin, Prop knew the operation inside out. He’d worked his way up through the ranks from an operator to a deputy and then an undermanager before being promoted to Deputy Mine Manager two years ago. Prop smiled again. “We can have a chat with the reps; but you’ve got two chances of stopping this strike today.” “And those are?” “None and Buckley’s” Darren wasn’t amused. “Do you think this is a joke? This throws the entire coal chain into havoc. And for what? A health and safety matter? No, for cold showers!” Prop leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk. “Look,” he said. “I know the boys have got away with blue murder in the past; but it’s been a game with rules broken by both sides for years. If you really want to fix that, then I’m with you all the way.”
Darren smiled. “Good,” he said. “Then how do we get them to back down?”
Prop shook his head. “Today is a lost cause,” he said. “Take it on the chin. Give it a week or two to calm down, and then set up a meeting with you, me and the union reps down at the Golf Club. We’ll play the back nine, then go to the bar and really get to understand each other.” Darren brought his fist down onto the table. It made his clipboard jump, but not Prop. Darren’s voice was a rough whisper. “Whose side are you on, anyway?” Prop shook his head as he stood up. “Come out with me to the car park.” “Are you threatening me?” Prop laughed. “If I wanted a dust-up, I’d deck you right here,” he said. He stopped smiling. “You’re not going to stop this strike today. Come and I’ll show you why.” Darren took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to calm down. He saw a Willy Wagtail through his window sitting in the tree beside his office. He envied that bird for a moment: no worries except wagging his tail and catching the next insect. He turned to Prop and nodded, then walked out the door. Out in the car park, the mine workers were gathered in the far corner, watching them suspiciously. “Have a look,” said Prop, “And tell me what’s different today.” Darren looked around. “Apart from ‘D’ Crew standing around, instead of cutting coal?” he said. His voice was bitter. Prop didn’t reply as Darren kept looking, trying to work out what was different. When he saw it, he wondered how he’d missed it. He turned to face Prop. “Why have they all taken their boats to work?” At least half the vehicles in the car park had a boat on a trailer behind them. Prop smiled. “They’re heading for the coast,” he said. “They’ll have agreed to take a long weekend a long time before they turned up this morning. You won’t stop ‘em.”
Bernard S. Jansen is 32, married has three young boys. He lives in Emerald, works as an engineer at a local coal mine and is active in his local church. Read more of Bernard’s writing online at surgebin.blogspot.com or email him at bernard.jansen@gmail.com
A E D H S E R L E
GOT AN IDEA FOR A STORY? Let Bernard know - email him at bernard.jansen@gmail.com or hop on his blog surgebin.blogspot.com
# 25
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Page 19 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
OFF SHIFT 138th EDITION. 2012
Bait shop Banter YEPPOON
GLADSTONE
YEP, it has been windy on the Capricorn Coast. And with windy conditions being the proverbial hook in the backside for avid anglers, Bob at Capricorn Sports Yeppoon didn’t have a long-winded report. Out wide has been pretty much out of action and even the beaches have been a bit lack lustre. But before you sigh and resign yourself to snuggling into your doona, there is some hope with Bob reporting a bloke taking a good catch of queen fish up at Sandy Point. Not only did this fella haul in 30 or so queenies, he also took in some very big dart (around the 50cm mark) and a few big whiting (up to 40cm). Bob reckons the whiting “have been biting from top of the tide down”. Go after them with good quality worms or prawns. And Bob says if that wind does bugger off, the jew should start chewing. Bob’s strategy for catching jew is deceptively simple: “If they’re biting they’re biting, if they’re not they’re not”.
“Windy”...there appears to be an ominous theme forming here. Monica from the Compleat Angler Gladstone confirmed the word of the day and compounded the gloomy outlook by informing that, rather than easing, the windy conditions are only just gearing up. Monica reckons she can’t see conditions getting down under 10-15kts and while this isn’t too bad for the bigger boats, the smaller boats should cut their losses and stick to the harbour. According to Monica anything over the 10-15kts mark “is just too sloppy”. But again don’t despair; there are still opportunities for fishing glory. Just set your sites closer to home. The barra are still biting and “starting to pool in the hot water outlets as the cool water moves in”, Monica said . Winter salmon and bream are on the bite. Bait up some long shanks with prawns to try and bust out some big (20-25cm) winter bream. And while crabs are few and far between, dry your eyes and console yourself with some sweet snacking winter whiting.
