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Shift Miner Magazine

CONTENTS NEWS

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More miners break silence on safety

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Will Adani press the green button?

6 Drive it or be sacked, workers told 7 CQ’s newest mines speak to price recovery 8 Miners not deaf to risks 9 MACS Engineering sees demand double

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10 Roma wasn’t built in a day 11 Moura No. 2: ‘it could happen again’

Regulars 4 Stuff to the Editor 1 15 Frank the Tank 16 Miners Trader 17 Off Shift 21 Sport

21 Queensland mining community's best source of local news

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More miners break silence on safety

MINERS across Queensland are speaking out on what appears to be a growing crisis around safety in the industry.

Shift Miner’s recent story about miners too frightened to speak up in the current economic climate has triggered a flood of messages to the editor from those working at the coal face.

Many fear another fatality is just a matter of time and say management is putting productivity ahead of safety as mines struggle to turn a dollar.

“I’ve been saying for more than 12 months it isn’t a case of if, it’s a case of when,” one miner told Shift Miner.

“I’ve seen blokes out there doing some dodgy things, breaking golden rules.”

“In the past two years I have noticed a huge difference and I am scared to lose my job too,” wrote another.

Maintenance is a key concern, with many worried machines

are not being properly serviced because of an unwillingness to take them out of action and jeopardise production targets.

“If you say you don’t want to drive a machine because of x,y and z, then you will be pulled out and put in another truck and then they’ll put some other stooge in that dozer - but it doesn’t get fixed,” the miner said.

“A lot of people won’t speak up because they are worried about their job security, not their mates.”

Others have suggested the current climate of fear means miners won’t raise safety issues because they will be branded trouble-makers.

“It’s happening at my mine site,” another worker wrote to Shift Miner.

“I spoke up and am now I’m being singled out.”

There are also questions being asked about the big shift to labour hire. A number of miners have said labour hire has changed the

dynamics on site and made job security virtually non-existent.

“People honestly fear going on break and getting a phone call not to come back,” one miner said.

“That is happening all the time and people are just too scared to speak up on anything.”

Part of the problem is there doesn’t appear to be an avenue for miners to raise safety issues without fear or reprisal, and some say safety statistics also hide the true state of affairs.

“I personally know of instances where people have injured themselves at work, but made an excuse to leave site to be treated at hospital in the next town, because of fear of the ramifications of reporting things on site,” one miner wrote in.

However, one miner who contacted Shift Miner said that by law every mine site in Queensland had access to two independent Site Safety and Health Representatives (SSHR) voted on by the whole workforce.

“I’d say 95 per cent of the people working in the industry have never read the Qld Coal Mine Act, let alone understand it,” he said.

“People need to understand there is protection for them there, but they don’t know how to use it. They don’t know their own obligations, let alone their employers or supervisors.”

He said SSHRs should act on behalf of any coal miner, regardless of whether or not they belonged to the union, and their concerns would always be kept confidential.

He said now, more than ever, a strong union movement was needed to stand up for workers.

“The days of walking out

on strike because you have the wrong ice cream flavour in the crib hut are gone,” he said.

“Who’s going to stand up and fight for you when you’re sacked?

I don’t have deep enough pockets to fight company lawyers.”

Another industry stalwart who works in maintenance believes responsibility for safety rests with supervisors.

“As a supervisor it is incumbent on me to look after my crew and I have vehemently defended my men and fought their corner when it comes to safety issues,” he said.

“I don’t abide by anyone using safety as an excuse not to work but I am experienced enough and human enough to see the issues when they arise.

“If they [supervisors] don’t have the balls to fight in the corner for their men on legitimate issues then they should get another job stacking shelves at the local shop.”

But he said a legacy issue of the boom was that senior positions within mine sites were now stacked with people without the skills to lead in leaner times.

“It all comes back to the same common denominator,” he said.

“We’ve been through a boom and people who wouldn’t have necessarily been promoted have managed to hang on and they haven’t a clue how to run the show now they have to manage budgets tightly.”

LET SHIFT MINER BE YOUR VOICE Do you have safety concerns that aren’t being addressed? Text your thoughts or pics to 0409 471 014 or email alex. graham@shiftminer.com We guarantee your anonymity but we want to hear your story.

Comment or SMS 0409 471 014

WHAT YOU SAID “If they don’t have the balls to fight in the corner for their men on legitimate issues then they should get another job stacking shelves at the local shop.”

“I’ve been saying for more than 12 months it isn’t a case of if [someone dies], it’s a case of when. I’ve seen blokes out there doing some dodgy things, breaking golden rules.”

“Who’s going to stand up and fight for you when you’re sacked? I don’t have deep enough pockets to fight company lawyers.”

“A lot of people won’t speak up because they are worried about their job security not their mates.”

“It’s happening at my mine site. I spoke up and am now being singled out.”

“People honestly fear going on break and getting a phone call not to come back. That is happening all the time and people are just too scared to speak up on anything.”

“We’ve been through a boom and people who wouldn’t have necessarily been promoted have managed to hang on and they haven’t a clue how to run the show now they have to manage budgets tightly.”

“I’d say 95 per cent of the people working in the industry have never read the Qld Coal Mine Act, let alone understand it. People need to understand there is protection for them there, but they don’t know how to use it.”

CQ earthmoving businesses close their doors ANOTHER two Central Queensland earthmoving businesses have shut their doors in the past fortnight, as the sector adapts to the new reality in coal mining.

For the first time in history, Queensland exported more than 209 million tonnes of coal last year so it seems ironic that businesses who supply earthmoving services to mining should be going broke.

But Joel Clarke from Coalfields Constructions said that after 20 years in the industry, it was just not viable to remain operating.

“The decision to close the doors was a bittersweet one,” he told Shift Miner.

“But there is just no business around, and for the work you can find there is

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absolutely no margin.”

Mr Clarke said the business had tried diversifying into dry hire, but he couldn’t see a future in that either.

“In the end we just decided we would cash in all our machines, hold onto our logo, and see what happens in the future,” he said.

“At the end of the day, if mining companies can afford to do what they are doing, without relying on contractors like us, then that’s just business. We can’t complain, we made good profit during the boom.”

The decision by Coalfields Constructions to shut its doors is a relatively smooth one, with no new job losses, and importantly no unpaid creditors.

The company has paid all its debts and is in discussions with auctioneers to sell off all machinery by Christmas.

It’s a different story for the Emeraldbased Jonker Plant Hire.

The company has now gone into voluntary administration, and all remaining staff have been made redundant.

Jonker Hire started its life in 1974 when it hired out two generators that were needed after Cyclone Tracy in Darwin.

Since then it has expanded into heavy machinery and has supplied earthmoving services to Hail Creek, Blackwater, Caval Ridge, Moura and Yarrabee coal mines in Central Queensland.

According to administrators BDO Business Recovery & Insolvency, all employee wages have been paid up until Friday 4 June, and superannuation up until 30 June.

BDO’s Andrew Fielding told creditors they are working through the options available to the business.

“The administrators are winding down operations of the company and will arrange sales of the company’s assets in due course,” he said.

“The appointment does not include or affect any other related companies of the Jonker group. A first report to creditors and the convening of a meeting will be sent to creditors shortly.”

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Will Adani press the green button?

AUSTRALIA’S biggest coal mine has been approved, but whether India’s Adani chooses to go ahead or not is the $16.5 billion question.

The Carmichael mine and rail project is a goliath undertaking in a brand new, isolated resources province at a time of record low coal prices and requires the expansion of a port green groups will do anything to stop.

The federal environment minister has now approved the mine, two months after the Queensland government signed off on it.

Both sets of approvals only cover the mine and the initial portion of the rail link, with a full rail plan yet to receive environmental approval - although that is expected later this year.

Timing is everything in the resources game, and there’s no doubt sustained weak thermal coal prices have thrown the original economic estimates of this project out the window.

However, first coal from the mine is not planned until 2017, with full production not for several years after that. Most analysts believe prices will have recovered by then.

Secondly, Adani is slightly different to other miners in the region because it wants to supply coal for its own needs.

“The Carmichael project is at odds with the current trends in coal prices but the difference is that Adani is an electricity power generator in India and they are looking for very long-term security of their coal supplies,” said CQUniversity’s Professor John Rolfe.

“Adani are not quite as concerned about the current market price because they essentially have their own buyer for the coal.”

However, raising capital for the project could be difficult in the current climate, with Adani not expected to start the process until all approvals are in place.

The missing link in the approvals process is the railway.

Queensland’s Galilee Basin has been the talk of prospectors for more than four decades. The region is endowed with rich coal seams, but it is also remote and would require hundreds of kilometres of rail tracks to be built to get the coal to port.

Plans for that railway has many graziers across the wider

region hugely concerned, not just about the impact on day-today operations on the properties it would criss-cross but more significantly its effect on the flood plain.

When the State Development Area (SDA) was declared on the rail corridor last month, Clermont grazier John Burnett said landholders had heard nothing from the mining companies or the state government for 12 months.

“We’ve had no further negotiation on compensation or changing the position of the line to better suit the property operations, to better suit the flood damage potential that will be caused by placing the line across the flood plain,” he said.

Then comes the relentless campaigning of green groups against all aspects of the project, but particularly the need to dredge for a port expansion at Bowen on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.

