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CQ coal miners forced into redundancy

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Mining companies ‘get out of jail free’ while suppliers suffer

LAW firms in Mackay are reporting a spike in the number of broken contracts as mining companies use termination clauses to renege on contracts with local suppliers.

Most contracts drawn up between mining companies and suppliers now include what’s known as a ‘termination for convenience’ clause, which allows mining companies to tear up the contract usually with one month’s notice.

“It’s a phenomenon that has crept in over the past five or

six years,” explains partner at Taylors Solicitors in Mackay, John Taylor.

“This clause basically gives mining companies the ability to terminate for no reason at all.”

Mining services companies in areas like Paget have been some of the hardest hit since the slowdown in the coal sector. Suppliers have had their contracts torn up or have been asked to re-tender for the same job and cut their prices.

It might sound hardball, but legally it’s all above

board - thanks to cleverly worded termination clauses.

Interestingly, these clauses are not widely used in contracts drawn up in other sectors like agriculture.

“They do exist elsewhere but they are more prevalent in mining,” said Mr Taylor.

“Mining companies invariably require these clauses put in there and the way they are worded allows them to terminate in order to complete the work themselves or give the work to another contractor.”

Suppliers do have a counter-strike in the legal sense, and it comes in the form of a compensation clause.

“If you have this clause written in you can be adequately compensated for loss of profits and overheads, but it’s all negotiable and the terms have to be agreed,” Mr Taylor said.

However, Mr Taylor admits mining companies often have suppliers over a barrel when it comes signing contracts.

“At the time the contact is drawn up obviously the mining company is in a very strong and powerful position.”

McKays Solicitors associate Kelly Parker agrees.

“In the past, we’ve tried to negotiate that [termination] clause out of the contract, but the mining companies refuse and they have all the advantage.”

Ms Parker said the best option for suppliers was to seek legal advice at the time of signing the contract, and to try to negotiate

the terms of the clause and extend the notice period.

“It’s the nominal cost of getting advice in the first place, which is less than the cost of the agreement being terminated. You run the risk of becoming bankrupt or going into liquidation.

“If you know what you are getting into you can plan for the worst.”

For those businesses who have had contracts torn up, there is still the possibility of legal recourse.

Mr Taylor said courts have the option of declaring a contract unconscionable if there isn’t compensation provided.

“I think you will find there may be some cases that come out of the current downturn,” he said.

The CFMEU is calling on the state government to step in and legislate to stop mining companies running roughshod over suppliers.

“This sort of behaviour is morally bankrupt,” said CFMEU district vice president Steve Pierce.

“There needs to be something done to protect the little man. These businesses need legal protection, and the government should act.”

Shift Miner approached the Mines Minister Andrew Cripps for his views on the issue, but a spokesperson said there was “not a chance” of him making comment on contractual issues between private companies.

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Survey puts face to feelings A CONFIDENCE survey of more than 100 mining businesses in Mackay has delivered some hard data on the coal downturn’s effect on the mining support sector.

More than 80 per cent of the businesses in the Mackay Area Industry Network (MAIN) survey reported a drop in performance over the past nine months.

Further, around seven jobs have been lost per business on average and around half expect to shed more staff over the next six months.

However, there is some good news with more than 10 per cent of businesses expecting to employ people over the next six months, 55 per cent not expecting things to get worse and 14 per cent expecting things to improve.

MAIN managing director Narelle Pearse says the survey will be used to paint a picture of the reality of the mining support sector for state and federal governments.

“The results clearly show that this is a difficult market and certainly quantifies the problem,” she said.

“I think the majority of businesses are certainly struggling, and while there are some that are doing well, for most things are not great and it is likely to remain the same.

“We are not asking for a handout.

We just want the government to get a good understanding of the situation.”

Away from the headline figures in the survey there are some interesting points to note. In particular, there is evidence of significant deflation occurring within the mining services sector as competition for jobs increases and demand for services falls.

In the last quarter of 2012, price pressure from competitors was listed as the sixth most likely factor to negatively affect the performance of businesses.

But in this survey price, it has soared to third position, suggesting down-sized businesses are tendering at cost - or below - to keep the cash flow coming in.

As to the future?

More than three-quarters of respondents expect to see a recovery starting in April next year, although the most pessimistic felt the current conditions could persist for more than 18 months.

“It’s really hard to predict,” Ms Pearse said.

“I am hoping it will be around April next year, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.”

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Young ones steering boat through boom to bust

CENTRAL Queensland’s coal industry is in turmoil and many people at the top are too young to have known anything but boom times, according to one industry stalwart.

Allan Ruming runs Group Engineering in Mackay. Like many businesses in the industrial precinct of Paget, the past 12 months have been more than tricky. In fact, Group Engineering’s workforce has

shrunk from 35 to four and is about to move to a smaller premises.

“The fact is this is a long and deep recession in our local market,” Mr Ruming told Shift Miner.