Tide Times
June
MACKAY Gladstone
Mon 4 Tue 5 Wed 6 Thu 7 Time Ht Time Ht
Time Ht
Time Ht
And the ‘W’ word is also Mackay region’s guilty little secret. But Greg from Reef Marine Mackay reckons another ‘W’...whiting comes up trumps as the good news story of the day. While good sized whiting are assuming ascendancy, don’t forget there is still some barra to be bagged. Greg reports a group of guys went out recently chasing whiting and pulled in four barra at the same time. And over the next two to three weeks if the cold weather continues to ramp up, so
too will the snapper. Stock up on squid and hone in on snapper hot spots: “Taroba Rock off Round Top and the Northumberland Islands,” tips Greg. Crabs are calling final drinks at the last chance saloon but Greg reckons that while they might be few and far between at this time of year they are good quality, full specimens and well worth seeking out. If you have a good photo or fishing yarn send it through to our resident bait chucker-
angus.peacocke@shiftminer.com
Your weather forecast With Mike Griffin
Fri 8 Sat 9 Sun 10 Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht
0259 0.49 0348 0.43 0437 0.46 0524 0.56 0613 0.73 0036 4.02 0127 3.76 0853 3.71 0943 3.68 1034 3.61 1124 3.51 1215 3.39 0702 0.91 0753 1.07 1456 0.39 1543 0.44 1630 0.57 1717 0.78 1804 1.02 1307 3.28 1403 3.20 2119 4.59 2208 4.57 2257 4.46 2346 4.26
1854 1.28 1953 1.50
0447 0.56 0538 0.53 0627 0.59 0033 6.05 0121 5.74 0212 5.36 0306 4.98 1030 5.01 1121 4.91 1212 4.76 0716 0.75 0805 0.95 0856 1.15 0952 1.30 1642 0.18 1730 0.27 1817 0.48 1304 4.58 1356 4.40 1453 4.25 1558 4.19 2258 6.32 2346 6.26
1904 0.78 1954 1.14 2048 1.50 2153 1.81
Mon 11 Tue 12 Wed 13 Thu 14 Fri 15 Sat 16 Sun 17 MACKAY Gladstone
MACKAY
Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht 0220 3.52 0318 3.33 0423 3.21 0527 3.17 0026 1.42 0111 1.28 0149 1.16 0848 1.17 0946 1.21 1043 1.18 1136 1.12 0622 3.18 0709 3.21 0751 3.23 1506 3.18 1614 3.25 1718 3.40 1811 3.58 1221 1.04 1301 0.97 1337 0.91 2104 1.64 2221 1.65 2330 1.56
1854 3.76 1933 3.89 2008 3.99
0409 4.65 0520 4.43 0032 1.94 0137 1.78 0228 1.60 0311 1.44 0349 1.33 1056 1.36 1159 1.34 0628 4.34 0726 4.32 0815 4.32 0856 4.32 0933 4.30 1710 4.25 1820 4.44 1256 1.24 1345 1.14 1427 1.05 1503 0.98 1536 0.95 2312 1.98
1919 4.70 2007 4.95 2048 5.16 2124 5.30 2157 5.39
Page 20 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
Week 1 The heavy rain on Thr/Fri 24-25th May across the Coalfields was followed by very cold minimum temperatures. Some rainfall totals of note: Upper Bee Ck, 156?, Sandstone 70, Collinsville 61, Lochington 60, Sarina 59, Springsure 56, Dysart 54, Emerald 52, Clermont 51, Rewan 50, Moranbah 49, Nebo 49, Yeppoon 49, Fitzroy Dev. Rd 43, Rockhampton South 35, Biloela 20, Theodore 15. Then the overnight minimums fell by 10-14 degrees to 6C at Emerald, 4.9C Collinsville, Moranbah 3.5C, Springsure 2.1C and Thangool a frosty 0.1C. The sudden cold caused most people a rude shock that winter has arrived early. Days were sunny but became more cloudy last Wed/Thr with light rain around the Central West and the North Tropical Coast moving south. Before going to print these systems could merge about the Central Highlands. This should develop some moderate falls (10-14mm) in the Coalfields. Isolated falls about the higher areas could be around 30-40mm Fri/Sat; clearing during Sun. Then another cold burst of dry air with frost in the south. Days will be sunny and mild gradually warming towards the end of the week. Boaties, another problem! A low develops off the NSW coast. If it forms off Tweed Heads then the cold southerly surge stalls. This means a light to moderate W/SW’ly Mon. Watch for it may be a little stronger offshore. Tue: Cold (6-8 degrees early along the coast) SW 8-12 (this