Greenpeace has been scathing of the decision to give the project the go ahead.

“The federal environment minister has laid out the red

carpet for a coal company with a shocking track record to dig up the outback, dump on the Great Barrier Reef and fuel climate change,” said campaigner Ben Pearson.

The Carmichael project’s would-be neighbour GVK Hancock is already locked in a land court battle against environmentalists over its proposed mine for the region.

If it proceeds, it’s expected Adani could expect similar challenges to its mine, rail and port plans.

The Queensland Resources Council’s Michael Roche said despite the hard work and scientific rigour that had gone into the federal approval for the mine, he didn’t expect the environmental campaign against it to stop.

“We have seen activist groups commence litigation as part of their strategy to delay projects from starting, thus preventing local communities across regional Queensland seeing the benefits flow sooner,” Mr Roche said.

Whether Adani can - or wants to - overcome all these obstacles remains to be seen.

Hastings to axe 400 jobs HASTINGS Deering will lay off 400 workers across its Australian operations this month, as the mining services giant grapples with the downturn.

Hastings staff across its Queensland workshops were told of the plan at meetings last week.

The company let go of 200 staff twelve months ago. Most of those jobs were cut at its Rockhampton and Mackay depots, but at the time of print it wasn’t known exactly where the axe would fall this time around.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Hastings said the move was necessary to meet challenging market conditions.

“Hastings Deering has implemented a series of efficiency and productivity initiatives over the past 12 months in an effort to streamline its cost base, but these measures alone have not been sufficient in view of continuing challenging market conditions,” the spokesperson said.

“Customers can expect business as usual from Hastings Deering during this time.”

NATURALLY DIFFERENT UNDERGROUND PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR (DEPUTY) GROSVENOR MINE, MORANBAH, QUEENSLAND Anglo American’s Coal business is the second largest Australian producer and the third largest global exporter of metallurgical coal. We are committed to creating sustainable value safely and responsibly and sharing the benefits of mining with our communities to make a real difference. We strive to create an inclusive environment for all employees.

Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged to apply for all vacant positions.

Construction on our $1.95 billion five million tonne per annum Grosvenor longwall mine is well advanced in Moranbah, Queensland.

With the first of the 12ED25 Continuous Miners commencing in early 2015, Anglo American has exciting opportunities now for experienced professionals to become part of the team responsible for Grosvenor’s transition from project to an operational mine.

Reporting to the Mining Superintendent, you will be accountable for leading and coaching the Production Crews to ensure the site production plans are implemented and delivered whilst maintaining a focus on zero harm to employees and contractors. A key focus of this role will be to demonstrate the leadership to deliver exceptional results in a start-up operation. You will be responsible to hold your team to account for performance, contribute to the ongoing management of a reliable short term mine plan, and continually seek to identify areas for improvement to ensure operational excellence is achieved.

To succeed in this role, you will have a minimum 5 years’ experience working within the underground coal mining industry with demonstrated understanding of the coal mining process and the relevant mining legislation. A current Certificate 3 (Deputy) Statutory qualification (Qld Mutual Recognition Ticket for NSW applicants) S1 S2 S3 & G2 are essential.

Your proven management experience and ability to lead a team of production personnel to deliver against set targets will be key to your success in this role. You will have a strong interpersonal skills and a commitment to safety.

Applicants shortlisted to the next stage will be invited to attend an Assessment Centre early September in Mackay or Brisbane.

As well as a very competitive salary package, Grosvenor also offers even time rosters, subsidised residential and modern accommodation options, Fly in Fly out (FIFO) and Bus in Bus out (BIBO) work arrangements. If you have the ambition to work for a leader in the mining and resources area, and the drive to deliver results on a consistent basis, apply online by quoting Job No. 710155 at www.angloamerican.com.au

ANG2335B

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Drive it or be sacked, workers told

A brawl over a new vehicle safety scheme on BMA mine sites has resulted in workers being told to drive the new vehicles or risk being sacked.

Back in 2012, BMA announced it would convert all of its fleet and contractor light vehicles to five-star ANCAP rated

vehicles. The changes are being phased in, with all vehicles including contractors - to meet the new safety benchmark by January 1, 2016.

Goonyella Riverside mine has been the first site in the Bowen Basin to see the changes brought in, but it has been met with

resistance by the mining union.

CFMEU safety representative Greg Dalliston said their safety has not been proven for off-road use and he was particularly concerned about the strength of the roof given roll bars [ROPS] are not allowed to be fitted to the vehicles.

On several occasions this year

Mr Dalliston has issued a directive to stop the use of the new vehicles until their safety standards can be proven, and the mines inspectorate has been called in to investigate.

Earlier this month a notice was put up at Goonyella Riverside mine to inform workers they risked being sacked if they refused to drive the new ANCAP rated vehicles.

The directive [sighted by Shift Miner] tells management that if a worker refuses to drive because of safety concerns they should be told the chief inspector has confirmed there are no safety issues.

If they continue to refuse, the directive says they should be told: “I have issued you with a lawful and reasonable direction. If you fail to comply with the direction, you may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including the termination of your employment.”

The directive specifies that workers should not be allowed to operate a non-ANCAP vehicle in its place.

However, the chief inspector of coal mines, Andrew Clough, wrote to Goonyella Riverside

management recently to clarify his position.

He said it was inaccurate to suggest his review had concluded ANCAP vehicles without roll cages presented an acceptable level of risk and he had not given permission for unmodified vehicles to be used on site.

Instead, Mr Clough said ANCAP testing did not include a roll over test and that BMA should consider six factors including roof strength, airbags and methods to reduce the likelihood of roll overs before introducing vehicles on site.

“In other words I concluded that ROPS are not required on vehicles provided that an assessment as outlined above indicated an acceptable level of risk,” he wrote.

In a meeting with mine management, Mr Clough said he had made it clear that the mine must adopt a standard to assess roof strength.

“I also made it clear at that meeting that it is not the role of the inspectorate to act as an approval authority,” he wrote.

Making a quid in Roma

Gavin Fleming (far left) with employees Corie Pukallus and Mark Theron and GasFields Commissioner John Cotter.

GAVIN Fleming has always appreciated his dad’s advice ‘don’t leave town son, you’ll always make a quid here in Roma.’

Since starting his welding business in 1994 servicing the oil and conventional gas industry in south west Queensland, Gavin Fleming has heeded his father’s words and has cautiously grown his family company in line with the recent development of the coal seam gas (CSG) industry.

“We are doing ten times more work with the CSG industry than we

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were doing with the conventional gas industry. We’ve gone from 5 or 6 employees six years ago to now 25 to 30 employees here in Roma,” Mr Fleming told the GasFields Commission.

“Our main business is welding pipe – ninety per cent of what we weld is round!

“We build pipework here, we pressure test it, we x-ray it, we sand blast it, we prime and paint it and we’ll go to the site where on some occasions we will do final cuts and tie-ins. We produce and repair pipework for well heads, gathering lines and compressor stations.

Mr Fleming said his cautious approach comes from years of experience riding the ups and downs of the onshore oil and gas industry. He has found most companies will not sign long term contracts and only go as far as having agreements with suppliers.

While he expects a tapering off of business activity over the next 12 months to two years as the major CSG projects move from construction to operations, he still sees a bright future for his company.

“There will still be drilling going on here for many years to come and I think little companies like ours will stay pretty busy if not busier. We intend to stay here and keep chipping away and make a little bit all the time – I’m happy enough with that,” he said.

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CQ’s newest mines speak to price recovery

PRICE OPTIMISTS: Bandanna’s Michael Gray with CHDC’s Sandra Hobbs and Kerry Hayes from Emerald Land & Cattle at the business breakfast

COCKATOO Coal, the Queensland Resources Council and Bandanna Energy have told more than 200 Central Highlands business people that they strongly believe coal prices will recover.

However, they also agree that the recovery is still at least twelve months away, as the world’s coal consumers chew their way through a significant oversupply of coal on the world market.

They made the comments at the Central Highlands Development Corporations Turning a Corner in Coal business breakfast in Emerald.

Cockatoo Coal is investing $330 million on an expansion of its Baralaba mine which will more than triple its output of steelmaking coal - in effect, a punt on improved coal prices.

Cockatoo chief development

officer Todd Harrington said the company was optimistic.

“I guess what I can tell you is that we strongly believe in 2016 and beyond for met coal,” he said.

“But we believe most producers are lucky to break even at the moment so it is really a survival game.”

Mr Harrington said the current climate called for careful management of costs and product.

“What differentiates you in the survival game is where you sit on the cost curve and what product you offer to the market,” he said.

“I guess that is something that Cockatoo is very well positioned with.

Compared to other Australian producers we are in the first quartile for the cost of production of PCI coal.”

Longer term, Cockatoo is drawing on forecasts by the World Steel Association that steel demand will increase three per cent a year for the foreseeable future.

Since there are 800 kilograms of coal in a tonne of steel, it is expected that this will lead to a coal shortfall somewhere around 2016.

Meanwhile, Bandanna Energy is pushing ahead with its plans for a new thermal coal mine at Springsure.

Bandanna managing director Michael Gray said despite the short term pessimism the middle term future was bright.

