sm126_Shift Miner Magazine

SHIFT MINER Monday 5th December 126 Edition 2011

The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news

M A G A Z I N E

Locally Owned and Operated - www.shiftminer.com

WHITE NOISE Silly season dulls safety message

THERE has been a dramatic increase in near misses on central Queensland mine sites as workers battle end-of-year fatigue and a preoccupation with Christmas.

The same affliction menaces all workplaces at this time of year, but it’s a high stakes game on site when a minor distraction or error can cost a life.

CFMEU safety officer Tim Whyte said the last six weeks have seen a spike in close calls. “They are all small incidents, it’s eye-offthe-ball, mind elsewhere sort of stuff,� he told Shift Miner Magazine. “It’s called ‘loss of situational awareness’ which is the new term for ‘I just f*cked up’.�

Mr Whyte said a lot of the near misses involved machines working in close proximity. “It’s diggers too close to other diggers, trucks too close to other trucks,� he said.

The first of the summer storms have also caused hazards on site. “We are seeing too many truck slides and operators not reducing their speed to meet the conditions.�

Miners are so bombarded with safety messages and targets, that one of the biggest challenges on site is getting workers to pay attention so the latest warning doesn’t just fade into white noise. “Miners do not care about figures and getting the monthly performance figures down,� said Mr Whyte. “That means nothing to the man on the ground.�

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News The workers, power & water needed for $140B of projects  page 5 News Moranbah turns 40 in style  page 8 Ladder What is CQ’s X factor?  page 10 Around Town Tis the season!  page 12

Off Shift Homer’s advice for your Xmas party  page 19

A ROYAL FLUSH!

Âť Â Â More pics from the Curragh Christmas party page 13

Âť continued page 6

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Sport The dying volunteer Âť page 21 Money Matters September surge in real estate Âť page 23

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0417 630 Page 3 - ShiftPhone: Miner Magazine, 5th 357 December 2011

News

126th EDITION. 2011

Tourist operator spends millions on mining venture because there will always be a demand for Australia’s resources.”

The company is in the final stages of another mining acquisition in Queensland, and is in negotiations for two more properties in South Australia and Western Australia.

Next year, it plans to acquire another seven to eight properties across the country.

“We are not just focussing on coal - we are also looking at iron ore and gas.”

“We want our investments to be across the resources sector.”

Discovery Holiday Parks also operates a premises in Rockhampton - and while 40 per cent of guests are now mining and industry workers, there are no plans to turn it into a facility exclusively for them.

“We want to continue to be a tourist park operator,” said Mr Wilckens.

“We see the mining side of things as the sizzle to give us that sex appeal as we look towards an IPO in the future.”

Plans to float of the company are at least 12 to 18 months away.

The Emerald Coalfields Lodge is now re-branded as Discovery Parks – Emerald.

The facility is run by in-house staff and chefs.

“We find that is the best way to ensure quality,” said Mr Wilckens.

“All the feedback we get from guests is that a way to keep miners happy is a comfortable bed, a quiet room and a good feed.”

“That’s what we are providing.”

Mining guests killing day tourism NEW OWNERS: The Emerald Coalfields Lodge was recently bought for $15 million.

AUSTRALIA’S largest accommodation park operator has bought five Queensland mining camps in the past 12 months, and has plans to acquire several more in 2012.

Discovery Holiday Parks now owns two mining accommodation facilities in Mt Isa, one in Cloncurry and has recently bought the Emerald Coalfields Lodge for $15 million.

Discovery Holiday Parks CEO Grant Wilckens said the move into the resources sector was a deliberate strategy.

“Traditionally, tourism accounted for the majority of our revenue,” Mr Wilckens said.

“But 12 months ago we made a conscious decision to change our tactics.”

“Our tourist parks were doing OK - but it was nothing to write home about, and growth had been flat at between zero to five per cent.”

“We actually made a decision to move into the resources accommodation sector before the floods and cyclone hit Queensland, and those disasters just reinforced it for us.”

The decision is already paying dividends.

While the $15 million price tag might seem hefty for a piece of Emerald real estate, the return on the investment is enormous.

“A 20 per cent return is quite an easy thing to get in the resources side of the business,” said Mr Wilckens.

By comparison, he says in a good year for tourism the return on a traditional tourist park is about 10 to 12 per cent.

“Obviously there is more risk in this, but we think that even if there are big problems in Europe and things slow down for a year or two it will ride through

CENTRAL Queensland tourist operators need to change their business strategies - and fast - if they want to survive the region’s unprecedented mining boom.

That is the blunt advice from CQUniversity senior lecturer and tourism expert Steve Noakes.

Mr Noakes said the tourism sector had been infected by “Dutch Disease” - meaning the resources boom was actually threatening the survival of the leisure tourism market.

“While tourist providers like airlines and hotels and motels are actually cashing in on the mining boom, it’s the holiday market that is suffering,” said Mr Noakes.

“Holiday makers might hire a camper van down south, but when they get to somewhere like Mackay or Gladstone it is almost impossible to find a place to stay.”

“That then impacts on local sight seeing operators and those sort of businesses.”

“The depth and variety of tourist experiences will be lost as a result.”

Mr Noakes said it was vital for tourist operators to rethink what avenues were worth investment.

“If I was an operator I would think twice about investing in any day tourist venture - like tours and so on.”

“But I would consider going into the conventions, conferences and events.”

In fact, Mr Noakes believes business tourism should be where operators direct their attention but he has warned that strategy is not as simple as building a state-of-the-art conference centre.

“There is no point building a multi-million dollar convention centre if there are no conferences booked in for the facility.”

“Going down this path requires local councils to rethink what their role is in chasing down conventions and conferences.”

Ironically, in the 1980s it was tourism usurping other industries in Queensland.

Mr Noakes said in 2011 the state’s regional economies were undergoing a massive transformation and it was important to maintain a diversity of industries.

His research is aimed at identifying niche markets for tourist operators while that transformation is underway.

“It’s about trying to align a booming industry with a lagging industry.”

He said he did not believe either major parties in Queensland fully grasped the situation for the leisure tourism sector.

Census overhaul needed for FIFO figures DEMOGRAPHER Bernard Salt has called on the Australian Bureau of Statistics to overhaul its system of determining funding based on where people live in a bid to assist mining centres cope with FIFO workers.

The comments were made in a regular column Mr Salt has published in The Australian and follows his research for Isaac Regional Council that showed the district had 23,000 permanent residents and about 25,000 non-resident workers in mining camps.

He said the council, and others like it around Australia in FIFO hotspots, are

being asked to deliver and maintain services for up to double the local population without any additional rates.

“This is neither sustainable nor equitable,” Mr Salt said.

“I urge the ABS to review its definition of usually resident population to capture the effective annual population in holiday and mining destinations.”

“All levels of government and business need to know the stresses and strains that are being applied to demographic hotspots around Australia.”

Mr Salt said in the past those hotspots had been restricted to coastal communi-

Page 4 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

ties, but it was now impacting mining communities on a far grander scale.

“I think that a good proxy for the effective annual population in a mining community is the number of dongas: these things are full of alternating miners who usually live elsewhere.”

He said he found it “extraordinary” that during his research he found many councils in mining areas either refuse to publish donga numbers or don’t seem to know how many are in their district.

Mr Salt said a lot rides on the figures as governments determine funding and services on the census night figures.

He said the change in FIFO numbers has been so rapid that it wasn’t even discussed in the 2006 census but would be a critical number in the next set of published figures.

“I want the ABS to publish a time series dataset showing the number of dongas in every relevant municipality in Australia.”

“Such a dataset could also have a crack at estimating the effective annual population of holiday destinations as well,” he said.

Holiday centres also struggle with extra numbers.

At the 2006 census 565,000 people were counted on the Gold Coast on census night with 42,000 - or 8 per cent - tourists.

News

126th EDITION. 2011

Report predicts labour, power, water gridlock

IF all of Queensland’s new resources projects come online, an extra 5000 megawatts of electricity, 200,000 megalitres of water and 40,000 workers will be needed by 2020 to run them.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) commissioned Deloitte Access Economic to compile an outlook report on the labour, electricity and water needs of the sector.

“All available evidence points to the Queensland resources sector being on the cusp of unprecedented expansion,” the report opens.

The study surveyed all QRC members and gathered details on 66 new projects with a combined capital expenditure in excess of $142 billion between now and 2020.

It found that electricity generators would

be stretched to deal with demand, and investor uncertainty in the generator sector could delay investment in new projects needed to boost future capacity.

The current labour market settings would also fail to meet industry requirements.

In particular, technicians, tradespeople, machinery operators and drivers would be in short supply unless the private and public sector increase training and lift retention rates.

The study also found that under normal seasonal conditions water supply would be adequate for the sector, but funding options and timing of new water infrastructure were critical.

QRC chief executive Michael Roche said the report provided a vital guide for industry, governments and communities in

planning for the boom.

“If all these projects proceed, they will - among other significant socio-economic contributions to the economy - boost state royalties to almost $8 billion a year by 2020,” said Mr Roche.