could be tend W’ly for a 5-6 hours) inshore and SSW/SW 15-20 offshore Wed: SSW 15-20 lighter inshore could tend lighter W’ly at times. Thr: SSW/SSE 17-10 could tend ESE inshore a chance of an offshore squally shower Fri: SSE/SE 15-10 less ENE inshore Tricky here - If a low develops offshore Sat: SE 15-10 less in south and showers in the north Sun: SE 15-20 with squally showers Week 2 The SOI starts the winter as a -3 value. Not a great predictor of the recent rain. If the low develops offshore (very tough to predict) the coastal showers could affect the eastern Coalfields early in the week. Otherwise cold winter nights and mild sunny days with maximums in the early twenties for most of the week. Marine Lovers! The weather conditions all depend on an upper low developing. This feature can be rather dramatic with massive downpours (100-200mm) similar to Toowoomba. A danger for boaties because the surface entity does not appear on weather maps till very last minute. If it develops south of Frazer Island then benign offshore winds could develop. If not fresh to strong winds with squally showers could persist for most of the week.
OFF SHIFT 138th EDITION. 2012
1.5kg steak in sub 17 minutes? SO hungry you could eat a cow between two bread trucks? Well hunting and gathering a beast feast could be as easy as skipping smoko, putting on your stretchy pants and hitting your local for a 1.5kg steak challenge. All four of the Central Highlands Hotel Group’s venues are participating in a competition which pits man against meat in a blood feud of monster proportions. Eddie Shaw’s steak is served
Capella Cattle Dog rugby forwards Eddie Shaw, Nathan Lord and Steve Curtis celebrate their latest victory
A prime 1824 MSA grade rump steak is your quarry. And don’t think you can get away with not eating your greens - it comes served with your choice of chips and salad or veggies. Consume the entire meal within an hour and your name and time will be entered onto the Wall of Fame. Plus you get a t-shirt to prove your prowess. But if you really want to get serious, your weight in beer is the booty for whoever is the quickest shoveller of steak in the whole land (or at least between the four participating pubs). Of course if you would rather just savour your $49.95 feast without the heartburn, there is no need to compete, just chew at your leisure. Meow. Colin Nepe-Apatu, group executive chef of Central Queensland Hotel Group, said that since the competition kicked off in May, the response has been overwhelming. “The great thing is the participants’ enthusiasm,” he said. “They starve themselves for the whole day and then just go for it.” And this mighty meat action is not just for the men with Mr Nepe-Apatu reporting there have been a couple of ladies lining up to demolish an A4 sized hunk of protein. Mr Nepe-Apatu said that one bloke came in with his missus and claimed his wife could “eat the cow and the head”, while another “petite, wee thing from Dysart” hit power play and put away her portion in an impressive 25 minutes. Respect. According to Tieri Hotel contestant/victim Eddie Shaw, of Capella, the experience was “pretty painful to be honest”. “If I hadn’t done it with two mates, I wouldn’t have finished,” he said - a living testimony to the positive force of peer pressure. When asked if the challenge had left him
feeling violated, Mr Shaw said: “Put it this way, I couldn’t drink any more beer.” Mr Shaw’s top tip: lay off the beer and maximise your real estate for steak. Unfortunately at 40 minutes Mr Shaw’s efforts, while commendable, won’t put him on the winner’s podium. A gentleman from Tieri is the current
holder of the yellow jersey. He slaughtered the 1.5kg job in 17 minutes and to round off proceedings, took in dessert, coffee and port. In the words of Homer Simpson’s attorney, Lionel Hutz, “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, do these sound like the actions of a man who’s had all he could eat?”