“When it first became apparent in late August last year, people thought it was like the GFC and would blow over. But this is a total shift; we are in the dip now but we will never hit the

ridge we were on.”

Mr Ruming said the correction was particularly hard to navigate for young managers who had never experienced anything but boom times in the region.

“They are sub-35 and they are probably very, very good at their job but it’s always been going gangbusters their entire working life,” he said.

“Now we are seeing a lot of project managers and clients who have simply never been through anything like this and they don’t know how to manage their supply chain or make these kind of decisions.”

Mr Ruming said it was an extremely difficult time for anyone to navigate, even with wide-reaching experience.

“I started working in the industry at 17 because we had a family business. Now I’m 55 and this is the first time I’ve had to dismiss employees for reasons that weren’t to do with performance issues.

“I’ve had to lose 20 employees and 15 contractors and some of those people had been with me for the 12 years I’ve been with the company. It’s not an easy task.”

Manager of professional services at Lee Hecht Harrison, Therese Larder, agrees that redundancies are never easy regardless of age.

“Making generalisations about age groups often doesn’t work because you can have Gen Ys who act like baby boomers and Gen Xs who don’t fit their box,” she said.

“I would say that redundancies are difficult for anybody. My company helps coach people of all ages with having those conversations and it is always stressful because you are dealing with other people’s livelihoods.”

Ms Lardner said the conversations required empathy and planning, and neither of those related to the age of person delivering the news.

“These sort of wide-sweeping changes are a shock to the system, and what makes mining different to say banking and finance [busts] is that it affects smaller communities so the impact is spread across many more who are tightly connected.”

Ms Larder said the key to any major restructure for businesses was planning.

“Make sure your risk management strategies are in place, and don’t just focus on the financial impact but the human impact,” she said.

“These type of changes can have a big impact on the reputation of a businesses and how its customers and the general public perceive it.”

Mines on alert over diesel fumes

THE Queensland and New South Wales governments have released safety alerts to the mining industry following the reclassification of diesel exhausts as ‘cancer causing’.

In 1998 high exposure to diesel exhausts were classified as probably able to cause cancer. However, the International Research Agency into Cancer has now upgraded the classification from probable to does cause cancer.

Given the large number of diesel engines in operation across Queensland mining, the reclassification has further underscored the need to manage exhaust fumes on mine sites, particularly in confined spaces and underground.

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The Queensland Mines Inspectorate (QMI) has recommended that work should stop if diesel emissions reach a level higher than 0.1 milligrams per cubic metre.

QMI has also recommended that site safety executives make adjustments to their exposure limits when their workforce is operating for longer shifts.

“With the reclassification of diesel exhausts carcinogenic status, the QMI now considers the current guideline limit should be adjusted to account for extended shift lengths or non-standard rosters,” the safety alert reads.

This practice is already required for exposure to other hazardous substances on site such as respirable coal dust and crystalline silica and carbon monoxide.

“The QMI does not specify which method to use, but the method selected should consider factors such as toxicity of the agent, the target organ and time for action (whether acute or chronic).”

In NSW, all mines will now need to have a Diesel Emissions Plan (DEP) as well as undertake a risk assessment of all tasks and areas where workers could be exposed to the harmful gasses.

The best way to reduce the hazard is by increasing ventilation, reducing the number of machines emitting the gasses, and reducing the time and number of people working in close proximity.

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CQ coal miners made redundant - but not voluntarily

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MORE than 100 Central Queensland coal miners are out of work and about 400 of those took involuntary redundancies, according to the CFMEU. Anglo American’s Aquila mine is the latest pit to be closed at the end of next month, and the jobs are racking up.

“Most recently we’ve had Aquila, Moorvale and Burton Downs pits,” CFMEU district vice president Steve Pierce told Shift Miner.

“I’d say there were at least half a dozen or more pits offering redundancies or preparing to do so.”

Mr Pierce said most of the redundancies had been forced, not voluntary.

“A lot of the pits that people are being made redundant from have a younger workforce, so they are not wanting to take a payment and move on because at the moment the industry is just not hiring,” he said.

“Six months ago they might have had the opportunity to be picked up by another mining company or contractor, but the whole market has slowed down and there is a squeeze on employment.”

Mr Pierce said the first to grab voluntary redundancies were usually older workers a couple of years off retirement who are happy to take the money and run.

“But in this case, because the

workforce has been younger, we are mainly looking at people in their mid 40s,” he said.

“They simply can’t afford to go, they still have children and school and mortgages and other debts to service.”

Mr Pierce said there wasn’t much movement from the coal industry to the coal seam gas industry.

“They are two completely separate industries and we don’t find people jumping across because the major players [employers] are completely different.

“You don’t have the Anglos and BHPs and Xstratas who say we don’t have a job for you here, but we can move you to this arm of our business.

People just have to start from scratch.”

The situation at the coalface is being mirrored in white collar professions like engineering.

One engineer told Shift Miner the jobs market was very tight.