“This is almost three times the $2.8 billion dollars banked in the 2010-11 financial year.”

“However, not every aspect of the development process is under the control of the project proponents.”

“There is mounting evidence that supply side issues associated with labour, water and electricity supply have the potential to either slow sector growth or prevent it from reaching its full potential.”

The report also found that even if only half the projects identified went ahead, many of the same constraints would still emerge.

“Industry growth of this magnitude is unprecedented but not beyond the capacity of either Queensland or Queenslanders to embrace in the state and the nation’s longterm interests,” said Mr Roche.

“The world is changing before our eyes as developing nations reach out for a lifestyle that we take for granted.”

“Queensland can either play a leading role in that global revolution or start finding excuses why it can’t - and I just don’t see that sitting well with Queenslanders.”

FAST NEWS Cloncurry copper project approved CUDECO’S Rocklands copper mine near Cloncurry has been given the go ahead by the state government.

The Gold Coast based explorer is set to begin mining the site, 17-kilometres from the western Queensland town, by early to mid 2013.

It is targeting annual profits of between $270 to $650 million, depending on the grade of the 273 million tonne resource.

An estimated five to 10 million tonnes of ore each year will be processed during the mine’s 10 year lifespan.

Staff will be encouraged to live locally and a 48-block housing development has already been approved by the local council.

A 200-person camp is also to be built. .....................................................................

Weir hearing TWO companies charged under the Workplace Health and Safety Act after the drowning death of four-year-old in Central Queensland three years ago say they have no case to answer. After extensive legal debate surrounding the phrasing of the allegations in Brisbane’s Industrial Magistrates Court on last week, Magistrate Lee reserved his decision on the terms of the wording of charges. Nelani Koefer of Blackwater drowned after an inflatable section of the Bedford Weir near her home town collapsed and released thousands of megalitres of water into the river where she was swimming with her mother. Her extended family was nearby. State entity SunWater, which owns the weir, and the manufacturer of the inflation device, Trelleborg Engineering Systems Australia were charged after the tragedy. .....................................................................

Airport joke bombs JOKING about bombs in airports is just not a good idea anymore, as security staff tend not to see the funny side.

That was the hard lesson a 22-year-old oil rig workers learnt earlier recently when he was slapped with a $500 fine for telling security guards at the Brisbane airport that he had a bomb strapped to his ankle. The rigger had been booked to fly on a 10am Air New Zealand flight, but after a few early morning drinks at the bar and one poorly chosen joke he was arrested and put before the courts.

Page 5 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

News

126th EDITION. 2011

FROM PAGE 1

Close calls close in

“What is needed is leadership from the top - for superintendents and deputies to be telling workers to slow down and watch themselves.”

Mr Whyte is also fully supportive of individuals who have narrowly escaped a close call being used as examples for the entire workplace.

“That can be very effective, to have someone stand up and I say ‘I did this and I was lucky things didn’t turn out worse’.”

“That’s a similar strategy used by Qantas with its pilots and maintenance crews when something goes wrong and a dangerous sit-

uation is narrowly averted.”

When a dramatic incident occurs - like a light vehicle being crushed by a truck - Mr Whyte said it can be useful for workers to be shown the damage.

“It’s good to get the entire workforce down there to show them the potential of what could have happened.”

Mr Whyte said it was vital miners received the wake up call.

“All the indicators are pointing towards something disastrous happening, and absolutely no-one wants that.”

Contractors jailed for gold theft

CONTRACTORS are likely to be under more scrutiny from mine site security after the sentencing of two men for gold theft.

Proving every system has a weak point, the pair stole gold worth $92,000 while cleaning conveyor belts with the crime only detected after workers stumbled on the hiding place for the booty.

Michael Patti, 32 and Scott Riley, 29, both pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to a year in jail after charges brought against them by the Gold Stealing Detection Unit were downgraded from stealing as a servant to stealing.

The lesser charge carries a shorter maximum sentence and the men could not be tried as “servants” as they were contracting.

The pair had been working at the Newmont-owned

Jundee Gold Mine, in Western Australia’s Northern Goldfields about 50 kilometres north-east of Wiluna, in February when they came to the attention of authorities.

It was alleged while working at the mine to clean the conveyor belts during a shutdown Patti and Riley removed 130 kilograms worth of gold concentrate valued at about $45 per gram at the time of the theft.

The concentrate had collected in parts of the milling equipment.

The men put the concentrate in buckets under other material and hid it near the mine where they would then collect it. However, other workers found the stash and reported it to police.

The full details of the stealing was then uncovered and the men charged.

BMA building 378 new homes MINING giant BMA will build 60 new homes in Moranbah in the next six months to help address the severe accommodation crisis.

The last 12 months have seen rents in the town spiral out of control, with modest three-bedroom homes now fetching upwards of $1500/week.

BMA will now build a total of 243 houses in Moranbah over the next 18 months, with 60 of those fast-tracked and now scheduled for completion by June next year.

Down the road in Dysart, BMA will build 68 houses by June next year, with another 67 to be available 12 months later.

BMA asset president Stephen Dumble said the houses were an investment in the towns’ future.

“More houses means more families will make Dysart and Moranbah their home,” Mr Dumble said.

Aside from the new homes, BMA is already refurbishing many of its existing houses.

So far 55 homes across the two towns

have been revamped, with another 105 to be finished over the next six months.

A further 247 will be renovated during the 2013 financial year.

Issac Regional Council mayor Cedric Marshall has welcomed the news.

“This will open our towns up for more families to come and live here and be a part of our community,” he said.

However, Cr Marshall said the new homes would have little effect on sky-rocketing rent prices.

“This won’t help with the rent prices, because this is for BMA workers not contractors.”

“But what it means is people currently living in camps will be able to move out here permanently with their families and we welcome that.

“With more families in town it will mean there will be wives and partners who might want to get a job in the service industry and that will help with the some of the problems we have finding staff.”

“More houses mean more families will make Dysart and Moranbah their home.”

Innovation gets cut through, I’ll give you the tip NEW thinking for old industry challenges has put two resource products in the spotlight at the Australian Innovation Challenge.

Winners will be announced on December 7.

University of New South Wales mechanical engineer Liangchi Zhang has designed new rock-cutting tips that can get through 500 metres of sandstone without getting blunt.

He and fellow designers used their knowledge of rock mechanics and materials engineering to design the tips shaped

dramatically differently from those currently used for excavation, including longwall shearers in coal mining.

Made of an advanced composite material, the tips can penetrate the hardest rock - even granite - more efficiently than conventional ones, according to the designer.

The invention is up against three other finalists in the energy and resources section.

A fellow finalist is CSIRO scientist David Miljak who has designed an advanced radio wave system to sort iron ore on the conveyor belt.

The system’s radio waves penetrate the

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ore with the return signal showing how much chalcopyrite is in the sample rock.

It is then graded automatically.

The team, which is testing a prototype, says the innovation could boost production efficiency by more than 20 per cent.

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News

126th EDITION. 2011

$9B super port at Bowen NINE coal terminal could operate out of Abbot Point near Bowen, with the Queensland government unveiling plans for a $9 billion “super-expansion”.

Following overwhelming demand from mining companies for capacity at the port, the Premier said the government now expected to approve an expansion from the currently approved three terminals - to seven.

The spike in interest means the number of proposed terminals sits at nine.

Under the plans, the Premier Anna Bligh said port capacity would rise to almost 400 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) - making it one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world.

That’s made even more astounding given the port currently exports 50mtpa - and back in 2007 it was 15mtpa.

“The companies chosen will now progress to the next stage of contract negotiations for the development of new coal terminals at the port,” said Ms Bligh.

Abbot Point currently has one export terminal (T1), and two that are being developed by BHP (T2) and Hancock (T3).

This expansion proposal involves terminals four to nine (T4-9) with first coal exported in 2017.

The preferred respondents for the expansion are: • Anglo American Metallurgical Coal • Macmines Austasia • North Queensland Coal Terminal (consortium of Macarthur Coal, Peabody Energy, New Hope Corporation, Middlemount Coal and Carabella Resources) • Rio Tinto Coal • Vale, and • Waratah Coal Preferred respondent status means each proponent can now negotiate commercial agreements with North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation - but it does not confer development rights.

The Queensland Resources Council’s Michael Roche said the expansion reflected the mooted trebling of coal production in Queensland out to 2020.

“The industry’s willingness to enter contract negotiations to support the development of six new terminals, in addition to the two already under development, demonstrates an industry on the front foot to

Abbot Point could have 9 coal terminals and handle almost 400mtpa by 2017

secure critical infrastructure,” he said.

“However, it’s no good having the port capacity if we have not addressed the labour, electricity and water supply challenges.”

Mr Roche was referring to the challenges listed in a Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the QRC. The details of the report can be found on page five.

“The expansion reflects the mooted trebling of coal production in Queensland out to 2020.”

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Page 7 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

News

126th EDITION. 2011

Happy 40th birthday Moranbah!