OFFSHIFT SPECIALS
Stay 3 re and r mo s t h nig ocomplimentary a e receiv 0 restaurant $10 ucher. vo
1.5kg RUMP CHALLENGE FACT FILE: WHERE
The Blackwater Hotel The Jolly Collier Hotel The Coal N Cattle Hotel The Tieri Hotel
WHEN
From May 1 until June 30, 2012, seven days a week, at lunch from 12pm to 2pm or at dinner from 6pm to 9pm.
COST
$49.95 for a 1.5kg rump steak, chips and side salad or veggies.
RULES
The challenge will cease by the participant either: 1. Consuming the steak meal completely; 2. Acknowledging that they cannot finish or not being able to finish within one-hour timeframe; 3. If participants are found cheating, the challenge will stop and they will be disqualified (this includes throwing up prior to finishing the meal).
PRIZE
His/her weight in beer – limited to cartons of stubbies, up to 125kg.
Accommodation starts from $189 per night (min3nights)
Page 21 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
OFF SHIFT 138th EDITION. 2012
Movie REVIEW BY JUSTIN CARLOS
Sticking to the formula pays off for Sacha Baron THE name Sacha Baron Cohen is perhaps less recognisable than his famous (or infamous) alter egos. Ali G, Borat and Bruno are all firm-
ly burned into the minds of the cinema going public, along with the altogether disturbing image of a very hairy Cohen in a lime green ‘mankini’. In his latest cinematic offering, Cohen plays Aladeen, an eccentric African dictator hell-bent on preventing democracy being introduced to his beloved ‘Wadiya’. While in New York to address the United Nations, Aladeen is betrayed by his right-hand man, kidnapped by an assassin and replaced with a lookalike. Through a ludicrous series of events, Aladeen manages to turn the tables on his would-be assassin (at the expense of his beard) and escape into New York City where he meets a kindly feminist who mistakes him for a Wadiyan refugee. Aladeen then meets up with his former chief scientific officer who agrees to help him expose the lookalike and regain his position as Wadiyan dictator. The plot of the film is fairly stock standard, and it follows almost the exact formula of Cohen’s last two films Borat and Bruno. An eccentric foreigner makes his
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Page 22 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
way to America where he horrifies the locals, encounters hardship, but eventually finds happiness with the unlikely love of his life. While the narrative approach to The Dictator might be formulaic, the jokes are very fresh and funny. One couldn’t help but feel Cohen overshot the runway with his last offering, Bruno. The confronting nature of the jokes made the film extremely inaccessible for a lot of movie-goers. The Dictator — while still incredibly politically incorrect and irreverent — has a wider appeal more reminiscent of Cohen’s wildly successful Borat. The film also breaks further from the ‘mockumentary’ style favoured by Cohen and resembles a more conventional narrative. If you love Borat, you will get a great kick out of The Dictator. Cohen is hilarious as the politically incorrect Aladeen, and with plenty of one liners and sight gags, The Dictator is sure to raise a laugh from the most discerning movie-goers.
Your Health 138th EDITION. 2012
EXPERT ADVICE For those too busy or embarrassed to ask the important questions about their health SEVERAL issues back, I spoke about the benefits of exercise and encouraged you to embark on a new exercise program. So let’s continue on with your body evolution by looking at fitness and achieving a fitness goal. In a nutshell, fitness is a response to training stress. So when you exercise, your body adapts and responds positively to a dose of exercise that then creates improvements in the body. The more you train and the more intensely you train from the previous session, the more your body responds positively – and the more your fitness improves. So the old saying move it or lose it really is true! Check-up To keep you on track to achieving your goals, now is the time to revisit your weight, body fat and body measurements. If the numbers haven’t moved downwards since you’ve started exercising, you either need to up the intensity of your exercise or increase the number of days you exercise. If you are struggling with your fitness, do yourself a favour and get professional advice from a GP or personal trainer.