“If you lost your job before Christmas, you found another one. But if you lost your job after Christmas you’re still looking,” he said.

“It’s certainly not a time to be switching jobs. Everyone is just staying put and happy to be holding onto their position.”

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Coal moves from full-cream to skim milk

THE coal industry may have lost its cream, but it still has plenty of milk.

That’s the message from Mackay-based workplace consultant, Craig Joy, who says higher-than-average wages are still enjoyed in the city.

“What we have to keep in mind

is that the coal industry has not gone flop - it is still strong and productive,” he told Shift Miner.

“While there’s not as much cream as there used to be there is still a lot of milk. It’s like going from being extremely happy to being happy - and then suddenly

calling that being sad.”

However, with the cream gone, Mr Joy acknowledged there was mounting pressure on businesses of all sizes to cut costs. He said that meant changes to employment conditions, including wages and penalty rates, were inevitable.

“We have to adjust with the market. It’s no good saying we don’t like it and we don’t want it - we have no choice,” he said.

Mr Joy said although there was minimal unemployment in Mackay at the moment, businesses associated with the mining industry were feeling the squeeze.

“The big guys are saying the results are down: ‘Our income is down 20 per cent, so we want you to drop your price by 20 per cent’.

“I have clients getting letters from their main contract, who are saying they are working 20 per cent less and asking if you can cut.”

Mr Joy said given a 4-6 per cent profit before tax was considered a good performance for any business, it was inconceivable to drop rates by 20 per cent without making sweeping changes.

“Wages and salaries have to go. You can’t cut insurance, rates, company tax, WorkCover and various other government fees you have to pay. The only expenses you can cut are discretionary spending and wages.”

Mr Joy said wages in Mackay were still significantly higher than most other places in the country and expectations remained high.

He said he had spoken to many people who had just accepted their wages had fallen from $150,000 to $120,000, and he knew plenty more who were still getting paid more than that.

“A client of mine was looking at doing a job to keep his guys going and it will see them working on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

“They will still get paid around $900 a day, and this is the bottom of the barrel. The people who were offered this thought they were stooping.

“You could not hire someone here for $10 above the award - you would never get an applicant. If this were Adelaide, Melbourne or Geelong, people would be begging for the job.”

In the meantime, the new boss of BHP Billiton Andrew Mackenzie has announced it is time for workers to start earning the high wages they won during the mining boom.

In his keynote address at the Melbourne Mining Club at Lord’s cricket ground in London on the weekend, Mr Mckenzie said the mining boom had led to a “fair degree of inflation”.

Pay packets of $250,000 a year were the norm for trade workers on Queensland mines, but those glory days could be over.

“In order to continue to earn those high salaries we have to build productivity, otherwise competitiveness will suffer,” he said.

He said 50 per cent of the company’s costs were tied up in labour and contractors.

“Just a 1 per cent saving for us translates to an additional profitability of $170 million per annum.

“I don’t think, given the distraction we have faced over the last 10 years, we even know where the limits of increasing productivity can lie, but I am sure we are not remotely close to them yet.”

Gladstone population bubble to pop this year

A QUEENSLAND Treasury report out this week has forecast the number of people commuting to Gladstone to work (FIFO and DIDO) will peak at around 4500 later this year.

The report says almost all the workers will be employed in the building of CSG to LNG processing facilities on Curtis Island.

However the number of workers expected to continue working in Gladstone after the LNG facilities on Curtis Island are built is less clear.

The report gave an A, B, C and D scenario for future FIFO and DIDO workers.

Scenario D is the likely number of commuters if all the proposed - but not yet confirmed - Gladstone resource projects get off the ground.

The A scenario assumes just currently committed projects or those with a final investment decision made will get off the ground.

Scenario C includes scenario A projects

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plus those that have lodged an EIS whereas scenario B includes projects that have had their EIS approved.

“Series A anticipates a gradual decline to 510 people by 2019, while the influence of future port expansion, pipeline and rail projects in series B would maintain the non-resident population at above 1,000 people until 2017,” the report read.

“Series C and D projections anticipate a less pronounced decline from the peak in 2013 to 2460 people in 2015, before an increase to 3880 by 2017.

“This secondary peak largely reflects the impacts of the proposed Boulder Steel project and components of Arrow Energy’s LNG project.

“Both series project the non-resident population to fall after 2017, to 860 by 2019 under Series C or 1,370 under Series D.” The non-resident population in mining and industrial towns have until recently been hidden because they are not counted in resident population reports by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

However, with the increasing popularity of FIFO and DIDO lifestyles, the government has commenced counting them so it can better allocate resources to communities whose resident rateable population is far less than their real week-to-week population.

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Keep fossil fuels in the ground?

The Callide Oxyfuel Project in Central Queensland is looking at ways coal-fired power stations can produce almost zero emission electricity

THIS is the critical decade to reduce carbon emissions and the only way to do this is to for most of Australia’s coal reserves to be left unburned, according to a major new report from the federal government’s Climate Commission.