“It is clear that coal prices are at a record low particularly in the thermal coal business,” he told the business breakfast.

“When we spoke here last year we thought we were at the bottom of the price cycle, and we were wrong.

“We would like to say we are at the bottom now, but the only thing that you can be certain of with forecasts is that they will all be wrong. But if we are not at the bottom, I am sure we can see it from here.

“It is clear to us that when you look at the world supply and demand issues longer term there is going to be a shortfall in supply and we are certainly confident that will lead to a change in price.”

Underpinning Bandanna’s view is an expectation that demand from an industrialising Asia will drive demand for Australia’s high quality and local thermal coal.

“A graph that came out from Wood Mackenzie just this week shows seaborne thermal coal exports between 2008 and 2035, and what it means is that it nearly doubles in the next 20 years,” Mr Gray said.

“The challenge is that mines are getting deeper and more costly to operate, and if you look around at the new mines being built, there are very few anywhere.

“For us that is where the opportunity is. Our thesis is that oversupply will be consumed in the next couple of years as demand grows.”

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Miners not deaf to risks

FROM simple ear plugs to ear muffs that can cut out the noise of a jet engine.

That’s how far the technology available to miners to prevent industrial deafness has come over the past five years, according to Queensland audiologist Grant Collins.

In its latest report on occupational disease indicators, Safe Work Australia found miners still ranked as one of the occupations most at risk of industrial deafness.

Hearing loss arising from exposure to excessive noise at work increases with the length of time someone is exposed, but is

also entirely preventable.

“I see miners for a couple of reasons,” said Mr Collins, the principal audiologist at Clarity Hearing Solutions.

“The older guys who have been in the industry operating machinery without protection before major changes to OH&S usually start to have trouble in their mid to late 50s.

“The younger guys are much better educated and are usually coming to get hearing protection that’s better than what’s available on site.”

And what’s available is impressive.

“There is some pretty amazing stuff out there,” said Mr Collins.

“Custom made plugs with

communication devices built-in, and blue-tooth technology has revolutionised what’s available.”

In the not-too-distant past, noise protection was classified as “passive protection” and was as basic as sticking in ear plugs to restrict exposure.

“The would give you about a 30 to 40 decibel reduction, but if you were in extremely loud environments of 150 decibels you were still going to damage your hearing,” said Mr Collins.

But now “active protections” are available.

“These are ear muffs or plugs, where the devices are actually creating their own sound waves 180 degrees - completely opposite to the noise so it cancels it out.

“It means you can stand in front of a jet engine and carry out a conversation at normal level and you won’t hear the engine because that sound is filtered out.”

Given the risk can be easily mitigated, miners are being urged to take matters into their own hands.

“I do find miners are much more vigilant these days which is great because prevention is better than cure.”

From Toowoomba to Brunei

Easternwell is now providing rigging services in Brunei

TOOWOOMBA-based gas company Easternwell has secured a $10.5 million contract in Asia, as it look for new opportunities beyond its local gas sector business.

Over five years, Easternwell will manage the construction and delivery of a land-based, well servicing rig for Bruneian gas company Flux.

Easternwell will also train the local workforce to operate the machine, once it is delivered.

As the construction phase ends and the operational phase begins in the local CSG industry, Easternwell says

working overseas was an obvious diversification.

“Expanding internationally was a natural progression for Easternwell’s portfolio,” general manager Luke Smith told Shift Miner.

“The South East Asian market has been on our radar for the past few years and we have been vigilant to what is happening overseas.

“This is the first major independent contract win [overseas] and the contract with Flux provides an opportunity for securing a solid reputation in the South East Asia region and a platform for future international growth.”

It is unclear how many direct jobs will be created by the new contract.

Earlier this year Easternwell won a $90 million contract to build and operate two specialist rigs for gas supplier QGC, and in April delivered a drilling rig to Santos as part of a $30 million contract.

Easternwell is wholly owned by Transfield services and employs more than 1200 people, mostly in Queensland.

100% clearance at auction AFTER more than twelve months of almost no activity, there are finally signs the auction market for used heavy machinery is slowly coming back to life.

A large mining auction this week by Mt Isa Mines resulted in an 100 per cent clearance, as both local and overseas buyers finally opened their wallets to start buying.

The auction happens about every two years, and this year’s sell-off included more than 500 industrial items such as underground mining machinery, mobile and light vehicles, spare parts, fittings, engines, appliances, building materials and scrap metal.

While most of the equipment and

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buyers were specific to the hard rock industry, auctioneer Graham Messer said it reflected a broader improvement in the second hand market.

“We had a total clearance at the auction, so it was a good result overall,” Mr Messer said.

“Prices were back a little bit, and Mt Isa can be a difficult place to get buyers in and out of, but Mt Isa Mines are genuine vendors prepared to meet the market.

So does the 100 per cent clearance signal contractors are feeling confident about making new machinery investments?

“I think there is a change happening, but it is still quiet, and certainly we are not getting

the money we were getting 18 months ago, but things are slowly changing,” said Mr Messer.

“We are starting to see a little light ahead.”

In the wake of the mining downturn the market for second hand gear evaporated, with buyers unwillingly to buy at any price with so much uncertainty surrounding contracts.

At the same time, many potential vendors with excess machinery were unwilling to sell into a very soft market at a loss - or in case there was a quick recovery like after the GFC. Mr Messer forecast that in the next 12 months, there was likely to be significant amounts of gear coming onto the market as the construction phase ends in the CSG sector.

New home for old parts: A revival in mining’s second hand market

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MACS Engineering sees demand double

It’s been a bumpy ride for MACS Engineering, but the outlook is good.

AFTER a tumultuous two years that saw the company go to the brink of liquidation and back again, MACS Engineering in Mackay hopes the worst times are behind it.

Speaking to media for the first time since the company was saved from extinction, general

manager and former director Ross Fredrickson told Shift Miner the new financial year felt like a turning point.

“There are extremely encouraging signs for us with requests for more and more upcoming projects,” he said.

“The first six months of

the year was very soft and we were only achieving minimum numbers, but this month we have doubled output.

“The business has been coming from a few different sources, but probably the major one is BMA who is in the middle of a major fleet replacement.”

“There is still a lot of uncertainty, but since the start of the new financial year there does seem like there has been a shift in interest.

“But I don’t think anyone can put their finger on the reason for the change.”

Businesses like MACS were hit by a perfect storm in 2013.

Not only was there a complete freeze on spending by most mining companies, but a large part of MACS vehicle accessory business came under threat when BMA announced plans to use only five-star ANCAP rated vehicles by the start of 2016 rendering add-ons like some bull and roll bars redundant.

The move by BMA has been controversial, because many miners believe the five-star ANCAP rating is not designed for the unique

Local jobs for local mining

IT’S still tough in Queensland mining, but an employment report released recently indicates that the worst might be behind us.

In its latest quarterly report, recruitment firm Hays said the outlook for jobs was improving and there was movement away from the use of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers.

Hays said employers in Queensland were recruiting for temporary assignments and the focus was on getting local candidates.

“The number of FIFO roles has reduced,” Hays said.

“FIFO mines are instead only making key replacements as opposed to creating new roles.

“Residential remote mines are still looking for quality residential workers in various positions and if candidates are prepared to relocate, then remote positions are available.”

So just who is in demand?

Engineers, safety professionals and electricians.

The downturn has resulted in coal mines looking to improve productivity in order to achieve cost savings, and that is creating demand for Analysis and Improvement (A&I) engineers.

Companies are also hiring prestrip, drill and blast, and production mining engineers to ensure operations are running as effectively as possible.

“Underground mining engineers with a mixture of both Surpac and Vulcan software knowledge who can carry out detailed ring designs and are willing to live in residential locations are in demand,” Hays said in its report.

Hays also reported a resurgence in demand for health and safety positions, which reflects an awareness among employers that to maintain productivity, employees need to be working as efficiently as possible.

Meanwhile in the trades sector, electricians can have their pick of jobs, especially on metalliferous mines.

“This demand is due to the focus on residential positions,” said Hays.

“In addition, candidates can receive a higher pay rate in the coal market, which is creating demand for electricians in Queensland’s metalliferous market.”

environment on a mine site.

“This question about ANCAP vehicles has gone on for five years now, and I guess the thing that we most need is some certainty about what is going to be allowed,” Mr Fredrickson said.

“A lot of the confusion seems to be regarding ROPS [roll over protection] but our ROPS systems are external to the vehicle and don’t in any way impact on the crumple zones that are required for the ANCAP five-star rating.

“There is no question that the five-star rating is safer than four-star rating, but there is confusion about what can be added to the vehicle.

“We don’t have the hundreds and thousands of dollars to go out there and do the full fivestar ANCAP testing, but from the gravity and stability tests we have done, our external ROPS don’t compromise the safety of the vehicle in any way.”

However, in case fixed ROPS ute trays are a problem for BMA, MACS have used QME as an opportunity to launch a new ute tray that can have the external ROPS removed or added in

under an hour, depending on the needs of the client.

“Where it would make sense is for someone like Avis or Corefleet who have vehicles going to different mine sites with different standards,” Mr Fredrickson said.

“If they are going to BMA they can pull the ROPS off, and if they were going to another site where they need ROPS they can add them back on.

“All in under an hour by certified professionals, and with the appropriate paperwork.”