Set and achieve a goal One of the best ways to motivate yourself to get fit or fitter is to set or reset a goal. Ask yourself: What do I want my level of fitness to look like in six months’ time? What do I want my level of fitness to look like in 12 months’ time? Write down your goals along with an action plan of how you are going to achieve them. That could mean creating a regular walking/running plan, dedicating five hours a week to the gym or joining a sports team. And don’t forget to get a checkup from your GP first if you haven’t exercised in a while. If you need a little inspiration to get you started, especially when you are looking for all the excuses in the world not to improve your fitness, read below: “I trained my butt off, and got the right mix of people around me to help make it all happen. I never gave up, and always focused on how to get myself where I needed to be.” This is from triple amputee Rajesh Durbal after crossing the finish line at last year’s Hawaiian Ironman. Until next time, stay healthy, stay informed.
Tammy Farrell is a registered nurse, nutritionist and author of ‘The Real Man’s Toolbox – A DIY Health Manual for Men’. Tammy grew up in the Hunter Valley with two brothers in the local coal mines. In 2007, she started to give health talks in the Hunter, and that’s when she began compiling the book, helping hundreds of men answer questions about their bodies.
Spicy prawns with noodles Serves 4 Prawns are a great healthy option in a stir-fry. Stir frying is a quick way of cooking. Stirfrys are perfect for those who are time poor but want to eat something nutricious.If your not a seafood fan then swap out the prawns for some chicken or thinly sliced pork.
INGREDIENTS: 1 tbs peanut oil 1 long green chilli, deseeded, ¿QHO\ FKRSSHG 7cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, grated 2 garlic cloves, crushed 20 (500g) green prawns, peeled (tails intact), deveined 3 green onions, cut into 5cm lengths Bunch (200g) baby pak choy, leaves and stems separated, stems chopped 150g green beans, trimmed, halved diagonally
450g fresh rice noodles 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbs mirin
METHOD: Heat half the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add half of the oil. Add the chilli, ginger, garlic and prawns. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until prawns are pink and cooked through. Transfer to a bowl. Cover to keep warm. Heat the remaining oil in wok. Then add in onion, pak choy stems and beans. Stir-fry for 4 minutes or until beans are just tender. Return the prawns to wok and then add the noodles, soy sauce, mirin and pak choy leaves. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve and enjoy.
Zest Eatery Open 4.00pm to 8.00pm daily 1300 732 911 themac.com.au CALLIOPE | COPPABELLA | DYSART | MIDDLEMOUNT | MORANBAH | NEBO
Page 23 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
What’s happening in sport in your town? 30 years - a Panther call to arms The Middlemount Panthers Rugby League side hopes last weekend’s 30-year celebrations will be the catalyst to get their 2012 season back on track. The club welcomed around 300 current and past players and their respective families back to Middlemount to celebrate three decades of Panthers Rugby League. Thirty years is a significant milestone for any regional sporting club, and it has not come without a huge effort on the behalf of both players and volunteers. Vic Barnett, who started the Club back in the early 80s, made the pilgrimage, as did a number of other Panthers luminaries Over those years, the Panthers won four premierships in 1987, 1994, 2000 and 2010. Looking forward, club president Steve Henderson said the future of the club will depend on how well they can manage the roster environment. “In the last three to five years we have struggled like hell with all the different shifts. It’s a real battle now to get everyone on board,” he said. “When you talk to the older blokes who can remember when everyone was on eight-hour shifts, with weekends off, playing football was much easier. “But it is not just that. Cars and roads weren’t what they are today, and it was a bit of a mission to get to Rockhampton, so most people were in Middlemount on most weekends.” “Now a lot of blokes can only play every second weekend, and even then they might be on afternoon or night shift, which causes problems.” “But we have got plenty of potential we just need to get the best team on the field.”
Get your motor running, says new president of Moranbah Speedway The newly elected president of the Moranbah Speedway Association has set himself the goal of building participation in the sport over the next 12 months. Moranbah businessman Terry Bowen has taken on the role of president at the club and will be supported by vice president Alan Hazelwood and secretary Daryl Drey. Having inherited a vastly improved track from the previous board, Mr Bowen said they will be looking to get more people using it. “Right now the track looks bloody great,” he said. “The track is pretty much sustaining itself now, so all we have to do is keep up the maintenance. “We have got a bit of a membership drive on at the moment. There are lots of cars around the region, and we really want people to start racing again. “In fact I have three cars myself, including two juniors, which my kids have just grown out of. So they are for sale if someone was wanting to get involved. “I would really love to get the formulas going again; they used to be really popular.” The club is meeting this week to look at having an event in June or July, and they have confirmed that they will host the state junior titles next year.