Turning 40 is a milestone for most, and the town of Moranbah is no different. Last weekend it celebrated in style, with the highlight being a free open air concert featuring local singers and the iconic Graeme Connors. Here are the some of the locals snapped out and about enjoying the weekend.

George and Monica Meldrum Narelle Cork and Chris Higgins

Angela Peterson and Amanda Jepson

Dominique Jepson, Lily Hannay, Darcy Page and Jena Page

Minsung, Scott and Hannah Millane

Brady, Kameron, Karlie & Krista Cummins

Michelle and Rick Barbeler

Karen, Graham and Tricia Baker

Tia Page, Russell Page & Michelle Gouge

Dennis and Anita Linke

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Page 8 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

Grant Collins Audiologist B.PSYCH(DIST)., M.AUDST., MAUDSA(CCP)

Jodie Miles Audiologist B.SPATH(HONS)., M.AUDST., MAUDSA(CCP)

News

126th EDITION. 2011

Miners help overseas mums No more CSG: Senate report KESTREL miners are undertaking an innovative induction and training exercise that’s helping women in Africa give birth in safer and more hygienic conditions.

The Rio Tinto-owned mine workers have teamed up to support the Australian arm of the Birthing Kit Foundation, an organisation dedicated to improving the conditions for women who give birth at home in developing countries.

Mine general manager operations John Coughlan said around 190 employees have been assembling kits for pregnant women in Kenya as part of their induction to the new Kestrel mine extension.

In a coup for creative thinking, the project is being used as a lesson in sustainability by the workers.

During the training exercise Mr Coughlan said the employees were given a black plastic sheet, gloves, string, soap, scalpel blade, gauze, and a small bag.

“These items make one birth kit, which when distributed to women in need, could save the lives of both the mother and baby,” he said.

“Our employees had to work out the most efficient way of assembling the birth kits while also making sure they were doing

LEAN not mean - Kestrel miners assemble birthing kits for mothers in Kenya as part of their training

so in a hygienic manner.

So far 1500 kits have been put together and a further 1100 will be assembled and sent to Bungoma, which is a town in Western Province of Kenya, near the Kenyan and Ugandan border.

A senate inquiry into the impact of the coal seam gas industry on the Murray Darling food bowl has called for a moratorium on any new projects that overlay the Great Artesan Basin.

The recommendation is one of 24 outlined in the draft report that has sparked fresh controversy about the booming $60 billion industry.

The report has called for the halt to exploration until further studies on its impacts - including on water quality - are completed, arguing potential damage to agriculture was not worth the trade off in the interim.

The CSIRO is conducting one study and a second is being done on the impact in the Namoi Valley of New South Wales.

Industry lobby group APPEA responded quickly to the proposed moratorium by stating that many of the issues raised by the committee were already being addressed by industry and independent studies, government policy or regulation.

Committee chair, Senator Bill Heffernan, believes the CSG industry has “got ahead of itself” in terms of the legal and financial liabilities of the work it is doing.

“It’s obvious to people that have put

millions of dollars and to governments that have put millions of dollars into the capping and piping system for the Great Artesian Basin to re-pressurise it in some areas, that it’s almost an insult,” he said.

“At the same time as doing that, they’ve let an industry in where there is no licensing and no regard to take more water out than they’re saving. So I mean it just doesn’t make any sense.”

The report also found: - There were significant “gaps” in the information available on the industry outlining its cumulative and long term impacts of the industry - A national regulatory framework was required - A number of laws be amended to take into consideration the coal seam gas industry and its impact, or perceived impact, on the environment - Independent assessment occur for certain aspects of all future coal seam gas applications - Separate and secure storage for fraccing fluids be required - A range of measures be introduced to better govern to management of water affected by coal seam gas sites

Review brings crackdown on explosives safety CRIMINAL history checks could be tightened for explosives handlers, as the state government reviews the Explosives Act for the first time in more than a decade.

The Chief Inspector of Explosives Geoff Downs is conducting extensive talks with industry on tightening up the security in the handling, storage and transportation of explosives.

He met industry representatives in Blackwater recently, and will host other regional workshops in Moranbah, Mackay, Wooloongabba, Cairns, Mout Isa and Townsville by mid-December.

“Queensland is the largest user of explosives in Australia using about one million tonnes each year or about 40 per cent of all explosives used in the country,” he said.

That amount is expected to double over the next few years, as the mining boom is fully realised.

“We are determined to ensure our legislation remains current with safety and security standards; and continues to meet community and industry expectations,” said Mr Downs.

“These workshops will involve people involved in the supply, handling, storage

and transport of explosives including explosives manufacturers, licensed operators, storage providers, transporters, importers and exporters; mining companies and ammunition users.”

“A consultation paper on issues and proposed legislative changes will also been released for industry feed back.”

Some of the issues under consideration include:

• Tightening criminal history and security checking for licence applicants, including automatic notification of any changes to a licence holder’s criminal history • Powers for the Chief Inspector of Explosives to determine which transport corridor can and cannot be

used by vehicles transporting explosives

• New blasting contractor and explosive driver licences • Clarification of the obligations of authority holders • Consistency with transporting dangerous good provisions of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 for explosives • Improving the ability to prosecute for contravention of the Explosive Act and Regulations • Aligning the competencies of licence holders for assessment to be uniform every five years • Including provision for the voluntary surrender of explosives, and how those explosives can be dealt with • Requiring hazardous chemicals and major hazard facilities to adopt a security plan for explosives similar to that required under national harmonised laws for these facilities

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Page 9 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

SHIFT

MINER ladder

GET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

Mining not all dollars and cents WORKERS are heading to the Bowen Basin for the outdoors lifestyle as much as the promise of high paid mine work, according to a survey by recruitment firm AWX. The survey canvassed the opinion of 100 business leaders within mining and mining related industries and found they chose to live in the region for its outdoor, adventure lifestyle and friendly communities.

It’s not only long-time locals who praise the region as a lifestyle destination - the survey also found those who had relocated to the Bowen Basin for work stayed at least 12 months.

In fact, none of those surveyed left within a year.

AWX Mining general manager Tom Reardon said employers should be using lifestyle and work life balance as selling points. “This survey has found people enjoy being in a smaller community instead of being a number in a rat race,� he said. “Our candidates always say to us - we’re chasing the fishing, boating and four-wheel-driving.� “They are constantly pushing for that outdoors lifestyle - they like the

THE GOOD LIFE: Miners love the Bowen Basin for its fishing and 4WDing

wide open spaces.�

As a firm, AWX limits the amount of flyin fly-out (FIFO) recruitment it takes on. “Retention wise, it’s a better policy to recruit locally and move people to town

and settle families in for the longer term,� said Mr Reardon. “FIFO workers are constantly jumping ship, if you fly-in to one mine, you can easily fly-in to another next week.�

However, Mr Reardon admits FIFO is inevitable in the Bowen Basin. “You are never going to null and void FIFO because of the demographics.� “There are more young, single workers these days who just want to cash in on the mining boom, as opposed to being older and family based.�

But he said for many workers in the 25-plus age bracket with families, lifestyle was the key drawcard. “People are getting sick of FIFO in terms of it’s great for a cash cow but it doesn’t compare to coming home every night to the wife and kids with the mine just half an hour away.�

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Page 10 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

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MINER ladder

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Girls given industry insights QUEENSLAND schoolgirls rolled up their sleeves recently and got stuck into welding, snake handling and working from heights as part of a first-hand look at jobs in mining.

It was all part of the 4Girls2 series of forums held in the south-east corner and central Queensland by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) in conjunction with the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

The forums were designed to make more girls aware of the many career choices available in the resources sector.

Female staff from mining companies were on hand to provide real insight into working in the sector - and girls were able to try their hand at activities such as welding. “With a skills shortage and women representing only 15 per cent of our industry in Queensland, it makes sense to encourage more women to consider careers in the sector,� said QRC chief executive Roche.

QMEA Director Roger Atkins said the forum helped open career windows not previously known to the girls. “We hope opportunities such as these will encourage more female students to enter careers in the resources sector,� he said.

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FIFO teens under microscope MORE than three-quarters of teenage kids from FIFO families feel sad when their parent is away, according to new university research.

Western Australian researcher Jacinth Watson is looking at how teenagers cope with the FIFO lifestyle as part of her thesis through Edith Cowan University.

While the research will be based on WA families, it’s findings are expected to be applicable to Queensland FIFO households as well.

Central to the study is what impact a temporarily absent parent has on parent– child communication, and although the study is only partially complete some initial findings have been released.

The early data shows 73.5 per cent of adolescents feel sadness when a parent is away, 43.1 per cent experience increased anxiety and 45.6 per cent admit worrying to about their parent’s safety.

It was also shown 42.7 percent of adolescents have difficulty talking about issues that are bothering them with a FIFO parent.

Ms Watson’s own experience includes raising three children with a husband who worked FIFO for close to 20 years.

Her masters was on how partners cope with FIFO. “Women tell you all sorts of things - this included their own kids and stories of people they knew whose kids had gone a bit off the rails,� she said of the research.