Both of the main parties have committed to reducing Australia’s emissions to 5 per cent below their 2000 levels by the year 2020 – a target that now looks achievable, but which falls well short of the much deeper cuts outlined in the Climate Commission’s report.

“For the first time, I think, the scientific community has really

connected the dots to find out what this all means,” one of the authors, Professor Will Steffen, told a press conference.

“First of all, we provided a lot of input to the judgement that a lot of countries around the world and Australia have made that we want to limit climate change to a temperature rise of no more than two degrees above pre-industrial.”

Professor Steffen said this policy had also been accepted by countries around the world, but there had been a disconnect between it and actual carbon emissions.

“Were connecting the dots in

this report and it’s quite clear to meet that policy target there is a limited amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted,” he said.

In order to stop temperatures rising more than two degrees, scientists estimate one trillion tonnes of carbon can be burned from 2000 to 2050.

The problem is that in the past 13 years, we have used 40 per cent of that ‘carbon budget’, Professor Steffen said.

“When you put absolute numbers on that, we can only use 20 per cent of fossil fuels that are in the ground with that budget and keep a manageable climate for our children and grandchildren. That’s the crux of the problem,” Professor Steffen said.

“We need to transition to clean energy sources and we need to do it fast.”

Australia’s fossil fuel resources are the equivalent of about 51 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, about one twelfth of the world’s remaining carbon budget’ of about 600 billion tonnes.

If that carbon budget is exceeded, the build up of heattrapping gases in the atmosphere is

Aquila bites the dust and contractors go EIGHTY jobs are on the chopping block as Anglo American moves to shut down a small underground mine in Central Queensland.

The mining giant has announced it will shut down the Aquila mine from the end of next month. The mine had produced around 500,000 tonnes of coking coal a year.

Aquila employs about 60 contractors and 20 permanent staff. While the fate of the contractors is unknown, Anglo American said it would move its workers to other mines or discuss redundancy options.

In a statement, the chief executive of Anglo American’s metallurgical coal business, Seamus French, said the decision was based on the current outlook of coal prices forecast as low for the rest of the year.

“We continuously review our operational margins and since early last year we have taken out two million tonnes of high-cost production capacity as part of this review,” he said.

“The closure of Aquila is the next step in this process. Aquila is a bord and pillar operation producing around 0.5 million tonnes of premium hard coking coal per year.

“Over the next month and a half operations will begin to ramp down and work will be carried out to place Aquila mine under care and maintenance from late July, in accordance with mine safety requirements,” Mr French said.

Meanwhile, contractors are being let go from Anglo American’s Dawson mines, which sit at the southern end of the Bowen Basin near Moura.

Banana Shire Mayor Ron Carige told Shift Miner most locals employed at the mines still had their jobs, but contractors were being let go at the north pit.

Leighton Contractors had won the $519 million contract in March 2011 to mine the Dawson North pit, which had been mothballed during the global financial crisis.

Under the two-year contract, Leightons was to mine the existing pit and a new greenfield operation at the mine. Shift Miner understands that contract has not been renewed.

A spokesperson from Anglo American said it is not company policy to comment on contracts.

“Any recent rumours about ‘lay-offs’ are false and the Leighton contract is not coming to an end this month,” she said.

One employee told Shift Miner that most people were feeling insecure and were not sure whether they would still have a job.

“I’m not sure who your source was, but it’s fair to say in this environment all mine sites are focused on reducing costs and improving productivity without compromising safety – this is not new, it’s the way we operate,” the company spokesperson said.

likely to trigger dangerous global warming of up to five degrees this century, the report said.

And the world is still eating into its budget far too fast, with average global emissions still rising at about 3 per cent a year, the report said.

“If emissions could somehow peak in 2015, just two years away, the maximum rate of emission reductions thereafter would be 5.3 per cent, a very daunting task,” it said.

“However, if we allow emissions to continue to rise through the rest of this decade and don’t reach the peaking year until 2020, the maximum rate of emission reductions thereafter is 9 per cent, a virtually impossible task unless economies around the world prioritise emission reductions above all other economic and technological goals.”

Australian Coal Association chief executive Dr Nikki Williams said withdrawing coal from the market would be futile if the aim was to reduce emissions.

“Australia accounts for just 5 per cent of total world coal production,” she said earlier this year.

“Coal is available in over 100 countries around the world, many with existing export capacity.”

Any forced withdrawal of Australian coal from export markets would serve only to stimulate an increase in the output of competitors, with the incentive of a temporary increase in the world price.

“The development and application of low emission technologies, capable of being deployed economically and at scale, is the only realistic answer,” Dr Williams said.

“These technologies will need to cover a broad spectrum from advanced renewables to carbon capture and storage (CCS) applied to coal, oil and gas and major industrial applications like steel and cement production and LNG processing.”