Luck gets Moranbah Miners lockyer It has been a productive month for the Moranbah Miners Rugby League side. Not only have they just successfully hosted a super Saturday combined with a sponsors’ day, they have now confirmed Mathew Lockyer, Matt Nuttall and Neil Budworth in their playing line up. Mathew Lockyer had an accomplished Brisbane career playing for both Easts and Souths and is the cousin of Queensland and Australian Rugby League great Darren Lockyer. Matt Nuttall played in the Gold Coast Titans U20s and Neil Budworth has an impressive pedigree both overseas and in Australia, including playing for Wales. The signing of Lockyer and Nuttall was more down to luck than anything organised. Both players were working for a contract builder in Dysart, and just happened to watch a Miner’s home game and decided to join the club. Looking to the future, club president Marco Peters said the team is still well and truly in the hunt for a premiership, despite a modest start to the season. “We only have to make the top five to be in a chance of winning the competition,so there is plenty of time,” he said. “We have had a really disrupted season, with injuries and rosters not lining up and people not available, but everyone is putting all their RDOs and holidays aside so that come finals time we can have everyone available.” In a fortnight’s time the Miners will play their old rival Souths in their second last home game for the year. “It is going to be a great game. Ever since they stole our name, there has been a lot of rivalry between the clubs,” he said. “Add to that we are expecting close to a 100 girls at the game, since it is the date for our rescheduled ladies day social event.” In July, the premiership winning side of 1992 will have a 20-year reunion at the Miners last home game for the year. Anyone wanting to get involved in any of these events can call the club on 4941 7044
Rugby musters talent Another 350 kids will descend on the town of Tieri in a fortnight’s time for the Xstrata Country Muster junior rugby carnival. The country muster is into its third year and has so far been highly successful at increasing rugby participation and creating opportunities for talented players. Tieri-based development officer for Queensland Rugby Dan Hooper said the carnival is opening doors for players who may have previously gone unnoticed. “Last year we had about 340 kids participating from every region north of the Sunshine Coast,” he said. “Obviously it gives kids a chance to play rugby, but ultimately it also allows us to pick a representative side during the Muster that is the best available from all the
Rio Tinto Coal Australia is pleased to partner with Isaac Regional Council and the community to support the construction of 108 new houses in Clermont. Rio Tinto has committed to a three year lease on half of the houses, so that current workers from Clermont Mine can join the local community with their families.
If your local club has any news or photos it wants added to this page, you can submit your articles to angus.peacocke@shiftminer.com
regions playing. “That means that when we go down to the southeast corner to play some of the better sides, we are far more competitive, which means our local players are more likely to be noticed. “It has so far been working really well. Last year we had 12 players selected in Queensland Country, seven of which came from Rockhampton and the Central Highlands. “In the past we might have got one.We also had two players make the Queensland state side.” Interestingly, Townsville has decided to not participate in the carnival this year. Townsville has a larger playing population to pick from, and this year has decided to revert to picking a representative side just from local players rather than getting them to compete at the Country Muster. That is despite the fact that last year they were not nearly as successful at the Muster as they had anticipated being. Xstrata coal is again funding the lion’s share of costs associated with the carnival, including feeding and accommodating the expected 500 or so people. In senior rugby union, news the Clermont side is stamping its mark on the competition with a near perfect start to the competition.
They have picked up a bonus point in all but one of its games so far. Last year’s premiership winning side, the Capella Cattle dogs, are struggling to recover after losing a huge number of players in the off season. The Moranbah Bulls have had a mixed start, although their star import and former Welsh international Brent Cobain has sent a shiver through the competitions forwards. The hulking Brent Cobain has played 26 games for Wales - arguably the most passionate rugby playing nation on earth - and is brother of Matt Cobain who played for the Australian Wallabies.