Her current study involves interviews with FIFO and non-FIFO families and she said she expects the results will be transferable to Queensland industries.

The study’s ultimate aim is to determine what are the best processes that allow for families as a unit and individuals can use to cope and prosper under FIFO. Ms Watson said the 12 to17-year-old age bracket was under serviced by supportive resources for coping, such as books, brochures, websites and DVDs. “We want to find ways for adolescents in these situations to become more self-reliant develop higher levels of self-esteem and have increased capacity to be resilient,� she said.

Ms Watson hopes her study will lead to more family-friendly rosters but also notes companies are working harder to ease the stress and strain of FIFO. This includes counselling, social support and health days. “More equal time rosters are best,� she says. “Four weeks on, one off rosters and three weeks on, one off are not particularly good.�

Page 11 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

around town 126th EDITION. 2011

AT THE RACES...

Last edition we brought you the highlights from the Anglo American Race Day in Moranbah. But given all the finery on display, we thought we’d share a few more pics snapped on the day.

Brenton Connolly, Dylan Smith, Paul Mckenzie

Jess Hall and Amber Summerville

Belinda Coco, Danielle Barron

Shona Watson, Courtney Newey, Kate O’Connor, Melanie O’Connor

DECK THE HALLS

Sue Olive and Santa

Jacob Roberts, Hollie Keding

Luke Wells, Mark Browning, Tyson Clarke

It’s that time of year again, and there are Christmas parties galore in the region. Recognise anyone you know at the Jellinbah mine Christmas party?

Isaac Howells, Campbell and Madeleine Conaghan with Robbo & Ricco the clowns

Tahlia Scales on the rock climb

Mason Jarvis

John and Therese McLachlan

Kimberley Saunders and Sallee Collins

Sherrie and Abbi Dicker and Darcy Welldon

Josh, Gregory and Niaomi McAuliffe

Glenn and Patrice Williams

Ray and Vicki Fitzgibbon

Karen and Wayne Conaglen

Jesika Orreal and Hamish King

Edward and Grace Skahill on the slide

Camel Rides were a big hit

Preston Byrne on the rock climb

Hubba, Rory Muller and Toya Byrne

Maella and Shanaya Jarvis

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 12 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

around town 126th EDITION. 2011

VIVA LAS VEGAS

Curragh mine held its annual Christmas party recently - and the high rollers were in town with the night’s “Las Vegas” theme

Matthew and Lisa Scales

The Malcomson family

Adam and Leanne Fitzgerald

John and Jane Kennedy

Melissa Crossman and Adele Marriott

Janet Malcomson and Anne Bosomworth

Garry and Elvis

Crysatl Carpenter, Nicole Sherwell and Zoey

Tracey Anderson, Elisa Goodwin and Kerry Lee Katchel

Nicole and Amanda

Jeff and Richard

Nick Trimble and Tim Burke

Christie and Stephen Mahon

John Paul and Carlee Blee

Sandahl Svilans and Kristy-Anne Melvin

Peter McIvor and Hiraldo Destachio

Rebecca James and Kim Reibel

Matthew and Arlene Elms

BUY THIS AND MANY OTHER IMAGES AT

www.shiftminer.com Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together Page 13 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

stuff to the editor 126th EDITION. 2011

Stuff to the Editor Shift Miner Magazine received this l etter from Viv Forbes - a man who spent much of his life in CQ in exploration and grazing pursuits.

We think it’s an interesting read: Australia’s open spaces and grasslands are being invaded by aggressive woody weeds of the eucalypt family and the feral plants they shelter such as lantana and rubber vine. This invasion is assisted by a fifth column of misguided tree lovers and climate alarmists who demand that these environmental weeds be protected and their expansion subsidised by the taxpayer!

Like Triffids, the invaders are stealthing out from every patch of bush, surrounding homes and towns, consuming grasslands and displacing grassland birds and animals, both native and domesticated.

This invasion started in neglected parks and conservation areas and was given a massive boost by the Kyoto inspired bans on controlling regrowth, even on freehold land. The final stupidity is the use of carbon credit finance to encourage the deliberate planting of woody weeds on land currently used to produce food and fibres.

For as long as humans have lived in Australia, woody weeds have been kept in check by their natural predator – bushfire. But more reckless policies, promoted by misguided urban tree lovers, have prevented the regular use of fire in many areas.

As wildfires in several areas have

shown, the heavy fire load in this creeping bush becomes a lurking menace as dangerous to neighbours as an unexploded bomb. It must be kept in check by periodic small fires, well managed grazing animals or mechanical means. “Shutting it up” is an unacceptable and unnatural practice.

The explorers Leichhardt and Mitchell both reported the native use of fire to restore the grasslands and both remarked on the grassland and open forest they encountered. However, since their time, there has been an explosion of woody weeds into the Mitchell grass country, and into many other grasslands. It is like a cancer on the land.

These scrubby weeds and carbon credit plantations also harbour all the pests and predators that threaten native wildlife and domestic livestock – feral foxes, pigs, dogs and cats.

The global warming alarmists and others have led us into deadly delusion. Trees do not control the climate, and eucalypt plantations and infestations are not worthy of elevation to saintly status in the plant kingdom. Just like grasses, herbs and algae, they are part of the grand carbon cycle on which all life depends. If humans need to worship and protect any land plant species it should be not useless invasive woody weeds, but the valuable grasses and legumes including cereals such as wheat, oats, barley and rye, pastures such as Mitchell grass and buffell grass, legumes such as lucerne, clover, soya beans and siratro and giant grasses such as sugar cane, sorghum and maize.

It is strange that governments keen to protect farm land from coal mining are promoting policies that result in the destruction of grazing land by state protected weeds.

Sent in anonymously

SEEN SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T? PRIZES FOR THE BEST MINING PHOTOS. TAKE IT ON YOUR PHONE OR CAMERA AND SEND IT IN

Got something to share?

Send us your text messages or phone photos to 0428 154 653 Or email to alex.graham@shiftminer.com

Text to 0428 154 653 alex.graham@shiftminer.com

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Page 14 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

Weekdays 12pm - 1pm PHONE: 1300 872 911

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FAIR DINKUM 126th EDITION. 2011

Fair Dinkum!

IN THE USA - A woman who wanted a more curvaceous body got more than she bargained for when a friend referred her to an unlicensed plastic surgeon.

The would-be doctor injected cement, tyre filler and super-glue into the woman’s body to give her a fuller buttocks.

She was forced to visit a hospital following the procedure, suffering severe abdominal cramps and infected sores around the backside.

The amateur surgeon was arrested and charged with practicing medicine without a licence with serious bodily injury.

IN ENGLAND - A violent cough from a Lincolnshire woman dislodged a pool cue tip that had been stuck in her sinus cavity for 12 years.

The woman frequently suffered cold and flu like symptoms with a constant pain on one side of her face, but doctors were unable to locate the cause of her problem until now.

The cue became lodged in the woman’s sinus after a freak accident in a pub.

A friend hugged her while holding a pool cue, the top of the cue pierced the roof of the woman’s mouth and the tip broke off, working its way into the sinus.

IN SWITZERLAND - The country’s highest court ruled recently that anyone who strolls naked through the Swiss Alps can be hit with a fine.

The decision came after a 47-year-old man appealed the 100 Franc fine he received for walking past a family picnic area in the buff.

The Appenzell region in which the man had been hiking is notoriously conservative (only granting women the right to vote in 1990) had put a ban on naked hiking earlier this year after an influx of unclothed wanderers.

IN RUSSIA - A respected historian and journalist who speaks 13 languages was discovered to have a very unusual hobby recently, digging up corpses and dressing them as dolls.

The man’s parents discovered his horrific fetish when they went to visit him and found the mummified corpses of 29 women in his apartment.

Police reported that the corpses were found with objects such as music boxes, toy hearts, bars of soap and tombstone fragments stuffed inside their rib cages.

Russian authorities say the man had visited more than 750 cemeteries, and would sometimes take to sleeping in graveyards or coffins.

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Frank the Tank’s

“Streakin” good love advice Dear Frank, I know this is probably going to sound fairly ridiculous, but I find myself getting quite anxious as the end of the year approaches. I keep seeing these articles on TV and in magazines about the world ending in 2012. I’ve been with my girlfriend for about five years, and I can’t help but think that if the world’s going to end I might as well break up with her and spend my last year on earth living like a rock star.

Do you think I’m taking the threat of the apocalypse too seriously?

Rick, Yeppoon Rick, I think you could be one of the few sensible people left in the world.

A lot of people out there will tell you that believing in the apocalypse makes you a crackpot, but as the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

When Y2K fever was sweeping the world yours truly was fully prepared for the machines to rise up and conquer humanity.

I built a bunker underneath my backyard and stocked it with all the essentials, food, water, beer and assorted erotica.

On New Year’s Eve 1999 I locked myself

Sensible Susan Rick, It seems as though you might have been taken in by a bit of media hype.

If you cast your mind back you’ll remember that the end was nigh in the

in the bunker and prepared for the worst.