On a personal note, Mr Fredrickson says the change from owner to manager has been a complex one.

“Sci-Fleet have been really good to me, and my day-to-day work doesn’t feel that different, except that of course it is no longer mine,” he said.

“But they make me feel like the business is mine, and in many ways I still treat it that way, I still lie awake at night thinking about it.

“After 40 years it was hard to let it go, and it is difficult to explain, but the outcome was a lot better than the alternative.”

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Roma wasn’t built in a day

Peter Sharpe has built his business up from five to 60 staff over 20 years.

AFTER 20 years operating his local machine shop in Roma, Peter Sharpe believes quality certification and building relationships have been key factors in helping to secure business in the CSG sector.

Peter Sharpe spoke with the GasFields Commission about his family’s business which repairs and manufactures drill stem elements for the conventional and unconventional gas industry.

“We saw an opportunity here and came

back to Roma in 1994 after an overseas stint,” he said. “ We didn’t know the coal seam gas industry was going to fire up at that stage but of course in the year 2000 that’s when it all took off.”

From an initial staff of five, Sharpe Engineering has now grown to employ up to 60 staff across two locations including Roma and Brisbane servicing all four major CSG proponents in the Surat Basin

and a number of shale and deep gas explorers in the Cooper Basin.

“Initially the CSG industry started off with a mineral drilling mentality but that soon changed and the need for oil and gas technology and standards including the international industry benchmark of the American Petroleum Institute (API) standards.

“API is very stringent and until we got that accreditation I really didn’t realise what quality meant – not just a quality product but quality management processes that ensure we continue to deliver on customer and community expectations on environmental and safety standards.

“Yes accreditation costs, but that’s the cost of doing business in the onshore gas industry. There’s been a bit of pushback from some businesses but they have to understand quality, what it does for your business and what the customer now requires.”

Mr Sharpe said being a local business and building relationships with the right people in the gas companies has also been crucial to their success.

“We are truly local and we bring an ability to respond quickly to customers.

For example, all coal seams are different—Spring Gully (near Roma) is different to the Walloons (near Dalby).

The drilling contractor or operator

might need to run a different tool or use an adaptor and those sorts of things that aren’t usually covered in a drilling contract so they come to us,” he said.

For his business, Mr Sharpe expects things will be a little quiet until the end of this year as the CSG industry in the Surat Basin prepare to gear up for the next phase of drilling from 2015.

“I don’t think we’ve seen a peak yet in drilling and this next phase is likely to continue until 2020 and then will taper off as it settles into the longer term production phase.”

However, Sharpe Engineering is already taking advantage of new opportunities with shale and deep gas exploration in the Cooper Basin—some 12 hours by road from Roma.

“The Cooper Basin has always been on our radar and at the moment we have four or five jobs from explorers in the Cooper Basin that we service from here in Roma.

“In terms of shale and tight gas this is where the API standard comes into its own enabling us to easily transition to these new onshore gas industries, and at the same time we are also investing in new equipment to help us service those requirements.

“The Cooper Basin currently represents about 25 per cent of our gas business but if the industry does take off I would expect in five years it could represent up to 60 per cent,” he said.

Green groups the new skills crisis for CEOs

THE state of the global economy remains the number one concern for mining executives operating in Queensland.

That’s according to the latest quarterly snapshot of CEO sentiment, compiled by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

According to the CEO Sentiment Index, resources executives were most preoccupied with uncertainty surrounding Chinese growth and the extent of economic reforms in India.

However, the global economy isn’t the only thing keeping mining bosses awake at night.

Second on the list of concerns was the “social licence to operate” or more specifically, the campaign by

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4th August 2014

environmentalists against the mining sector.

In third and fourth places respectively was the difficulty in raising capital in the current depressed market, and the ongoing challenge to lower their costs of production.

“A consistent theme is the struggle to maintain Queensland resources operations’ global competitiveness,” said QRC chief executive Michael Roche.

“The millstone of a persistently high Australian dollar is being burdened further by input costs that are the legacy of a resources investment peak that has passed and the need to better align with the realities of a subdued global market.”

The CEO Sentiment Index has tracked the thinking of top executives during the recent boom and bust cycle of the Queensland resources sector.

In April last year, rising costs were the number one concern as mining companies slashed jobs and worked to cut waste on sites around the state.

It’s a complete turnaround from three years ago at the height of the boom, when the skills shortage was the biggest concern plaguing mining bosses.

Now, in 2014, the ‘skills shortage’ no longer exists, and doesn’t even rate a mention in the list of concerns.

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Moura No. 2: ‘it could happen again’ “But now I think there is a blatant disregard for safety. There are young managers out there who haven’t been in the industry for long but you think they would look back at the history of their mine and think we don’t want that happening on our watch.”

Friends, family and colleagues gather to remember those who died 20 years ago.

COMPLACENCY, and in some cases a blatant disregard for safety, is sneaking back into the Queensland mining industry, according to mining union officials.

CFMEU safety representative Greg Dalliston took a midnight phone call almost 20 years ago, following an explosion at the Moura No. 2 underground coal mine.

“I was lying in bed and my mobile phone beside the bed rang and I was told there’d been an incident at the mine and some people were missing,” he told Shift Miner.

“Then they gave me some gas readings and as soon as they did I knew there’d been an explosion.”

On 7 August 1994, 11 miners died in that explosion. Thirty-six hours later the recovery mission was called-off after a second and more violent explosion. The mine was sealed, and the bodies of those 11 men remain at the site today.

It was the third mining disaster at Moura, following on from the Kianga No.1 explosion, which killed 13 miners in 1975 and the Moura No. 4 explosion, which killed 12 miners in 1986.

Mr Dalliston said he did not believe the mining industry today paid enough attention to the brutal lessons of the past.

“It’s only by the grace of God that we haven’t had another incident like that,” he said.

“I agreed with the mining warden at the time of the inquiry [Frank Windridge] who

The road to the mine was blocked after the explosion.

An aerial view of the disaster area in 1994.

Mr Dalliston said he still vividly remembers the details of his time investigating the Moura No.2 explosion, which happened just seven months into his role as a safety officer for the CFMEU. “We took a charter flight out of Archerfield in a light aircraft and when we got there one of the boys from the mine told us they had sealed an area of the mine up over the weekend.

“One of the deputies had reported a spontaneous combustion occurring and it was my job to go and find that report and bring it to management.

“They were still in denial that they had sealed up a hot area - they knew something was wrong when they sealed it up and I was pretty angry.

“I was standing outside the bathhouse when the second explosion occurred and I can remember hearing the rumble and then seeing the flames and the air was thick with smoke and debris was landing on my head. We knew there was no chance of getting back in there to get bodies out and it was not a good feeling.”

This year a special 20-year memorial service will be held at Kianga Hall in Moura on Thursday 7 August at 10am.

“It never goes out of your mind, it is why I do this job,” said Mr Dalliston.

A permanent memorial to the Moura No. 2 miners.

said there would be a significant learning period after the findings were handed down - that for a decade or so people would learn and have safety workshops but then they would forget again.

“That’s exactly what has happened, we have absolutely forgotten those lessons from the past.”

Mr Dalliston said there was a period of time where the industry was under immense pressure to put safety first, but that period had passed.

“The eyes of the world were on us, and the government was checking to see if we had competent people in key roles,” he said.

4th August 2014

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Around Town

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AROUND THE NEXT CORNER...

Central Highlands businesses were anxious to hear whether the worst is behind them in the coal industry attended the CHDC’s Turning A Corner In Coal conference recently.

Jennifer Grant, Craig lane - Quarrico

George Frangos - Skills DMC, Ian Edminstone CQ Quarries

(L-R) Damian Young - EAM, Martin Laffer - MTL Pivot, Phillip Graham - HDE, Fiona Young - EAM

Todd Harrington - Cockatoo Coal, Richard Wilson Wilson Survey Group

(L-R) Michael Gray - Bandanna Energy, Sandra Hobbs - CHDC, Kerry Hayes - Emerald Land & Cattle

MIke Forday - All Earthmoving Hire, Colin MCLaughlin Brown & Hurley

(L-R) Steve Brown and Mark Bulger - BMA, Russell Soper - Cor Cooling

Bill Lambert - Partfolio, Craig Chudleigh - Regional Property Development Company

(L-R) Leon Williamson - Exact Mining Services, Marcus Olsen and David Kerle - HES

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

JOB DONE...

The people behind the QCV Sarina Village enjoy a few drinks after the formal opening recently.

(L-R) Scott Beaumont - Swanwick Murray Roche, Luke Schmidt - Nationwide Civil, Graham Rewald - Pink Lilly Sands

(L-R) Andre Melville - AMDB, Justin Tedesco - QCV, Alan Edge Global Edge, John Chora - QANTAC, Huia Gordon - Huidon Group

Leith Vaughan - Jellinbah, Brett Rewald - Pink Lilly Sands

(L-R) John Chora - QANTAC, Nathan Marsh - Blackdown, Graham Cleary - QANTAC

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.