Race Director Scott Chapman was thrilled by the 40 strong turnout in the first ever Capella Triathlon. The race attracted competitors of all ages and ability from as far away as Toowoomba, Apha and Moura. Peter Hughes won the men’s long course triathlon in a time of 1:01:48 and Helen Scott won the women’s in a time of 1:22:41
COMMUNITY CALENDAR Sport
Event
Date
Venue
Rugby league
Cowboys v Clermont
16/6/12
Emerald
Rugby League
Dysart v Peak Downs
16/6/12
Dysart
Rugby league
Bluff v Blackwater
16/6/12
Bluff
Rugby League
Middlemount v Tigers
16/6/12
Middlemount
Rugby League
Moranbah Miners v souths (rescheduled ladies Day)
23/06/12
Moranbah
Rugby Union
Emerald v Capella
16/6/12
Emerald
Rugby Union
Rolleston v Moranbah
16/6/12
Emerald
Want your club details here? Call Shift Miner 07 4921 4333
We support a range of local projects through the Clermont Region, Kestrel Mine, and Hail Creek Mine Community Development Funds. For more information contact: • Clermont Region Alissa Gordon on 07 4988 3505
The remaining homes are being sold by the private developers, providing extra accommodation to the Clermont community.
• Kestrel Mine Maureen Tutton on 07 4984 7694
This initiative is a part of the Clermont Preferred Futures Strategy.
• Hail Creek Mine Marie Cameron on 07 4951 6437
www.riotintocoalaustralia.com.au
MONEY MATTERS 138th EDITION. 2012
Fraser Coast heads markets turnaround THE Fraser Coast has been the standout performer in the Queensland real estate market during the March quarter. The median house price rose an impressive 7.8 per cent to $290,000 over the threemonth period, and the number of house sales were also up by 42 per cent. As the mining boom continues further north, the Fraser Coast’s relative affordability now seems to be a drawcard for both homeowners and investors. Another two key coastal markets have turned the corner after a stagnant 12 months of sales, according to the latest figures put together by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). Cairns was the second best performer in the state, posting a median house growth of 4.5 per cent to $350,000; and the Whitsundays saw a 4.1 per cent increase to $350,000 with sales up by 28 per cent. Overall, the figures across Queensland were much more encouraging with the REIQ pointing to a market turnaround and the first positive results in 18 months. “Property prices have grown in most areas and some regions have also experienced substantial increases in sales activi-
ty, which is a hugely welcome turnaround,” said REIQ CEO Anton Kardash. “While the March quarter figures contain plenty of good news, perhaps the best piece of news is some very healthy results in our tourism centres, which have struggled more than most over the past two years.” “It’s still too early to tell whether this renewed confidence is here to stay, but a number of economic indicators, as well as lower interest rates, mean the future of our property market is certainly looking up.” In the central Queensland mining belt, there was still strong demand from buyers. Rockhampton’s median house price rose 1.6 per cent to $320,000 and Mackay’s median house price now sits at $425,000, up 1.2 per cent. However, the Gladstone market has plateaued - albeit after posting a media house price increase of 16.5 per cent over the year ending March. Rockhampton real estate agents have reported the spin off effects from Gladstone’s high property prices has meant more buyer interest in the town - just an hour’s drive north. “Sales are up significantly, and this is being driven predominantly by demand at the lower end of the market. Anything
priced up to $400,00 is selling relatively quickly,” said REIQ local representative Noel Livingston. “Interest is coming from local investors, those associated with the mining sector, and the southern states.” Meanwhile, builders in Mackay are reporting the mining boom has protected the region from a housing slump. The Housing Industry Association’s John Futer said the Mackay and Whitsundays market had remained buoyant, despite investors being generally nervous about economic vol-
atility overseas and tight lending conditions. “There’s a lot of activity going on in Bowen as well and that being the case there is a fairly high demand for housing in that Bowen and Mackay area, which takes in the Whitsundays, so I think you’d find that that being the case sales would be a little bit more robust,” he told the ABC. “Mackay is certainly getting a lot more of the dollar in relation to the mining spinoff and is actually performing quite well in terms of other city centres around the country and around the state.”