Unfortunately, I overstocked the bunker with erotica and, as a result became quite distracted, by the time I remembered why I was down there it was March.

Although we survived Y2K it doesn’t mean we’ll be so lucky in the future.

I see people every day dismissing the threat of the 2012 apocalypse, laughing it off as a media ploy.

Those are the very people that will be pounding on the door of your lead lined bunker when a race of radioactive ghouls rise up to enslave mankind.

Now, when you say you want to live like a rock star during your final year on earth, I assume you mean sex, drugs and rock and roll.

That’s all well and good, but I can tell you from personal experience that nothing drives the ladies wilder than a preapocalyptic bunker romp.

There’s just something about the threat of impending doom that sends women off the sexual deep end.

Visit a few local bars and hype up the end of the world, then slowly transition into some talk about your backyard bunker.

Naturally curiosity will grow about your survival shelter and you can invite the woman (or women) of your choice back to check it out.

I’d still recommend taking the usual ‘precautions’ before your various bunker flings, otherwise you might find yourself in a spot of bother should the apocalypse not eventuate.

As far as the Australian government’s concerned I’m a semi-legal Mexican immigrant here on a student exchange visa, it’s the only way I can dodge the paternity suits haunting me from my Y2K bunker flings.

Franko El Tanque

year 2000, and probably a hundred other times before that throughout history.

I think it’s an extremely bad idea to end a five year relationship solely on the basis that the world may possibly come to an end.

Besides which, if the world does look like ending, wouldn’t you rather spend your remaining time on earth with friends and family, not ‘living like a rock star’?

Susan

If you have a question for Frank and Susan Email Us at: franksusan.shiftminer@gmail.com

Page 15 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

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ACREAGE FOR SALE 1200 acre property with modern 3 bedroom home, solar, good water, millable timber.1 hour to bundaberg and 25 minutes to 7x7 mine.

QHJRWLDEOH IRU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ Phone 0447 031 588

HOUSE FOR SALE House on 40 acres near Agnes water QLD. Unique pavillion style home, 4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms with 9x12 shed/ carport.

Partially cleared and fenced, waterhole and a small dam. Large deck and breathtaking views.

15 km from surf beach and town of 1770. $510,000 Phone: 0400 797 075 HOUSE FOR SALE Agnes Water/1770 3 Bed Rendered Block Home French Doors to Surround Patios /DUJH (QW $UHD [ approved Shed With Shr/Toilet, [ [ + %RDW 6KHG 13000 Gall Tanks, Large Dam Mine Worker Neighbour $510,000 Phone: 0407 794 506

LAND FOR SALE

HOUSE FOR SALE

Land for sale, Hervey Bay. Turtle Cove Estate.

Agnes Water, 4

(OHYDWHG KDOI DFUH ÀDW EORFN ZLWK GHJUHH

acres, 3 Bed, 2 Bath.

views of Fraser Island. Cannot be built out.

3Metre verandah’s,

Underground power, phone and water at front

Carport, 4 Day Shed,

RI EORFN PLQV WR $LUSRUW PLQ ERDWUDPS DQG

Fenced yard, Dam.

barge to Fraser. About 10min to Town. ono.

7.5 k to town and beach

$262,000 ono

$485,000

Phone: 0411 098 241

Phone: 0409 254 525

UNIT FOR SALE 14 / 98 Mitchell Street, North Ward in Townsville with Sea Views The complex comes with secure underground car parking, lift access, gymnasium, common BBQ area & a 23 metre lap pool. A/c with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms & 2 car parks Private Sale $625,000 neg Phone 0407 326 271

Page 16 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

HOUSE FOR SALE Mission Beach Brand new 2 bedroom $27,000 discount to be made by eligible First Home Buyers!

180 Footsteps to the beach $320,000 Phone: 0419 685 495

Phone: 0418 399 858

3 Seater 1500cc Turbo

85hrs $15,500 ono Phone: 0447 606 727

BOAT FOR SALE

BOAT FOR SALE

Australian Lightweight

2005 Joshua Deep Sea

Sharpie No. 727

6HULHV &HQWUH &DE

Kevlar Hull, sails and

Suzuki 175hp

spars in good to excellent

4 Stroke Safety Gear

condition, comes

UHF Radio

with registered trailer

Lowrance GPS & Sounder

and beach trolley

Kill Bin Deck Wash Bait

Beautiful to sail

TankSelf draining deck

$3,900

$58 000. ONO

Phone: 0428 154 653

Phone: 0488 285 042

UNIT FOR SALE

HOUSE FOR SALE Fully furnished fully

Brisbane - Perfect for FIFO, excellent location, 3B/R, 2 Bath, LUG - in new complex, on-site management.

Currently tenanted. $325,000 View at WWW.kipparingoutlook.com.au

a/c modern home on 7.5 acres 500 metres from Midge Point beach, 2 bedrooms 2 HQ VXLWHV ODUJH RIÂżFH or 3rd bedroom large carport 3bay shed fully equipped workshop

3KRQH RU HOUSE FOR SALE Buy before 31/1/2012 Get $10000 govt bldg boost. Brand New impressive Level, 4bed 2 bath, DLUG, Fenced, Side access Room Shed/Van Nth Entert Walk shops/school Fantastic Buy Offers over $400,000 Phone: 0409 055 062 HOUSE FOR SALE Eungella, 90 mins from Mackay.

Eco-architect designed award winning 3 bdrm home on 5 acres, 2 yrs old, 4 bay shed, stunning views.

Adjoining optional 174 acres of improved pasture also for sale. $749,000.

Phone: 0420 104 278

Phone 0428 476 001 LAND FOR SALE Mission beach - 75 acres Cleared - elevated homesite with views 2 Perm creeks *RRG ÂżVKLQJ PLQXWHV WR river boat ramp & beach $ 360,000.00 NEG Phone: 0428 277 625 UNIT FOR SALE Beachfront studio apartment in Resort Complex - main street Yeppoon parking, air cond, pool, gym, island and harbour views live in or rent out $175 000 Phone: 0417 630 357

.pdf 2010

5 minute fiction

OFF SHIFT 126th EDITION. 2011

by Bernard S. Jansen

Donga Village Chief

1

2

3

4

5

9

6

7

ACROSS

8

1. Special exemption

10

5. War fleet

11 12

9. Distributes (5,3) 13

10. Fluid units 12. Key maker

14

15

13. Male duck

16

14. Leave

18

17 19

20

16. Birth attendant

21 22

25

24

19. Lights

23

21. Little naps

26

24. Pup 25. Maintaining pace (7,2)

27

28

29

30

27. Cause 28. Social event 29. Weight-watcher 30. Without blemish

1 5 9 1 7

DOWN

7 8 6 3

1. Take a breath 2. Tennis champion, ... Seles 3. Baby bird homes

3 9 7

8 2 1 4

4. Holiday-maker

1 7 9

6. Mustered (7,2) 7. Arm of the Mediterranean Sea 8. Responded 11. To ... it may concern 15. Percussion instrument 17. Speared 18. Not old enough

7 2 6 5

20. Benefit

5 8 9 2 7

MEDIUM

21. Leg joint part 22. Catch fire 23. Overturns # 16

26. Improper

LAST EDITION’S SOLUTIONS N E A R E R OC W A B R A D I N G

A U S R

GA T L R AWA N M CU P E A L S O HR A I N N T S B H OB A N R E E K

R # EW 15S M T R E E R A R O S EGA L A I L P A NC E G D T M A R I E V I A T I ON E M B T B R E A K AGE N Z L N A S C E ND E D

I V E I K E N W I E R R A S I N O D E R S

S C H C A L L E E N G E E

3 8 1 6 5 9 2 4 7

9 2 7 3 1 4 8 6 5

6 4 5 2 8 7 3 9 1

2 9 4 5 6 1 7 3 8

5 1 6 7 3 8 9 2 4

8 7 3 4 9 2 5 1 6

1 6 8 9 2 5 4 7 3

4 3 9 8 7 6 1 5 2

7 5 2 1 4 3 6 8 9

“Mind if I sit here Brian?” said Lindsay, as he put down his plate and sat down.

Brian looked up, wondering why he’d bothered to ask. He concentrated on cutting a piece of his overcooked steak. “Sure,” he said, “No worries.”

“Been hot, hasn’t it?” said Lindsay.

A sad effort at small-talk, really.

Lindsay was the camp manager, otherwise known as Donga-VillageChief. He never just ate with a graduate like Brian or made chitchat. He wanted something.

“Sure,” said Brian, finally slicing through the last of the meat and sinew that was holding back his next mouthful. He put it in his mouth and got to work.

“I see things are going well between you and Rachel,” said Lindsay. He’d obviously tried to sound casual.

Brian stopped chewing and put down his cutlery. He wanted to speak, but his mouth was too full. He chewed hard, and swallowed too soon, and almost choked. “What?”

“You and Rachel,” said Lindsay, stabbing three potato wedges in turn with his fork. “You seem to be getting along… really well.”