One example is the Callide Oxyfuel Project in Central Queensland, which is a worldfirst demonstration of how to dramatically reduce global warming by adapting existing coalfired power stations to produce almost zero emission electricity.

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Lead poisoning linked to Mt Isa mine A NEW study into mining emissions in Mount Isa is relevant to other mining towns where industrial activities pose a serious risk of harm and the source and cause of contamination is disputed.

The Macquarie University study shows that the combined effects of historic and contemporary emissions are the cause of environmental lead contamination in the city of Mount Isa, despite upgrades to technology and ore management techniques.

“Families in Mount Isa need to be informed of the exposure sources and to make informed choices about their lives and any risks associated with their place of work, recreation or inhabitation,” said author Professor Mark Taylor.

The study, published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Pollution, identified the sources, pathways and relative risk of environmental lead at Mount Isa via analysis of the concentrations and isotopic compositions of lead in soil, aerosols, dust and rock.

“The data we’ve generated from this research provides conclusive and unequivocal information for the state’s regulatory authorities who are responsible for Mount Isa’s environmental remediation and human health protection,” said Professor Taylor. “[Glencore] Xstrata and Queensland Government agencies have long disputed the industrial source of environmental lead, arguing that the elevated lead in local children comes from natural surface exposures of orebodies.

“This is fundamentally and scientifically incorrect and this study provides sufficient evidence to bring closure to that distracting debate.”

The research found environmental samples of property dust wipes, aerosol particulates and surface soils from within the city area contain lead that is virtually indistinguishable from the Mount Isa lead orebody.

It also revealed sub-­surface soils and rocks from the urban area have completely different isotopic signatures to the Mount

Isa lead orebody, showing that contamination cannot have come from in situ weathering of bedrock but from atmospheric deposition of contaminants. The study also found there is no substantial lead source from natural surface exposures of minerals in Mount Isa’s urban area.

This new study confirms and consolidates earlier research

by Macquarie University that demonstrated mine emissions were the cause of blood poisoning amongst the city’s children.

“The people of Mount Isa deserve the same protection from air, soil and water contamination as is afforded to the rest of Queensland and Australia,” said Professor Taylor.

Queensland’s Mines Minister Andrew Cripps told the ABC a committee investigating lead levels in Mount Isa will review the new research.

“Obviously I think those matters will need to be followed up by the committee that’s been appointed to the ongoing monitoring of that issue,” he said.

The study was partially funded by lawyers acting for residents.

Outlook doesn’t deter would-be miner METROCOAL has announced it will recommence exploration at its Bundi thermal coal project, south of Wandoan.

The 10-bore drilling program will map out the new mine’s design and form the basis of the company’s mining lease application.

In a statement to the stock exchange, the company said it expected to lodge that application late this year, and would prepare its Environmental Impact Statement in the first half of 2014.

MetroCoal chief executive Mike O’Brien said despite the challenging market conditions, the company believed the exploration program added value to the Bundi project and could be done within its cash reserves, leaving a cash balance at year end of $7 million.

Discussions regarding a joint venture on the Bundi Project with Indian and Chinese investors are ongoing.

Condamine business gets $25m contract QGC has awarded a $25m earthworks contract to a Condamine business that is expected to double the firm’s workforce.

T&W Earthworks will clear, grade and build natural gas well sites and roads for up to three years in the Surat Basin and is expected to employ up to 50 people to do the work.

The contract brings QGC’s investment on earthmoving with Surat Basin suppliers to more than $300 million, with five local businesses appointed last year.

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Sensitive new-age miners embrace healthy eating

SNAMs: Sensitive New Age Miners opt for more balanced diet

ACCORDING to drilling and well servicing company Easternwell, there has been a big shift in the way miners view their bodies.

While the days of steak and chips at dinner time haven’t

disappeared, there is a growing group of miners who want to look and feel good.

And what they eat matters.

In response to this, Easternwell has overhauled

its camp menus to increase vegetable consumption and decrease red meat consumption as part of their employee Healthy Lifestyle Program.

In just six months they have

already begun to see some significant changes in behaviour around what its employees are putting on their plate.

Vegetable consumption has increased by 10 per cent and red meat has decreased by 10 per cent. Seafood consumption has increased by five per cent and chicken consumption has increased by 10 per cent.

Easternwell Camp management general manager Marco Waanders said that while many employees regard their health as good or excellent, a high number are still interested in improving their health through eating healthier food.

“We have a number of camps across the Bowen, Cooper, Galilee, and Surat Basins and we accommodate anything from 40 to 200 people,” he said.

“The new eating alternatives are offered across all our sites. We are not trying to force people onto them; we are just offering people an alternative if they want it.”

“I guess we came up with the idea because we were looking for a way to differentiate ourselves from other accommodation.”

“And while there are more

women in the industry, it is still a male-dominated sector - but we have seen a real shift in the way males are viewing their bodies.”

“Not just with us but across the board.”