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CELEBRATING DIVERSITY…

NAIDOC Week was celebrated in style in Blackwater recently. [Photo credit: Jeannette Fletcher]

Sporting legends with local students at a NAIDOC Week sports day

Beth Dyer and some of her students

Central Highlands deputy mayor Gail Nixon and and Blackwater student Taylah Dwyer given an address after the March

Students listen to speeches after the march

Uncle Randall getting help to cut the cake Students gather after the march

Blackwater High School’s Indigenous basketball team

Young Levi played the didgeridoo

Aunty Valerie, Aunty Patsy and Uncle Randall with some of the littlies from Blackwater Day Care

The Blackwater NAIDOC march

Baby Phoenix enjoys the celebrations

Blackwater High school hosted the NAIDOC Week sports day

Buy this and many other images at

www.shiftminer.com Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together 4th August 2014

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QME shrugs off mining gloom THE consensus among exhibitors and visitors to QME this year was that it was definitely quieter than previous boom years.

However, it can’t be a boom year every year.

Despite the smaller crowds there was absolutely perfect weather, meaning a steady flow through of visitors through the gates on all days.

Exhibitors reported less “tyre kicking� and more decent enquiry, and there seemed to be a general feeling that the new financial year had delivered an increase in local mining activity and business.

Not surprisingly, given the ruthless focus on cost reductions on all mine sites over the past 18 months, there was a strong emphasis on productivity and efficiency among the more than 600 exhibitors on display.

While the number of exhibitors was broadly in line with previous years, there was some evidence that businesses had tried to pare back the cost of exhibiting, with a

notable reduction in the amount of heavy and large machinery on display at the site.

Another notable aspect to QME this year was a larger contingent of Chinese suppliers on display.

Director of Reed Mining Events Paul Baker said the increased international presence shows Australian miners are looking for cost solutions wherever they can be found. “This year we had 39 international suppliers exhibit their innovative solutions at QME, with companies from Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, South Korea and the United States,� he said. “The number of international exhibitors at QME is indicative of the current objectives mining companies have in sourcing and procuring the most productive, operationally efficient and costeffective solutions for mine site operations, from both new and alternative suppliers.�

But somethings never change at QME, like the long wait for a coffee and the difficulty in finding parking nearby.

QME is held every two years in Mackay by Reed Mining Events, and is the largest mining expo in Queensland by a country mile.

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Here are some of the comments relating to safety on site in 2014.

I’ve been saying for more than 12 months it isn’t a case of if [someone dies], it’s a case of when. I’ve seen blokes out there doing some dodgy things, breaking golden rules.

In the past two years I have noticed a huge different and I am scared to lose my job too.

If you say you don’t want to drive a machine because of x,y and z then you will be pulled out and put in another truck and then they’ll put some other stooge in that dozer - but it doesn’t get fixed.

But a lot of people won’t speak up because they are worried about their job security not their mates.

It’s happening at my mine site. I spoke up and am now being singled out.

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People honestly fear going on break and getting a phone call not to come back. That is happening all the time and people are just too scared to speak up on anything.

As a supervisor it is incumbent on me to look after my crew and I have vehemently defended my men and fought their corner when it comes to safety issues. This is my foremost job. I don’t abide by anyone using safety as an excuse not to work but I am experienced enough and human enough to see the issues when they arise. The problem that your man describes in your article comes back to the supervisor, plain and simple. If they don’t have the balls to fight in the corner for their men on legitimate issues then they should get another job stacking shelves at the local shop.

I’d say 95 per cent of the people working in the industry have never read the Qld Coal Mine Act, let alone understand it. People need to understand there is protection for them there, but they don’t know how to use it. They don’t know their own obligations, let alone their employers or supervisors.

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Frank the Tank’s Dear Frank, I’m in love with a girl from afar but she’s into books and cafes and all her male friends are gay.

I’m just a knockabout bloke who’s into beer and footy, it’s like I’m from another planet. How can I get her to like me? – Simmo

Dear Simmo, Basically, these chicks are into Sensitive New Age Guys. Let me tell you something about SNAGs. These are blokes that barely meet the standard of the definition of the human male. These guys are men in the sense that, from a scientific perspective, they are male. I mean they’ve got all their “bits”. But that is pretty much where the similarity to fellas like you and me end.

These sorts of semi-men are into French cinema and going to museums where all the paintings look like the targets of projectile vomiting. You know the sort. You see them mooching around universities squabbling amongst themselves over the virtues of post-

Fair Dinkum!

IN THE UNITED STATES

- A case of arachnophobia meets pyromania?

An attempt to annihilate a spider with a lighter and a can of spray paint has resulted in a US man almost burning down his own house.

Fire-fighters were called to the scene of the blaze, caused when the West Seattle man used an aerosol spray can with a lighter as a do-it-yourself blowtorch in an attempt to take out a spider in the laundry.

It sounds like things could have got a helluva lot hairier too with reports that the fireies evacuated nearby homes after receiving information that there may be ammunition and firearms stored in the house.

Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department gave details of the incident to local media, but said he didn’t “want to encourage people” to follow the man’s action. ‘“The spider tried to get into the wall,” he said.

“He sprayed flames on the wall, lit the wall on fire, and that extended up to the ceiling… Fire is not the method to use to kill a spider.”

The blaze caused an estimated US$60,000 in damages to the one storey, rented house, but the tenant escaped uninjured.

AGAIN STATE-SIDE

- Ohhh the irony is thick in this story...

A tree planted in a Los Angeles park in memory of the late George Harrison of the

modern existential whatever. When a real man passes them by they move aside of course. If you look closely you will note that their eyes dilate so they can use their periphery to track movement and their breathing goes all shallow and quiet as a gazelle does when a lion saunters past.

They basically enter flight-or-fight mode.

Except, for them it’s flight-or-crumple-tothe-ground-in-a-blubbering-mess-mode.

Unfortunately, if you want this girl, you are going to have to trick her into thinking that this is the kind of fella you are. Not easy, eh?

It will be easier if you have a particular type of SNAG in mind. The most prevalent SNAG subculture these days are the emos, so we’ll go for that. Here is what you have to do to transform yourself into an emo: You can sum up an emo with this statement: “I’m a non-conformist just like all my friends.” So basically you want to look different from normal people, but exactly the same as all of the other tools who follow this lifestyle. Firstly, appearance. Dye your hair for starters.

What colour? You guessed it: black. Then push all your hair forward so it covers your eyes, wear some skin tight jeans, throw on a baggy t-shirt with some idiotic political statement (anything with Che Guevara on it is fine) and chuck on some

Beatles has been killed by beetles!

City councillor Tom LaBonge told AAP that the Japanese black pine tree, planted about 12 years ago, would be replaced at a community planting that is due to take place in November.

It had grown to 12 feet (nearly four metres) in height, but succumbed to bark beetles thriving in the vast and popular inner-city park amid one of California’s worst droughts in years.

“A number of trees in Griffith Park have been hit by this beetle,” LaBonge said.

Harrison, the Beatles’ lead guitarist as well as a chart-topping solo artist and avid gardener, lived in Los Angeles prior to his death in 2001.

A plaque at the base of the tree read: “In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener.”

IN THE UNITED KINGDOM - Steer clear of this

pussy! Meet Rocky the cat who was served with an “animal AVO” for “terrorising neighbours”.

The fearsome feline has allegedly bitten two people, scratched an outside fence, and intimidated residents by entering their homes and refusing to leave according to a Rotherham Borough Council claim.

But irate owner Samantha Davies, 35, is baffled about the accusations and has called on the authorities to provide proof.

“How can a cat behave antisocially? He’s not going to drink alcohol in the street or try and rob your phone,” said Ms Davies.

“Streakin” good love advice

of those little white pansy shoes they all wear that look like slippers and would be completely useless when trying to stomp on someone’s face in a bar fight. And try not to let any of your mates see you.

Next you are going to have to read up on some stuff to talk to this bird about.

Because that is what they’re all about you know. Talking about their feelings and life and art and all that other rubbish. It makes me a bit queasy even thinking about it.

Anyway, I can’t tell you what to read up on, but anything in the philosophy or literature section of the local library will probably do.

After you have the look and the knowledge, lastly comes the psychology.

You have to think like an emo, otherwise you’ll blow your cover. Here is an example of the way an emo thinks: “Wow, like the world is so, like bad and stuff and I’m such a victim. No one understands me.

Like, sure there are people in Sudan that are like victims or ethnic cleansing and stuff and there are like kids around the world dropping like flies from preventable diseases on a daily basis, but do they ever have to deal with what I deal with? I mean, my PC broke last week. I couldn’t get on on Facebook for like 8 hours! And they think they’ve got it hard! ” Catch my drift? And that’s pretty His whole life was a million-to-one shot: Rocky.

“The council told me to lock him indoors, but in this weather I think that’s extremely cruel. He’s a cat and wants to be outside.”

Paul Walsh, Housing and Communities Service Manager for Rotherham Borough Council, denied the authority was being heavy-handed saying that it had a duty of care to neighbouring tenants.

“We do appreciate it is very difficult to control a cat once they are let out but Rocky has been causing problems around the area for quite a while now and is actually terrifying some local residents who are very vulnerable,” said Mr Walsh.