Brian wanted to tell Lindsay to go do a number of things with himself, but he held it back. The Donga-VillageChief had a reputation of making life hard for people who did that kind of thing. “Yeah sure,” he said. “She’s a very nice young lady.” He turned his plate so that the remains of the steak went to the back, and he looked for a moment at his potatoes. He began to coat them with barbeque sauce, more for the distraction than for any culinary advantage.

Lindsay spoke again, softly. “Oh I think we both know it’s more than that.”

Brian felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He concentrated harder on the sauce, and Lindsay added, “After last night.”

Brian took a deep breath, and then another, and tried to suppress the images of Lindsay’s broken, bleeding nose, black eyes and fat, bleeding lips that suddenly sprung into his mind. He rubbed his knuckles, subconsciously.

Brian had spent last night in Rachel’s

room. It was their first time, together.

They’d been as discreet as they could, given that the camp was set up more like a minimum security detention facility than a motel or a resort. Nevertheless, it seemed that Donga-Village-Chief kept a very close eye on what went on.

Brian coughed and said calmly, “Is that against the rules?”

“No, goodness no!” said Lindsay, dropping his cutlery in his enthusiasm to squash the very thought. “Not at all.”

Silence. Brian didn’t move. He’d lost his appetite, but he knew they weren’t finished. He stared into Lindsay’s face, and wondered if maybe he’d gone a little red.

Lindsay spoke at last, “I actually wanted to ask you, in fact, if maybe you wanted to make it more of a, permanent, arrangement.”

“Steady on.”

“Hear me out. If you get Rachel to agree, to take the ‘next’ step, then I’ll move you both to a room in X-block.”

Brian didn’t move. He tried to hide his surprise. Most of the managers were on X-block. It was where VIPs like the Managing Director or Joint Venture Partners stayed, when they came on their royal tours.

“Why would you do that?” asked Brian, bluntly.

Lindsay sighed. “I’ve got more people to house than rooms to put them in. The new blocks are going in, but too slowly. Plus, they need tradesmen to set them up properly, and the tradesmen need rooms to sleep in too, which only makes the problem worse, short-term.”

“You want me and Rachel to shack up together so that you can have an extra room?”

Lindsay leaned forward. “On a normal week-night, twenty to thirty rooms have two occupants, sharing a bed. I simply don’t have the rooms for those twenty or thirty extra people to have their own room. I’m very discreet; you’d be very shocked if you knew exactly who slept with who around here.”

Brian felt a pain starting in his chest.

It was heartburn, heart-attack or his conscience. “I’ll see what I can do.”

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 GOT AN IDEA FOR A STORY? Let Bernard know - email him at bernard.jansen@gmail.com or hop on his blog surgebin.blogspot.com

Page 17 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

OFF SHIFT 126th EDITION. 2011

Bait shop Banter FISHING IN YEPPOON Out wide off the Capricorn Coast, and she’s been pretty quiet.

“There’s plenty of fish around, they’re just not biting,” said Tony from the Secret Spot at Yeppoon.

“The mackerel and the red fish are just not coming on easily, you’re having to do a lot of miles to catch them.”

Meanwhile, the beaches are estuaries are literally jumping with bream, whiting and flathead.

“Corio Bay and Coorooman Creek have been fishing really well,” said Tony.

There are plenty of prawns around too but people are having to work for crabs.

Most are taking home enough for a feed (one or two) - but the vast majority are undersized.

“If we get a few storms that should get them moving again once we get a bit of fresh water running through,” said Tony.

PRIZE CATCH: This was caught on a recent fishing trip to Cato Reef

FISHING IN MACKAY There’s one word to describe the fish in Mackay at the moment - shy.

The big tides over the last few weeks have kept things pretty quiet, but Bruce from Nashy’s Compleat Angler says grunter are now on the increase.

Tide Times

Dec/Jan

MACKAY Gladstone

Mon 5 Tue 6 Wed 7 Thu 8 Time Ht Time Ht

Time Ht

Time Ht

FISHING IN GLADSTONE The local rivers are throwing up some nice catches of salmon - and there is also plenty of mangrove jack and barra about.

“The beaches are producing some good catches of flathead and whiting,” said Josh from Pat’s Tackle World.

“And off shore there have been some nice reds and trout.”

FISHING PARADISE FOUND

Calling all serious fisherman to the best fishing location on the coast.

Close to mining areas (You have probably driven past the turn-off!)

Fully s/c accommodation silly season & 2011 Crew bookings available

Phone: 49373145

email: stanagebaymarine@bigpond.com web: www.stanagebay.com

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 9 Sat 10 Sun 11 Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht

0545 3.42 0000 1.05 0040 0.95 0116 0.86 0149 0.80 0222 0.77 0256 0.76 1151 1.49 0631 3.63 0709 3.82 0744 3.96 0818 4.06 0851 4.12 0926 4.14 1751 3.24 1239 1.34 1320 1.20 1358 1.09 1434 1.01 1510 0.95 1547 0.93

1840 3.28 1923 3.30 2001 3.32 2037 3.32 2111 3.30 2145 3.29

0123 1.16 0204 1.03 0240 0.93 0313 0.87 0345 0.85 0415 0.85 0447 0.86 0743 4.76 0824 5.02 0900 5.22 0933 5.37 1004 5.45 1035 5.49 1106 5.51 1356 1.66 1440 1.49 1519 1.35 1555 1.27 1629 1.23 1702 1.23 1736 1.24 1946 4.43 2028 4.43 2105 4.41 2138 4.37 2209 4.33 2241 4.29 2315 4.26

Mon 12 Tue 13 Wed 14 Thu 15 Fri 16 Sat 17 Sun 18 MACKAY Gladstone

“We’re talking Constant, Murray and the Sarina Inlet,” he said.

“There are also some prawns kicking around those spots too.”

Bruce is waiting for the summer storms to liven things up a bit.

If you’re looking for a spot to take the kids on the school holidays - beach fishing at the top of the tide is the go.

Bruce recommends Shoal Point and Blacks Beach and further south at Grass Tree and Salonika Beach near Sarina.

Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht 0331 0.78 0407 0.84 0446 0.95 0528 1.09 0028 3.16 0129 3.15 0242 3.21 1002 4.13 1039 4.10 1119 4.03 1203 3.93 0619 1.25 0724 1.41 0846 1.49 1625 0.92 1704 0.95 1746 0.99 1831 1.05 1254 3.82 1351 3.69 1458 3.59 2219 3.26 2256 3.23 2339 3.19

1921 1.09 2019 1.11 2126 1.06

0520 0.90 0555 0.99 0031 4.16 0118 4.10 0213 4.07 0321 4.11 0439 4.30 1139 5.49 1215 5.43 0634 1.14 0718 1.33 0813 1.55 0921 1.73 1044 1.78 1812 1.27 1850 1.31 1254 5.32 1340 5.17 1434 5.00 1540 4.85 1654 4.76 2351 4.22

1932 1.36 2021 1.38 2117 1.36 2222 1.27 2330 1.09

Page 18 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

Hot with storms Week 1 - Last November the average maximum for the Coalfields came in around 28/29C - with no days over 35C. This November the average maximum hovered around 34/35C with 7/8 days over 35C. It’s also been one of the driest starts to a November with no rainfall and numerous bushfires permeating the atmosphere with smoke. Last year the landscape looked like a carpet of green with over 100mm in most places giving a good flow to to rising rivers. Luckily storms 24/25th Nov 2011 added 57mm for Emerald.

Other falls (mm) of note 25/26th Nov: Upper Claude River 114, Glen Rock 86, Florence Vale 72, Rubyvale 55, Springsure 42, Broadmere 27 and Moranbah 26. Then good falls (mm) for the first day of summer: 45 at Moranbah, 41 Springsure Junction, 32 Riley’s Crossing, 31 Middlemount, Rolleston 29, Moura 28, Clermont and Banana 26 plus 22 Collinsville. This will help the water tanks and put out the fires.

Now cooler temperatures are on the way with fresh winds along the coast causing showers which head

inland. The week should start with maximums 8-10 degrees below average as thick cloud covers most of the Coalfields with steady rain. Then gradually warming up as the ridge along the coast eases and causes warmer sultry conditions late week.

Boaties - Not good for the start of the week. A strong wind warning looks likely with 20-25 knot winds and gusts over 30 knots for the Central/Capricorn Coasts.

Not to mention the squally showers. This should improve by late weekend. Watch for NNE sea breezes 15-20 knots in the afternoon Sunday.

Week 2 - The SOI has jumped to +13. This time last year was over +20. The Monsoon Trough (MT) was operating with lows developing in the tropics and at least two cyclones. Now a hint of some MT development near PNG and the Heat Stress (HS) across the Coalfields is high. Monday should be very warm to hot with the threat of a storms in the Central West moving into the Coalfields. Then a brief respite.

Marine Lovers - out early and back by lunch as the NE’ly sea breezes burst in during the afternoon. Just in time for fish at Xmas.

OFF SHIFT 126th EDITION. 2011

Classic REVIEW

BY JUSTIN CARLOS

Here’s Johnny!

BASED on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a masterpiece of modern horror.