“A lot of our people are gymjunkies and fitness fanatics, and they have been really happy with the options we have made available.”

“They are even making suggestions to us now.”

Terry Sanders from Easternwell Santos Mobile Camp in Injune said he’s noticed a difference in his health since the program was implemented.

“My health is incredibly important to me but being away from home, I had gotten into the habit of choosing the ‘sometimes’ meal choices a little too often. It is easy to add a side of chips or have an extra helping of dessert, because I can,” Terry said.

“It can get pretty tough to stay motivated to eat well when you’re out on roster and when I see the person in front of me skip the potato bake and opt for a steamed potato instead, I am reminded that I should do the same as well.”

More inspectors needed to catch gas boom FIVE new gas inspector jobs have been created in Queensland to keep up with the rapid expansion of the coal seam gas industry.

The state’s mines inspectorate has long had problems with recruitment - given the money that can be made working on the other side of the fence.

During the height of the mining boom, the department ran several overseas recruitment drives to try and fill the vacancies mounting up in coal mining.

In 2013, the pressure is off in mining; in fact, there is only one mines inspector position vacant at the moment.

But the pressure is mounting in the coal seam gas sector as the industry ramps up and more inspectors are required to carry out audits across the Surat gas fields and into the LNG plants on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

As a result five new gas inspector jobs have been created, but a spokesperson for the department told Shift Miner there were no plans to recruit overseas. The jobs have been advertised on industry and government websites.

Currently, there are 97 inspectors to cover Queensland’s mines, gas and petroleum sector: 50 mines inspectors; 26 petroleum and gas inspectors; and 21 explosives inspectors.

“Like any organisation, the inspectorates experiences staff turnover due to staff retiring or moving to other jobs,” said the department spokesperson.

“A number of positions across the inspectorates have been filled recently following successful recruitment campaigns.”

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Banana issues war on weeds

THE BANANA Shire has ramped up its war on invasive weeds and, thanks to $400,000 from Australia Pacific LNG, will have a new community weed wash down facility in Taroom.

The new weed wash down facility, which will provide front line control to weeds such

as parthenium and giants rats tail grass, is located next to the existing facilities at the Taroom Saleyards and has capacity and space to manage semi-trailers and other large machinery.

The region already has weed wash down facilities in Biloela and Moura and is

planning a fourth in Baralaba.

Weed management was one of the main concerns farmers raised with the GasFields Commission during a visit through Central Queensland last month.

“Weeds are a massive problem,” Banana Shire Council Mayor Ron Carige told Shift Miner.

“The spread of invasive weeds takes a toll on the rural sector and it’s a cost to production and a big cost in terms of control.

“If we can nip it in the bud, it will make controlling it much easier.”

Mr Carige said council placed a very high priority on preventative action to control and manage invasive weeds. ”In most most cases [LNG companies are compliant]. We try and keep a tight rein and make sure everyone complies with our weed controls, but you can’t keep your eye on everyone.”

GasFields Commission Queensland chairman John Cotter said landholders affected by the coal seam gas (CSG) industry want to ensure proper weed management procedures are maintained.

He said although CSG companies had comprehensive weed management plans, these should be implementation in close consultation with affected landholders and councils.

There was a need to ensure there were an adequate number and location of wash down facilities for construction vehicles travelling between ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ regions and that there was appropriate resources to ensure regular checks of these wash down procedures and facilities.

Mr Cotter said he would be writing to Biosecurity Queensland to seek advice and assurances there were sufficient resources and monitoring of weed management in the gas pipeline and CSG production areas of the state.

Australia Pacific LNG identified a need for community weed wash down facilities through an Environmental Impact Statement developed for its LNG project.

The project involves piping coal seam gas from the Surat and Bowen Basins to a processing facility on Curtis Island, near

Gladstone. Weed control measures form a key part of the project’s mandatory operating procedures.

The new facility, owned by the council, will be available for use by local farmers, LNG companies, transport companies, earth moving and landscaping businesses.

“Most towns have had some sort of facility before, but these wash down facilities are modern and allow bigger vehicles, like b-doubles,” Mr Carige said.

Australia Pacific LNG Pipelines project manager Graeme Hogarth said pipeline construction activities required stringent weed control inspections and certification as a routine part of daily operations.

“We understand that controlling weeds is a key priority for the local community and agricultural businesses,” Mr Hogarth said.

“These new facilities will be available for use by everyone in the community as well as for the Australia Pacific LNG project to ensure cars, trucks, tractors, and other vehicles are free of soil and invasive weed seeds.”

Report violence and crime urges Mayor IN a bid to lobby the Queensland Government for increased policing measures across the region, Isaac Regional Council Mayor Anne Baker is calling on the community to report all incidents to the police.

“Council is working closely with local police to ensure the Isaac region is a safe place to live, work and play, but we need the community’s help,” Cr Baker said.

At the ‘Increase the Peace in Moranbah’ community meeting held at the Moranbah Workers Club earlier this month, Queensland Police Service Inspector Andy Graham urged the local community to report incidents.