“Last year he allegedly bit two people and his bad behaviour has continued because he causes both internal and external damage when he visits neighbouring properties. He certainly does not like being challenged and lives up to his boxing namesake!”

much it. Look like a loser, learn some useless facts, think like a self-important, snivelling, spineless, woe-is-me parasite and then ask her out. Something like, “Hey, my life sucks and I hate the world and I hate myself and look I cut my arms to show everyone how much pain I’m in and by the way would you like to go get a decaf skinny double latte frappacino?”

Good luck,

Frank

SENSIBLE SUSAN Dear Simmo, You should not try and transform yourself into something you are not to impress a girl, she will find out in the end. It might be an idea to find out more about her interests so you have something to talk about but at the end of the day if you are completely unlike each other perhaps she is not the one for you. But as the saying goes, opposites attract, so there is always hope.

Regards,

Susan

THE UK AGAIN - Who let

fifi off the chain?

Colin Furze is a British plumber and a man with a higher calling in life.

An ambition to produce a machinemade fart loud enough to be heard in France saw him head to a cliff in Dover, England and literally let her rip.

“So the grand plan is to become noisy neighbours but on an international scale,” wrote Furze on his website ahead of the momentous day.

The deafening, fart-like noise was produced using a valveless pulsejet engine that creates a fiery tail when ignited.

The best part of it all? Furze’s machine was rigged to fit inside a ginormous arse.

Furze said on his site that he hoped to put the wind up unsuspecting Frenchmen relaxing on the beach on the other side of the 34km-wide Straight of Dover.

Though it’s unconfirmed if denizens of France’s northern country heard Furze’s flatulence, the British crowd certainly seemed to appreciate the sentiment.

Who cut the fromage?

4th August 2014

15

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V8 Auto 84000 kms. Met Silver, GTS Bonnet & Senator Front Charcoal Leather Upholstery, Black Car Bra & Mirror Covers, Tow Bar / Air Bag suspension.

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SELF CONTAINED CABIN ACCOMODATION Furnished, self contained, ensuite cabins now available in Mount Morgan, just 35 mins to Rockhampton. Quiet and secure.

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115 Mercury Optimax (18hrs), Mercury smartcraft gauges, Hydraulic steering, electric motor, Lowrance HDS 8 & Structure scan at the helm, 100ltr fuel tank, Scotty downriggers & rod holders, 50Ltr live bait tank, Seven built in compartments & many more extras.

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Shift Miner Magazine

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MOVIE Review by Eleanor Thomson How can a movie called Sex Tape be so categorically unsexy? And it isn’t just unsexy, it is anti-erotic so if you are planning a bit of big screen foreplay for date-night beware!

Okay, the gist of this romantic raunch comedy is that Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) are a married couple who, while still loved up after 10 years of life slog and two children, have lost their passion.

To get back in the land of the wild thang (they were apparently raging root fiends before marriage) they decide to make a video of themselves trying out every position from 70s sex bible, The Joy of Sex, in one marathon three-hour session.

Sure, why not? But of course this private moment between friends inevitably gets a public airing and then threatens to go viral.

Panic ensues and Jay and Annie embark on a wild night of “madcap” adventure in a bid to reclaim their video before losing their dignity, sanity and happily married, middle class existence.

While Sex Tape has most of the sex tape checklist covered: amateur porn...tick, sex toys...tick, cocaine...tick, Cameron Diaz’s arse...tick (disclaimer: Cameron Diaz’s boobs only visible via a white t-shirt) incomprehensibly it is still totally tame.

I reckon I could pretty much watch it with my mum without getting the sick “I am watching simulated sex with my mum” cold sweats.

Sex Tape.

The Verdict Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel NOT getting down and dirty in Sex Tape.

the new Cameron Diaz-Jason Segel comedy prepare to be supremely let down. Like jagging a smoking hot babe only to have her morph into a frozen starfish, Sex Tape is a DUD.

A movie titled “Sex Tape” promises a fair bit, wouldn’t you reckon? I mean for an R-rated flick you would expect to see a little risque business? Well my friends if this is your anticipation for

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However, I would get a fair dose of the “why did you choose such a rubbish film?” remorse.

So Sex Tape doesn’t deliver on the smut-o-metre but does it work as genial rom-com?

Ahhhh nope. Sadly there are too few laughs to deliver on this measure either.

Perhaps one of the problems is that Diaz and Segel have such fleetingly explored characters.

Annie is a blogger-mommy and Jay a music industry exec and apart from their early mad bonking history that is pretty much all we know about them.

And while I know Diaz is considered hot toddy, it is still a stretch to suspend reality and see her convincingly pull off a sweater wearing preppy teen (maybe that is the joke but it isn’t very funny).

The highlight of the movie is a turn by the original daddy of the celebrity sex tape, Rob Lowe. He is so gifted at doing smarmy good looking, weirdo creep that you would be forgiven for thinking it came to him naturally!

Indeed the film’s most successful avenue seems to be as a movie-length advert for Apple.

But the product placement for iPads is about as subtle as pulling a lurid pink dildo out of your drawer.

I reckon if you are after the latest on Apple products or are hankering for a bit of screen time titillation why not cut to the chase and just say hello internet?

DOWN 1. Take a breath 2. Tennis champion, ... Seles 3. Baby bird homes 4. Holiday-maker 6. Mustered (7,2) 7. Arm of the Mediterranean Sea 8. Responded 11. To ... it may concern 15. Percussion instrument 17. Speared # 69 18. Not old enough 20. Benefit 21. Leg joint part 22. Catch fire 23. Overturns 26. Improper

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FLOWER BEARDS ARE, LIKE, SO HOT MEN, don’t let it be said that Shift Miner is behind the eight ball when it comes to trending fashions. Now this might seem completely obvious in retrospect but blokes you need to be putting flowers in your facial hair. Apparently chicks think this look is mind numbingly hot and a daring expression of amped up manliness. Gee to think that is all it takes to gain a woman’s respect!! Whack a bit of shrubbery in your beard and bobs your uncle! Respect AND sex appeal. Now that’s a combination worth exploring don’t you think?

And for those who are over the flower thing there are many ways to freshen up your facial follicles.

I know you may have trouble recognising another man’s intrinsic beauty but take it from me this guy has it going on.

A touch too fussy for the mess?

At least this man has the good sense to accessorise his beard garden with a beer.

Doesn’t this just scream fragile but firm? Tough yet fair?

Has MasterChef ruined your life?

Somewhere amongst all this doodad there is allegedly a meal to chow down and fill up your belly.

One recent challenge called on contestants to create chef David Verheul’s “buttermilk poached pear, walnut, caramel, roast chocolate & pear sorbet”.

Sounds like a nice little desert? I am sure it is but to recreate it at home (which apparently a lot of people/lunatics do) you will need to:

Want to inject some more suffering into your life? Why not whip up this devil of a dish at home?

THERE was a time not so long ago when fine dining meant a counter meal at the pub and a slap-dash dinner at home was roast lamb and baked veggies.

All that has changed thanks to the food and cooking revolution that is MasterChef Australia.

Now into its sixth series, MasterChef is a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut.

Described as a competitive cooking game show, MasterChef is an addictive mix of food porn and reality TV. The MasterChef inspired food landscape has dramatically deviated from the one which delivered necessary nutrients in the

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form of a daily diet of greyish grilled meat and watery, overcooked veg.

Gary, George and Matt lurk about in every nook and cranny of the telly.

Reliably popping up almost every night to trot out their lines, cast judgement, tease out talent and ramp up the emotion.

No longer is it enough just to get some food on your fork and to be damn grateful for it, you now need to “present” it on the plate and “make it pretty”.

Blobs and bobs of this and that, gels and jellies, painted smears and splodges and endless sprays of micro herbs and edible flowers.

• Vacuum seal the pear and buttermilk and poach for an hour (you will need to buy a special gizmo to do this) • Desicate (dry out) some matchsticks (finely cut) pieces of pear skin in the oven for an hour (don’t stuff it up) • Make a roasted white chocolate ganache (cook white chocolate in the oven until it goes brown but not too brown and then add cream) • Create a sorbet (ice-cream machine required) out of oxidized pear juice (leave pureed pear juice for 40 minutes until it goes brown...why? Don’t know.)

• Bake off some walnut praline (toast walnuts with sugar until the sugar caramelises and makes a toffee...this is all about adding texture...VERY important for “mouth feel”) • Whip up some walnut powder (blitz some toasted walnuts with some walnut oil and maltodextrin...ummm sounds

yum? Maltodextrin is a type of starch which has the ability to turn fats/oil into a powder or paste...it is very chefy) • Make a salted caramel (it is apparently a hangable offence to make a sweet caramel these days. ALL caramel must be salted to bring out its complex, dark and brooding character) • Phew nearly bloody there but you still need to “plate up” this malarky. No simple plonking on the plate and ho-ing in. The sorbet needs to be quenelled (made into an oval shape using two spoons...very chefy) to form an egg nestled in a nest of piped salted caramel resting on a bed of walnut crumb.

• Cripes what a palava when a bowl of ice cream with a sprinkling of milo would do!

Oh and the contestants did all of the above without a recipe! They only had a food review by the walking/talking cravat to go on!

Seriously, how do a 24-year-old bobcat operator (Brent) or a 19-year-old health and science student (Laura) KNOW all this stuff?

But, like all the contestants they are following their “food dream”.