The film centres around the Torrance family, who head to the isolated Overlook Hotel to work as the winter caretakers.

Upon arrival at the hotel the Torrance’s son, Danny, is plagued by horrific visions of past and future as a result of a psychic gift known as ‘the shining’.

Danny’s father, Jack, begins writing a novel during the winter, but slowly succumbs to insanity, being visited by the ghost of a former bartender at the Overlook who convinces Jack he has to murder his family.

Danny and his mother must then fight to survive the murderous rage of Jack, as he attempts to fulfil the horrific wishes of the hotel’s former bartender.

The success of The Shining as a horror film is truly a result of the sum of all its parts.

An exceptional narrative, great acting by the entire cast, and extremely skillful direction by Stanley Kubrick give the film an innate power to make the viewer anxious, almost from its very beginning.

Jack Nicholson’s performance as Jack Torrance is particularly terrifying as he slips gradually into a complete state of homicidal mania.

Shelley Duvall, who plays Torrance’s wife, Wendy, is hysterical for almost the entire film, which adds to the unease for the viewer as we are encouraged to adopt the feelings of terror being

experienced by Wendy and Danny.

Kubrick’s direction is masterful in The Shining, perfectly enhancing both the horrific elements in the film (for example, the infamous scene in which the elevator door opens and gushes blood into the corridor), and the performances of Nicholson and Duvall.

Kubrick’s cinematography - in particular his use of fast cuts and extreme closeups - is crucial in giving the film its visceral power, as it is these protracted close-ups that capture the unrelenting rage of Jack Torrance, and the terrified hysteria of his wife.

The Shining belongs to a very select group of horror films that are revered by both fans and critics alike.

If you consider yourself a film buff, and don’t mind a good scare then The Shining is definitely a must-watch.

Homer gets you through Xmas WITH the holiday season fast approaching many of us will soon be attending work Christmas parties.

You might work on a mine site, but the work Christmas party is a veritable minefield - and if you don’t know what to look out for you could find yourself the butt of many a joke in the new year.

To quote a great man - Homer Simpson - “Here’s to alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.�

This mantra can be correctly applied to the work Christmas party - where the drinks are often free, sending many a man completely insane.

You might think you’re eloquently pitching a new business strategy to your boss after 15 beers, but in reality you’re probably standing too close, spitting while you talk and telling him you think his wife is hot.

Lesson one: take it easy on the tequila.

To quote the Great Man Simpson again: “A woman is like beer. They look good,

they smell good, and you’d step over your own mother just to get one!�

Another thing we recommend avoiding like the plague is the Christmas party hook-up.

Maybe Kathy from crew 1 has had too much to drink and is giving you the eye, but this is your cue to get into the mindset of a celibate monk.

Nothing will be more soul crushingly awkward than facing your co-workers the weekend after the party, all of them silently judging you for getting it on behind the band stage.

And finally one more Homer Simpson insight to get you through the night: “Yes, honey...Just squeeze your rage up into a bitter little ball and release it at an appropriate time, like that day I hit the referee with the whiskey bottle.�

Just remember, it’s never appropriate to unleash the rage at the work Christmas drinks.

Here endth the lesson - go forth, drink and be merry!

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Email: info@treetopsmontville.com.au Web : www.treetopsmontville.com.au ')&4 6/5#(%23 !,3/ !6!),!",% 3ALE CONDITIONS 0HOTOS ON THIS PAGE ARE GENERIC AND MAY NOT APPLY TO YOUR PARTICULAR TREEHOUSE OR CABIN 3PECIAL PRICES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC HOLIDAYS OR LONG WEEKENDS 4HIS OFFER IS NOT AVAILABLE IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY OTHER SPECIAL OFFER /NCE BOOKED THE OFFER IS ONLY TRANSFERRABLE TO ANOTHER DATE AT THE DISCRETION OF MANAGEMENT

Page 19 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

Your Health 126th EDITION. 2011

EXPERT ADVICE For those too busy or embarrassed to ask the important questions about their health

Ever had that feeling of just wanting to stay in bed all day and sleep?

As the end of the year draws to a close, the effects of fatigue from a long year of work and life pressures can start to set in – putting extra strain on your health, work and relationships.

Fatigue comes in many forms and you may experience just one or a few of its signs and symptoms including:

• A continual feeling of tiredness

Depression, grief and anxiety can also bring on fatigue, so you should go and get it checked out.

If you’ve been feeling fatigued for more than a few weeks, it’s vital to have a check-up.

You can also help yourself by increasing your intake of fresh foods, reducing your intake of sugar, caffeine and alcohol, trying supplements such as a good multivitamin high in B-complex vitamins, taking up regular exercise, getting enough sleep and taking time out of your day to do something for yourself.

Pumpkin and Spinach Quiche

• Aching muscles • Moodiness • Short-term memory • Poor concentration • Low motivation

Serves 4

• Low immune system Most of the time, fatigue can be traced back to one of your habits – a lack of sleep, working longer hours than usual, shift work and rotating hours, poor diet, emotional stress from a work or family situation – but it can also be the cause of an underlying medical condition.

Glandular fever, anaemia, a heart condition or sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea can make you feel like something the cat dragged in.

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.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM A

WINO

MORE- mining news MORE- industrial news MORE- investment news WEDNESDAY’S INDUSTRY NEWS ONLINE (WINO) BY SHIFT MINER

SHIFT MINER Premium Queensland business and industrial news www.shiftminer.com/news

WEDNESDAY’S INDUSTRIAL NEWS ONLINE

NEWS YOU WON’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE

Delivered direct to your inbox every Wednesday To register go to www.shiftminer.com and follow the link

Page 20 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

INGREDIENTS 600g peeled pumpkin, sliced into wedges 2 cups of blanched English spinach, roughly chopped 4 large eggs 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 cup cream 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1 tsp salt 1 tsp wholegrain mustard 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese fresh thyme leaves olive oil

Mix cheddar, cream, eggs, mustard and thyme together in a bowl until well combined. Pour mixtures evenly over vegetables and sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.

Bake in oven for around 35-40 minutes or until cooked through and golden on top. Serve with a side salad and chips or your favourite vegetables.

TIP: Quiche is just as good eaten cold the next day and is a great option for packed lunches for the kids

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180°C Arrange pumpkin pieces on an oiled baking tray and season with salt and pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil. Toss to coat the pumpkin pieces in seasoning. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until soft and golden.

Grease quiche dish and arrange pumpkin and spinach evenly in dish.

Proudly sponsored by The MAC

1300 622 222 themac.com.au

COPPABELLA | DYSART | KAMBALDA | MIDDLEMOUNT | MORANBAH | NARRABRI | NEBO

What’s happening in sport in your town?

Cunning parents win but junior BMXers shine Twelve-year-old BMX rider Dion Bromley has been named the “Rider of the Year� at the Moranbah BMX club’s end of year presentations.

The female rider has competed at local, state, national and world titles this year.

She also picked up the award for best junior female rider and most consistent rider.

In other categories, it was a Kyle family affair for the senior male and female rider awards with Michael Kyle and sister Melissa Kyle winning each category respectively.

The Jaenke family also had a good night out with Cameron Jaenke winning junior male rider and Kira Jaenke winning junior female rider.

Arguably the biggest winners of the night, however, were the parents who won a parent versus juniors BMX relay.

BMX mum (and Shift Miner Magazine photographer) Tina Daniel said they had to use all their skills to win the race. “We kicked the event off with a nail biting Adult vs Child BMX relay, which saw the club’s best riders up against the bravest parents,� she said “A good dose of old fashioned cheating and bribery helped the grown ups claim victory for the second year in a row.�

Brooker back in volunteer drought CENTRAL Highlands Rugby League’ most tireless volunteer Pat Brooker has been re-elected to the role of president for the 15th year.

Carolyn Dorward will be supporting her in the role of secretary and treasurer.

While Pat says she is content to continue in the position, she laments the lack of volunteers stepping up to help local sports. “Volunteers are a dying race,� she said.

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

“I would have stepped back and taken a lesser position, or even given the three positions to new people altogether if the people had been available.� “But they weren’t, and it’s not just football, it’s across the board.� “I think maybe there is too much paid work around, and people are put off by all the things you have got to have these days like Blue Cards.� “If every club just had a group of ten people to help out - the total work load for each person would hardly be noticeable.�

Despite the shortage of volunteers, Central Highlands Rugby League is in a strong financial position for 2012, with lots of sponsors signing up again.

They are also launching a female team who will possibly play their first game at the Bluff Multicultural fair in late February. “We need to finance a ladies team to travel to the 47th Battalion this year which will cost a bit extra,�

Pat Brooker added. “But we have signed up lots of sponsors for 2012, so we are really lucky on that front.�

If you would like to help rugby league on the Highlands or are interested in playing women’s rugby league please call Pat on 0428 826 243

Will Simmons shows off his skills

Kira, Cameron and Zoe Jaenke Senior Male Rider of the Year Michael Kyle with Junior Male Ride of the Year Cameron Jaenke

Enthusiastic canteen volunteers Ross Branch, Maria Borg, Jakkii Fenlon and Paul Fenlon

Rio Tinto Coal Australia is proud to be part of the Clermont, Emerald, Capella, Nebo, Mirani, Sarina, and Mackay communities.