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“If you are a victim of crime or violence in any way, I implore you to report and follow up all incidents with your local police station,” Inspector Graham said.

“I suspect there is significant under reporting occurring in Moranbah and surrounds.

“In order to get access to additional funding, we need statistics that show there is a need for extra policing across the region,” he said.

To report a crime or violent incident please call 000 if it is an emergency, or for non-urgent crimes call Police Link on 131 444, or talk to your local police officer.

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QRC slams ‘water trigger’ amendment

THE Queensland Resources Council has slammed the ‘water trigger’ amendment, which now makes water an issue of national significance.

It took three days of debate, but the bill known as the ‘water trigger’ amendment passed the Senate on Thursday.

The amendment to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act gives the Commonwealth the

responsibility for ensuring there are no impacts on water systems by coal seam gas extraction or coal mining.

Until now, it’s been a state responsibility, and the Commonwealth has had no legal authority. The Commonwealth must now utilise its Independent Scientific Committee and other information during the approval process of major

coal and CSG projects.

QRC’s chief executive Michael Roche described it as the federal government’s latest meddling with the resource development approvals process, creating another unnecessary disincentive to investment.

“Industry’s focus will now be minimising harm arising from the implementation of the Commonwealth Environment

Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act new water trigger, for example, through the drafting of the ‘significant impact’ guidelines,” he said.

“Another layer of bureaucracy is simply adding to our global reputation as a prohibitively expensive and complicated place to do business.

“This reputation issue has failed to kick a goal with the current

Parliament, so it’s something that the minerals and energy sector will need to reinforce with the next Parliament.

“The water trigger is a sop to marginal politics and isn’t going to make a scrap of difference to green activists campaigning to shut down the country’s coal and petroleum industries.”

Mr Roche said the industries in Queensland were already subject to hundreds of laws and thousands of regulations, able to more than adequately address claimed issues of concern from a federal government perspective.

“Australia has been largely protected from the doubledigit unemployment common throughout Europe because of new investment in minerals and energy projects,” he said.

“This bad piece of legislation just serves to throw out another obstacle to valuable projects getting off the drawing board.

“The only people cheering are those radical activist groups hellbent on shutting down the coal and coal-seam gas industries.”

However, farmers have welcomed the move.

Activists white-ant industry: QRC ENVIRONMENTAL activists have Queensland mining and gas companies in their sights ahead of the September federal election, according to the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Michael Roche has told an industry conference the sector was ready for whatever was thrown at them.

Addressing an environmental management conference in Brisbane, Mr Roche said it was clear from the ongoing assignment to Australia of US and European activists that Queensland’s biggest industry sector is the target of a

well-funded and orchestrated campaign.

“This is going to be a real test for Queenslanders in the lead-up to the federal election,” he said.

“The hyperbole is only going to get worse and the facts more distorted, as we have seen already in the multitude of ‘save the reef’ campaigns.

“Ignoring scientifically documented threats to the reef and hanging all the problems on farmers, miners, gas companies and the ports that service towns and cities along 80 per cent of the coastline is only the start.”

Mr Roche said strategies proposed in a leaked 2011 ‘anti-coal movement’ playbook were now in evidence across Queensland and New South Wales.

“One of the six strategies is increasing the cost of producing coal as part of an internationally directed plan to shut down the Australian coal industry and the hundreds of thousands of Australian jobs it supports,” he said.

“In Australia this is taking the form of attempts to axe legitimate tax arrangements, vexatious court challenges that up until a short time ago were paid for by taxpayers,

and expensive and unnecessary amendments to environmental laws set against the ‘class warfare’ that so annoyed former Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson.

“Queensland’s minerals and energy companies are working hard at earning their social licence to operate, illustrated by a more than 80 per cent statewide approval rating in polling conducted last month.

“They’re not going to sit by and watch that level of community trust white-anted by professional activists who are accountable to no-one and committed to lowering the living standards of Queenslanders.”

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MPC claims large pipe revolution

CSG industry executives watch piping demonstration in Logan

MAJOR CSG contractor Murphy Pipe and Civil (MPC) said it’s proven that high-density poly pipe can be ‘ploughed’ into the ground, revolutionising the process of laying large diameter pipelines.

While the process of ploughing in poly pipe has been around for years for smaller

pipe sizes, MPC claims it’s the first time in the world that 630 mm HDPE pipeline has been successfully installed.

The Queensland-based pipeline company showcased it’s ploughing technology by using the Föckersperger Spider plough at a demonstration field day in

Logan in South East Queensland.

MPC’s managing director Jim Campbell said this major advance in large diameter ploughing technology represented the next generation in the pipeline installation industry.

“I believe that this type of technology will be particularly

sought after by the growing CSG sector, which is continually looking for more effective and efficient installation of gathering networks,” Mr Campbell said.