MARKET TURNAROUND Region
Median price March 2012
Qterly change
Fraser Coast
$290,000
7.8%
Gladstone
$450,000
-0.6%
Cairns
$350,000
4.5%
Mackay
$425,000
1.2%
Rockhampton
$320,000
1.6%
Brisbane
$425,000
0.0%
Page 25 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
MONEY MATTERS 138th EDITION. 2012
Best boom ever but where’s the money? AUSTRALIA has squandered the mining boom that swept through the economy in the early years of this century. That’s the finding of a report by economy watchers Per Capita that delved into
what Australia did with the $180 billion raised through the boom from 2002 till 2008 when the brutal Global Financial Crisis hit. The After the Party report says the Howard and Rudd Governments used $105
Page 26 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012
billion to shore up the fiscal position of the Commonwealth. About $36 billion of sovereign debt was paid off and we put $69 billion into long-term savings funds. The report authors deemed these actions “responsible”. “But the remaining $75 billion represents a big missed opportunity,” Per Capita says. “The Howard Government gave at least $25 billion away in tax cuts and concessions, on everything from fuel excise to voluntary superannuation contributions. “It used another $50 billion on inflated spending programs and various cash handouts, from the baby bonus to the First Home Owners’ Grants.” This, the report states, had two damaging consequences. First, we missed the opportunity to invest $75 billion in long-term productive assets. This amount of cash could have paid for a high-speed rail link down the east coast, or funded hundreds of thousands of skilled cadetships, or rolled out solar generation farms to power our mining and aluminium sectors.
Secondly, and more importantly, the waste has created a huge structural problem for our budget. The combination of tax cuts and spending growth left Australia ill-prepared for a change in economic circumstances. Most of the tax and spending changes were presented to voters as permanent benefits. No-one imagined that our tax take could fall by four percentage points of GDP in the three years from 2008 to 2011. Yet when this happened, a structural imbalance appeared in our budget which will take years to redress. Voters had come to see the fruits of the boom years as entitlements, making it difficult for government to wind them back. The Gillard government has begun this task – by tightening means-tests for family benefits, introducing them for private health insurance rebates, and winding back superannuation tax concessions. But the process will take years and involve much political pain. The report’s ultimate finding is that we squandered the boom.
“First, we missed the opportunity to invest $75 billion in long-term productive assets. This amount of cash could have paid for a high-speed rail link down the east coast, or funded hundreds of thousands of skilled cadetships, or rolled out solar generation farms to power our mining and aluminium sectors.”
MONEY MATTERS 138th EDITION. 2012
So where the bloody hell are you?
Now this potential tax break is straight from the “what a bloody good idea” file. Member for Dawson, George Christensen, has come up with the notion that holidays in Australia should be tax deductible. Now, that’s a good idea. He was so keen on the idea and the response he has got
from the tourism industry that he has been promoting the idea in Canberra. Shift Miner Magazine is not sure how far he’s got with the concept but it’s certainly a great way to boost the struggling tourism economy. Jumping straight in with support has been Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter
O’Reilly who told media that the concept would be a great benefit to domestic tourism. “Over the past four years, domestic tourism numbers across the country have continually declined while outbound travel has significantly grown,” Mr O’Reilly said. “Australia’s tourism destinations are up against cheap overseas holiday deals and a strong Aussie dollar, and the Whitsundays in particular has suffered over the past four years. “This proposal is a great opportunity for Australia’s tourism destinations to lure Aussie visitors back. “Tourism Whitsundays has been working closely with the local industry to develop the proposal, as well as lobbying at state and national levels to gain wider support from the tourism regions of Australia for the concept.” The theory behind the plan is simple instead of taking advantage of the high Australian dollar and holidaying overseas in those hot and sweaty locations like Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, Aussie would get a tax break by going domestic and spending cash at home.
And this is the best way to keep domestic tourism businesses going, says Mr Christensen, who is based in Mackay. “In just one month’s time, our tourist operators (who are really exporters) will be smashed with the carbon tax,” Mr Christensen told media. “We have seen other export industries offered compensation for this toxic tax but tourism has received nothing to help them compete with overseas options. “This may not be the best solution but it appears to be at least a solution and the tourism industry needs anything it can get right now. “The Gillard Labor government delivered nothing but bad news for tourism in the budget and the carbon tax is just the starting point. “Failing to invest in industry is failing to invest in the country’s future and it is becoming increasingly clear that Labor and the Greens do not plan for any industry to survive.” Shift Miner Magazine will of course keep you posted on the success of the plan.
“This may not be the best solution but it appears to be at least a solution and the tourism industry needs anything it can get right now.”
Page 27 - Shift Miner Magazine, 4th June 2012