Congratulations to everyone who supported the 2011 Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove Rio Tinto Coal Australia was pleased to be a partner in the drove this year, which raised $300,000 for school chaplains in regional Queensland from the sale of more than 400 cattle.

School chaplains help provide young people with the extra support they need to help develop self-confidence and a range of life skills.

Dion Bromley took out numerous awards

Pat English races towards the finish line in the Parents vs Kids race

We support a range of local projects through the Clermont Region, Kestrel Mine, and Hail Creek Mine Community Development Funds.

For more information about the Funds contact: rĀ"KDQLNMSĀ1DFHNMĀ"NLLTMHSXĀ1DK@SHNMRĀ Specialist Samantha Faint on 0447 599 990 rĀ*DRSQDKĀ,HMDĀ"NLLTMHSXĀ1DK@SHNMRĀ2ODBH@KHRSĀ ,@TQDDMĀ3TSSNMĀNMĀ Ā Ā rĀ'@HKĀ"QDDJĀ,HMDĀ"NLLTMHSXĀ1DK@SHNMRĀ 2ODBH@KHRSĀ%HNM@Ā*QTFDQĀNMĀ Ā Ā

www.riotintocoalaustralia.com.au

Page 21 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

MONEY MATTERS 126th EDITION. 2011

Moranbah rent crisis out of control THE cost of rental accommodation in Moranbah has doubled in the past year and there is little likelihood of the spike easing.

Moranbah agent Vikki Oldfield of Vision Real Estate said the market has reacted to the powers of supply and demand, and without enough rental stock prices are soaring.

She said a basic three bedroom home would now fetch about $1500 a week, whereas 12 months ago the same property may have brought in $700-$800.

“It’s supply and demand, as simple as that,” she said of the trend.

“Companies are hiring hand over fist at the moment to get people to work here and when they get here you have to house them.”

“While ever they keep hiring, they keep adding to the demand (for homes).”

The most expensive house in town is currently advertised for rent at $3200/weekputting it in the league of waterfront mansions on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast or several trendy Brisbane suburbs.

That’s making fly-in, fly-out an appealing option for those who would rather pay rent elsewhere.

House prices have also rocketed up, with

interstate buyers taking an interest along with groups of investors attracted by the possibility of paying off an investment property with six years of the high rents.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) area spokesperson Stacey Arlott said the shortage was creating a wide range of problems for people, especially those who don’t work in the resources sector.

She said in Mackay the boom had pushed house prices up so that basic duplexes were selling for $460,000 to $480,000 and inner city units $500,000 to $550,000.

Huge rental increases at the end of lease periods are now common practise.

In the past, landlords usually raised rents by $5 to $10 at the end of a lease.

But now, Ms Arlott said the increases are up to $100/week.

She said the situation was not sustainable, and made it very difficult for teachers, police, nurses and service industry workers to live in Mackay and surrounding towns.

One positive is those residents at retirement age who are selling their Mackay homes and re-settling in coastal towns, such as Hervey Bay, can afford a new property and still have cash left over.

Isaac Regional Council mayor Cedric Marshall is troubled by the rental squeeze but admits council has no control over it.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous. Our service industry has moved out because they can’t afford the rents.”

The council has just released a report into the pressure on the town from FIFO workers and is now doing what it can to support those under pressure from low vacancy rates.

Despite the high costs most available homes are snapped up within days of being advertised or agents already have people on a shortlist.

Mayor Marshall said it’s time the state and federal governments came on board to assist the town and other smaller centres better cope with the resources boom.

“People don’t realise how tough those outside the minerals industry are doing it,” he said.

RENTAL SQUEEZE: This three-bedroom house in Moranbah is currently listed for $2000/week

BLACKWATER VACANT LAND RELEASE The modern township of Blackwater is located in the heart of the coal rich Bowen basin and services the rapidly expanding Coal and Gas industry. This is a unique opportunity to secure land never before released to the general public for development and capitalise on the projected growth within the region. These allotments are zoned Residential under the UDA and are also the only designated sites appropriate for larger scale non-resident workers accommodation.

Allotments details are; - Lot 4 4.313ha - Lot 5 4.312ha - Lot 6 3.097ha - Freehold title - Zoned Residential including larger scale non-resident workers accommodation under the Blackwater UDA zoning plan.

Auction: 10.30am 9th December 2011 Level 5 Riverside Centre 123 Eagle Street Brisbane

Ray White Works Experience, knowledge, results

Page 22 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

For further details, please contact: Paul Muldrew - Ray White Emerald Mobile 0438 589 515 Email paul@rwremerald.com.au

MONEY MATTERS 126th EDITION. 2011

September bounce back for property

THE Queensland residential property market has made an impressive comeback over the September quarter with sales activity strengthening across the state, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

The REIQ September quarter median price report found the preliminary number of house sales was up a healthy 17 per cent in Queensland compared to the June quarter.

Some regions recorded substantial jumps in activity as buyers finally started to foray back into the market.

“What these figures show is that it appears it took about six months for our property market to begin to heal from the natural disasters earlier this year,” REIQ chairman Pamela Bennett said.

“Activity in most areas improved markedly in the September quarter compared to the first six months of this year, but we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves given sales activity is still about 20 per cent below where we were this time last year.”

While activity has strengthened, median house prices remain soft with only the Gold Coast and Cairns posting positive price growth over the period.

The announcement that the Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games will also provide much-needed stimulus to its economy and property market.

The market continues to make up some of the ground it lost earlier this year but the continuing patchy economic conditions means sales remain significantly below long-term historical averages.

Over the quarter, there was a 27 per cent increase in sales below $350,000 as buyers sought out affordable property, especially in regional areas.

The median house price in Brisbane reduced 2 per cent to an even $500,000 over the period.

Conversely, the number of preliminary house sales was up 13 per cent.

The Gold Coast posted a rise of 2.2 per cent to $ 469,950 with sales up 11 per cent.

Demand for homes in Gladstone continues to be very strong with sales up more than 50 per cent over the quarter.

However, there was a marked swing towards more affordable property which resulted in its median house price dropping marginally by 0.1 per cent to $440,000 over the period.

The Fraser Coast, Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Cairns also all recorded double-digit growth in the number of house sales over the quarter.

“We can certainly take some heart from these results which show that our market is on the mend after a very difficult year,”

REIQ managing director Dan Molloy said.

“While global conditions remain concerning, more sales activity locally shows that buyers have a little more confidence and are much more prepared to sign on the dotted line now than they were earlier this year.

“The recent interest rate cut will also help and we are hopeful of even more positive news and increased activity in the December quarter.”

The median house price in Rockhampton dropped 0.1 per cent to $312,000 over the quarter. The number house sales were up 14 per cent.

REIQ Rockhampton zone chair Noel Livingston said the region was benefiting from the booming Gladstone property market and wider resources sector.

“Rockhampton, geographically, sits in a very nice place to make the most of the booming mining industry,” he said.

“We are receiving plenty of enquiry and sales from workers who are involved in the resources sector who are interesting in buying in new areas such as Gracemere so they can commute to their jobs.”

“Many are saying that prices in Gladstone have gone up so much that our region is the much more affordable option.”

Over the September quarter, he said, the majority of activity was occurring in the affordable price bracket, which is reflected in the numbers of sales under $350,000 increasing nine per cent compared to June.

By comparison about 60 per cent of all house sales in Rockhampton over the quarter were for under $350,000 while in Gladstone only about 10 per cent were for under this amount.

“The top end of the market in Rockhampton, however, is still sluggish with anything priced over $500,000 harder to sell,” he said.

“In Gladstone, there was a marked swing towards more affordable property which resulted in its median house price dropping marginally by 0.1 per cent to $440,000 over the period.”

Page 23 - Shift Miner Magazine, 5th December 2011

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Essential Oils Lifestyle with Income sĂĽ 0ERFECTLYĂĽPRESENTEDĂĽ ĂĽHAĂĽ ĂĽACRE ĂĽPROPERTY sĂĽ )MPECCABLEĂĽ ĂĽBEDĂĽTWOĂĽSTOREYĂĽBRICKĂĽHOMEĂĽWITHĂĽSPA sĂĽ !PPROXĂĽ ĂĽACREĂĽ4EAĂĽ4REEĂĽPLANTATIONĂĽ ĂĽPLANTĂĽ ĂĽ EQUIPMENT ĂĽINCOME READY sĂĽ -ACHINERYĂĽ ĂĽHARVESTINGĂĽSHED ĂĽ MĂĽXĂĽ MĂĽCARPORTĂĽ ANDĂĽPOWEREDĂĽWORKSHOP sĂĽ ĂĽDAMSĂĽ ĂĽ ĂĽGALĂĽRAINWATERĂĽSTORAGEĂĽ ĂĽFULLYĂĽFENCED

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