No point doing it the traditional way and slogging out your path as an apprentice through numerous tough gig kitchens when you can find instant fame and fortune by voluntarily putting yourself up for public appraisal and through the ringer on tv.

Shift Miner Magazine

Bait Shop Banter

Hit the Causeway after hours if you fancy a feed of prawns.

IN YEPPOON

- If you need to stock up on your bait supplies Adrian from The Secret Spot Bait & Tackle says that now is the time to get stuck into it.

Ribbonfish, Watson’s bonito plus herring have been coming in on cast nets around Roslyn Bay. Ironpot, Clayton’s Reef, Ritamada and The Bluff have also been harbouring a lot of ribbonfish and bonito with little Nashy’s flashes, bucktail jigs and spoons

Top picks For more events in the mining community go to shiftminer.com

The Mackay Beach Horse Racing Festival

Thursday, August 7, 2014 - Sunday August 10, 2014 Region: Queensland, Mackay The festival celebrates all things racing, food, wine and fashion. There are a number of events over the course of the festival not to be missed. This is certainly a festival that meets the criteria to top your bucket list.

The festival boasts a VIP celebrity cocktail launch, a fun pro-am type golf challenge, and a celebrity sports dinner. The main event is an unique race day with all of the trimmings of a major carnival event and a series of 350 metre sprints along the sands of the scenic Mackay Harbour Beach. For further information go to: www. mackaybeachhorseracing.com.au

The race is on at the Melco Engineering Race Day

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bringing home the bait bacon.

The cold snap has slowed the crabs up but there are still a few around in Coorooman.

But blue salmon and threadfin salmon are fishing quite well in Coorooman if your pots are doing poorly and there are also snapper to be picked up round the rocky outcrops.

Adrian reckons there have been a couple of reports of decent grunter on

Finlays Reef as well as a couple of big jew coming in off the rocky headlands (eg Matthew Flinders).

“Chuck in half a slimey on a 10/O hook,” recommends Adrian.

Sounds like it would be well worth your while, as the jew coming in have been around the 18-20 kilo mark.

Offshore things sound pretty patchy with a few mackerel getting about around the islands but that it seems to be either feast or famine for the fellas getting out there.

Adrian says just keep chasing the bait and you will inevitably run into some of the bigger boys.

Finally, there are a few prawns round the traps and Adrian reckons there are some decent sized ones being snapped up on scoop nets at night using torches at the Causeway.

You may not get a shed full, says Adrian, but there appear to be enough about to boil yourself up a decent feed.

IN MACKAY - Ashley from

Nashy’s Compleat Angler reckons that while things have been a bit tougher than expected for this time of year offshore is still performing consistently.

Trolling baits and jigging are the way to go if you are heading out on the prowl for spanish mackerel.

Ashley says Flat Top and Round Top are the places to be and further afield at Baileys Island is also worth a cooee.

According to Ashley the rivers are turning up a lot of blue salmon and queenfish and that the mouth of the Pioneer is fishing particularly well.

Snapper are still about but they have been thinned out a bit from the big schools that were getting about a few weeks back.

Ashley reckons everyone had a good time getting stuck in to them but the patches have now eased and contain four or five fish rather than the previous hundreds.

IN GLADSTONE

- There has been some good weather off Gladstone which has been turning off some nice fish.

Craig from Pat’s Tackle World recommends you are better off aiming to get out really wide as the the reefs closer in have been performing fairly poorly.

But if you can make your way to the outer reefs then trout, lippers and reds will be your reward.

In the harbour Craig says there are good schools of blue salmon and flathead are still being caught on a mixture of lures and baits.

And if you are chasing bait, schools of greenback herring are in the vicinity but Craig reckons reports on mullet indicate they are a bit scarce.

If you have a good photo or fishing yarn send it through to our resident bait chucker-

angus.peacocke@shiftminer.com

Clermont Gold and Coal Festival

Friday, August 15, 2014 - Saturday, August 16, 2014 Region: Queensland, Clermont It’s gold, gold, gold for Clermont!

Each year hundreds rush to Clermont for the annual Gold and Coal Festival which sees locals and visitors enjoy all that this beautiful town has to offer, its rich gold-mining, copper-mining and pastoral history.

This combined treasure chest has been attracting punters to Clermont over the last 10 years, and the festival is now a two-day event .

And hip hip hooray you can win gold nuggets (valued at $50 each) on the “gold wheel” (like a “ham wheel” only the prize is gold nuggets).

Enjoy a serious case of gold fever with good food to enjoy, entertainment, market stalls and the chance to win your very own bullion booty.

For extra details go to: http://www.outbacknow.com.au/index. php/events-calendar/detail/clermont_gold_and_coal_festival

Rockhampton Cultural Festival

Sunday, August 10, 2014 - Sunday August 10, 2014 Region: Queensland, Rockhampton The Cultural Festival is the opportunity for everyone to experience first hand the diverse cultures and customs that make up Rockhampton region today.

Each year the festival has something for everyone with activities including foods, workshops and performances.

Tempt your tastebuds with food from different cultures, or learn a new skill with workshops on a variety of subjects or be entertained by the exotic sounds and movement of far away cultures. Children are also catered for with a variety of activities just for them.

Contact the Rockhampton Heritage Village on 1300 225 577 for more information.

Want more events in your world?

Go online and look at our events guide. It’s updated daily. www.shiftminer.com or get the iPhone app

4th August 2014

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Shift Miner Magazine

Sport Monday - Roundup

www.shiftminer.com

Footy finals time

YOUR TEAM NEEDS YOU! Clockwise from top : Clermont Bears (League), Blackwater Basilisks (Rugby), Bluff Rabbitoh’s (League) and Moranbah Miners (Rugby)

THERE might be a few rostered holidays coming up across coal and CSG sites as local miners and gas workers seek to make themselves available for the upcoming footy finals.

At the time of printing, the Blackwater Crushers had to win at least one of their remaining two games to join Clermont, Bluff and the Emerald Tigers in the finals of the Central Highlands rugby league competition.

In the Mackay and district rugby league competition, the Moranbah Miners had to win their game last Saturday (results not available at time of

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printing) against the Magpies to sneak through to the finals in fourth spot.

In rugby union, the Backwater Basilisks are definitely through to the finals of the Central Queensland rugby union competition after a 60 point victory over Frenchville a week ago.

Speaking after the game, club president Jeff Hansen said their position in the finals will be decided over the next two weeks.

“The win puts us in outright fourth position, and since the top five go through to the finals this year, it means we will definitely go through,” he said.

“However the next three rounds will

decide where in the top five we finish up.”

The Basilisks will most likely play either University or Colts first up in the finals, and in another win for a resources town, the Gladstone rugby club secured the minor premiership in that competition for the first time.

In Central Highlands rugby, the Moranbah Bulls will finish the local competition in top spot, with an outstanding season under new coach Stant Tagelagi.

After a difficult start to 2014, including the loss of their clubhouse and training gear after a fire, the Bulls have been a consistent performer and will go through to the finals as favourites.

Tagelagi says they are quietly optimistic. “ I think that as we near the end of the season, we are seeing a lot more competition for playing positions, because we can only take 23 players

through to the finals,” he said.

“So with plenty of boys in the playing group, that sort of competition is a nice problem to have. I think with everyone available I am confident we can do the job come finals time.”

In the gas fields AFL competition, Dalby and Chinchilla will probably only make it to the finals if the other one doesn’t.

Currently they are sitting in fourth and sixth spot on the table respectively, but a swag of injuries to key players for Chinchilla probably means Dalby are the more likely to go through.

However, given it is only the second season for the Chinchilla Suns AFL side, making it this far has been a credible performance.

For up to date details make sure you go to www.shiftminer.com and sign up for the free SportMonday service.

Shift Miner Magazine

Sport Monday - Roundup

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Moranbah belt Capella Posted 21 July: AFTER a month in the

wilderness, the Moranbah Bulls have signalled their return with a thumping 69 point to seven win over Capella in Moranbah on the weekend.

The win will go some way to repairing the damage done to team morale after two losses on the trot, and again underscores why Moranbah are favourites in the Central Highlands rugby competition.

Coach of the Moranbah side Stan Tagelagi says the way they played on the weekend simply reflects what happens when they have everyone available.

“I think it is the best team we have ever fielded,” he said.

“We had key players, in key spots and with back ups, and that was the difference.

“In the two weeks before, we had lots of players unavailable due to work and injury, but this week being a home game meant we had everyone available.

“Also I think that as we near the end of the season, we are seeing a lot more competition for playing positions, because we can only take 23 players through to the finals.

“So with plenty of boys in the playing group, that sort of competition is a nice problem to have.”

Capella did travel with a full side, but were probably helped by Clermont who had the bye this week.

While it was a clear victory for

Moranbah, Tagelagi says it probably doesn’t reflect how well Capella played.

“The score didn’t reflect the way they played, but my boys were just too good yesterday and I think with everyone available I am confident we can do the job come finals time.

“But everyone has to be available and they have to turn up and want to play, so we will be looking to put our stamp on Emerald when we play them in a couple of weeks.”

Notable performers on Saturday for Moranbah were loose forwards Jarrod Bryant and Ed Codbold, while in the backs Richie Bolitho, Tony Leonard and Ryan Atkins received special mention.

In another win for the Moranbah Bulls, Jarrod Bryant was named Central Highlands rugby player of the year, and coach Stan Tagelagi named volunteer of the year.

“I am very honoured to have received the award, I love my rugby, that is all there is to it.”

Clermont send finals signal Posted 21 July: THE Clermont Bears’ 34 point win over the Emerald Tigers on the weekend moves them into second place in the Central Highlands rugby league competition.

Coach of the Clermont side Wade Stanton, says the win sends a clear signal

about their plans for the 2014 season.

“It was a pretty big game for us,” he said.

“We were coming third behind Tigers, but that win now moves us into second place, and obviously that puts us in a good place for the finals.

“I think they had most of their players available, but our enthusiasm was probably the difference.

“We were getting good numbers in our tackles and a quick play the ball in attack which allowed us to win the the ruck.

“Our completion rate was also pretty good.”

Notably, five of Clermonts tries came down the left hand side of the field, with outside backs Clayton Reynolds scoring three and Sean Haufe picking up two.

However the space out wide was courtesy of some hard running up the middle by players like captain Blake Waters, who also got Player’s Player in the game.

But despite the 50 point to 16 winning margin, Stanton says they are not getting carried away.

“We have got a core of 21 players which is our basis each week, and we have been really lucky with injuries,” Stanton said.

“But Bluff are still the benchmark in the competition, and we will need to be ready for Emerald Cowboys in our next game, who I think are the dark horse of the competition.”

Basics key to Capella win Posted 14 July: THE coach of the Capella

Cattle dogs Scott Clarke says defence and ball retention were the key ingredients in their win over competition leaders Moranbah on the weekend.

The Capella side were able to hold on against Moranbah 25 points to 19, again underscoring the closeness of the 2014 Central Highlands rugby competition.

“Our ball retention and defence has been a bit soft lately, so it is something that we have been really working on,” coach Clarke said.

“It’s a critical part of the game, and no team can win if they haven’t got the ball.

“Moranbah were short on the weekend, so I guess that had a bit to do with it, but from our point of view, we just really defended well, and held onto our own ball.

“We have been working on both those things at training so it is good to see it working on the field.”

Not surprisingly - given the type of game it was - loose forward Chris Weedon and inside centre Drew Garside received special mention from Clarke, with Garside also picking up the three points.

Nathan Lord and perennial Capella front rower and stalwart Eddie Shaw were also mentioned for good games.

TO GET YOUR SPORTING NEWS AS IT HAPPENS MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER FOR SPORTMONDAY AT SHIFTMINER.COM. IT’S FREE

4th August 2014

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Shift Miner Magazine

Money Matters

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MONEY TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS

What is your biggest asset? enough without the financial pressure of not being able to earn an income.

Did you know?

About 77 per cent of Australians have had a disease or other health problem that had lasted, or was expected to last, six months or more1. Could you survive without your income for six months?

Nearly 10 per cent of Australian full-time workers leave work due to chronic illness2.

Having income protection - a support system for your lifestyle - in place, eases the stresses of family commitments and financial obligations like bills and mortgage payments during traumatic times in your life. This allows you to focus on more important things like your recovery.

And depending on your occupation you may be able to have this benefit paid until you are age 65 or 70 if you can’t work again. above would happen! You would be left with no car, no home and no super to retire on!

Have you considered how you would maintain your lifestyle if you couldn’t work tomorrow? Being ill or injured is difficult

What about work cover?

Whilst work cover will cover you if something occurs at work, a proper income protection policy can cover you 24/7 worldwide. And not just

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Deductible annual premiums

Did you know annual premiums for income protection are generally tax deductible outside of super? If you pre-pay your annual premium before 30 June, every cent comes off this year’s taxable income.

To ask any questions or continue the conversation email simon.milton@ morgans.com.au or jeff.white@morgans. com.au or call us on 07 3114 8652.

1 - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Australia’s Health: The eleventh biennial health report, 2008 2 - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Chronic disease and participation in work, February 2009 To ask them any questions or continue any of these conversations please email jeff.white@morgans.com.au or simon.milton@morgans.com.au and they will try to help.

(Guinness on tap) is located in the basement area, formally the dungeons and kitchens. A total of 19 well appointed bedrooms are located in the main castle. The remains of an ancient Augustinian monastery, where the odd ghost is seen, dating from 1209 stands also on the site. So if you are keen on old, cold and draughty check it out.

Go to www.luxuryrealestate.com for the full monty.

Exotic homes for the mobile miner

Foveran Deer Park, New Zealand

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Your Car? No. Your Super? No. Your Home? No. Your biggest asset is your income and your ability to earn it.

Without your income none of the

if you have an accident and get injured, but it can cover you in case you get ill as well!

Price: $18, 400, 000 Doesn’t it get tiresome having to stay in hotels while making your regular little rendezvous to Paris? Wouldn’t it be sooo much more convenient to have an apartment which you could use as your European base-camp? Situated in the prestigious 16th arrondissement in the heart of Paris, and with views of the Eiffel Tower, this apartment could be just the ticket. Located on the second floor of an exclusive residential building, the four-bedroom apartment is delivered fully fitted, furnished and decorated to the very highest standard throughout. Each room is lavishly appointed with rich materials, including rare marble, raw leather, gold leaf and exotic woods. The dining room is a masterpiece in itself, with gold leaf covering the walls from the floor to the ceiling, topped by a superb chandelier, and warmed by two fireplaces on either side, while the sumptuous living room is a wonderful space, ideal for hosting guests beside a crackling fire, and with views of the Eiffel Tower. Now I know it doesn’t have all the creature comforts of home but as a backup abode it should do quite nicely?

Email: cannes@fineandcountry.com for further information.

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4th August 2014

Farm Lichtenberg, Tuscany Price: $13,262,998

Okay so you always reckon you could have made a go of it owning your own vineyard? You love to drink wine, you know a lot about wine and you would just love to be surrounded by wine? Well now that we have established the most important criteria is covered, how about a vineyard in Tuscany?

Seriously, what could go wrong? Located on the famous Via Francigena, 180 kilometres (kms) north of Rome, and 100 kms south of Florence, the property is a working farm and extensive vineyard with fantastic potential for the area in which it lies. The landscape is postcard perfect and the hilltop villa called Lichtenberg romantically rustic. But it isn’t just about the aesthetics, cop these figures on potential wine production: Brunello di Montalcino 6,500 bottles; Rosso di Montalcino 20,500 bottles and Orcia Rosso 38,000 bottles.

Now I don’t even know what that all means but what I do know is that it sounds like a lot of booze and really what more is there that you need to know?

Go to www.propgoluxury.com for more details.

Kinnitty Castle, Ireland

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»

Luxury Apartment, Paris

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Price: $11,014,267 Price: $19,000,000 Or perhaps a 10th century neo-gothic castle is the way you roll? Tastefully restored, Kinnitty Castle is situated in a very central and accessible location in the middle of Ireland.

The property is set on approx 61 acres (24.68 hectare of landscaped gardens, paddocks and forest, with a wooded ravine and river). The castle contains three reception rooms, drawing room, dining room and library. A huge vaulted bar

Love deer? Love farming deer? Love hunting deer? Love eating deer? Love doing all of these deer lovin things amidst some gobsmackingly delightful scenery? Foveran Deer Park is ticking a lot of boxes. Foveran Deer Park is a high performing stud deer farming enterprise producing some of New Zealand’s top red deer genetics, and is a major supplier to New Zealand’s booming trophy hunting industry.

Situated in the Hakataramea Valley and spread over two extensively developed properties, Foveran Deer Park represents the best in location, environment and production.

Foveran Deer Park is also home to ‘New Zealand Trophy Hunting’, an outfitting company that specialises in delivering high-end hunting experiences to avid hunters from all around the world. Of course you would have to move to New Zealand. But at least it wouldn’t be to farm/ love sheep (although the livestock in the snap look awfully like sheep to me. But then I am an Aussie and what would I know about the finer points of a sheep’s body?).

Email George Orchiston at george@luxuryrealestate.co.nz for more deer details.

Send your exotic dream property details and low resolution images to justin.carlos@shiftminer.com

Shift Miner Magazine

www.shiftminer.com

Money Matters

heights

4th August 2014

23

Airlie Beach And Whitsunday Real Estate are proud to introduce a master planned beachside community estate, tastefully styled at every glance. Centrally located, with easy access to Bowen, Airlie Beach and Mackay, with close access to The Great Barrier Reef and nearby stores and services. House and land packages will suit a range of new home buyers, looking for a relaxed and tranquil location.

Architecturally designed homes will be constructed on generously sized allotments and have access to lifestyle benefits that only seaside living can offer. Carlisle Waters Estate consists of 103 fully serviced allotments which are to be released in 4 stages with modern elegant affordable housing options.

Investors and families looking for an ocean-side slice of paradise will come to realise the charm and enormous potential of this location. The beach is approx a 3 minute walk, Whitsunday Coast Airport is approximately a 15 minute drive from Midge Point and recently underwent 9 million dollar upgrade. Call Terry now for more information. Furniture not included. . 103 LOTS AVAILABLE . SIZES RANGING FROM 723m2 - 1142m2 . HOUSE & LAND PACKAGES AVAILABLE . 2 MINUTES TO TAVERN & SHOPS