“We have proven over the last two years that HPDE installation of up to 450mm through ploughing is far more efficient

than conventional methods.”

“But we wanted to take it to the next level and demonstrate to the industry that large diameters up to 630mm can also be successfully achieved.”

MPC claims also to have the largest fleet of Föckersperger Spiderploughs in the world

Light at end of tunnel for local mining sector A REPORT by international energy research firm Woods Mackenzie concluded that China’s demand for thermal coal will continue to increase for at least the next 15 years.

Since the GFC, China has emerged as a major market for Australian thermal coal and future demand has underpinned belief in Central Queensland’s mega mine projects at Wandoan and Alpha.

William Durbin, Wood Mackenzie’s Beijing-based president of global markets, says speculation that China’s coal demand has peaked is wrong.

“It is very unlikely that demand for thermal coal in China will peak before 2030,” he said.

“Why? Because China’s aggressive investment program for nuclear, natural gas and renewables capacity is centred on the coastal region while coal-fired capacity grows in the central and western provinces.

“Already there are government-approved coal conversion projects (coal-to-gas, coal-to-liquids, coal-to-petrochemicals) that account for over 0.25 billion tonnes per annum (btpa) of thermal demand.

“Total Chinese industrial demand for thermal coal is expected to grow from 1.5 to nearly 2.1 btpa by 2030. In comparison, the US, the world’s second largest domestic market for coal, consumes only 1.0 btpa in total.”

The report will offer some comfort to businesses currently managing the downturn, but it doesn’t deal with demand for steel-making coal or discuss whether current coal supplies will meet demand.

Meanwhile, a report released this week into the recruitment plans for Australian mining and construction firms has found the workforce in the sector will shrink in the next 12 months.

According to the Manpower survey of 1900 businesses, 16 per cent of mining and construction employers plan to increase their recruitment in the next three months while 19 per cent said they would reduce hirings.

Sixty-four per cent said no changes would be made to their employment intentions.

Managing director of Manpower in Australia and New Zealand Lincoln Crawley said they were seeing large projects being planned at a slower pace, which was easing pressure on the skills shortages in the sector.

“Roles that are available in the sector are niche and differ from company to company, depending on specific projects and the particular stage those projects are at,” Mr Crawley said “Those employers with vacant positions will have more candidates to choose from and may put a brake on salary increases in the sector.”

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Dust up over coal trains coming

THERE are no demonstrated health effects that can be linked to dust from coal trains, the peak body for mining has told a Senate inquiry into air quality.

The inquiry, led and initiated by the Greens, held a public hearing in Brisbane yesterday, where it heard from the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), environmental groups, the North Queensland

Bulk Ports Corporation and various scientists.

Coal dust has long been a community concern in Central Queensland, particularly in Gladstone and Mackay, which are home to large coal ports. In recent times, Brisbane residents have also complained about dust coming off trains hauling coal from the Surat Basin to port.

But QRC chief executive

Michael Roche has told the inquiry it employed independent consultants Katestone to review dust from coal trains.

“The bottom line from the work undertaken by Katestone is that there are no demonstrated health effects that can be attributed to dust rom coal trains, and that even the issue of nuisance is restricted to a very narrow corridor of influence,” he said.

In its submission to the committee, the QRC also points to research carried out by Connell Hatch for Queensland Rail in 2008, which looked at coal dust emissions from trains in Central Queensland. It found that within five metres of the tracks, dust was likely to be above the nuisance threshold, but at 10 metres from the tracks the rate dropped well below the threshold.

While the committee is yet to agree on its findings, it seems likely it will recommend tighter standards on air quality. Green Senator Richard Di Natale told the media he would push for tougher regulation and better monitoring of coal dust.

“We have a real problem with the standards set around air pollution, the monitoring of those standards and how we enforce them,” he said. “We need much stronger enforcement.”

In particular, he said Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point terminals near Mackay had to do more.

“We are seeing people exposed to potentially harmful levels of coal dust,” he said.

“We don’t have adequate monitoring and we don’t have appropriate standards.”

In its submission to committee, the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBPC) acknowledged mounting community concern in Mackay about the dust impacts of the Dudgeon Point expansion at the Hay Point coal port.

But its general manager of environment, Simona Duke, pointed out there was confusion regarding the particle size of coal dust and the different implications that had in terms of health effects.

“In air quality terms, particulate matter is classified

according to particle diameter; the smaller the particle, the greater the potential for health impacts,” she wrote.

“Recent media statements from Communities Protecting Our Region suggest the creation of coal dust from mechanical movement and transportation of coal has been identified as PM2.5 are or ‘fine coal dust’. Statements such as this are incorrect and are often wrongly accompanied by references to severe health effects associated with exposure to PM2.5.”

There are four dust monitoring stations run by NQBPC in the Mackay region, which test for total suspended particles (TSP) 24 hours a day. These stations don’t differentiate particle size.

But in response to community concern around fine coal dust, the Corporation installed both a PM2.5 and PM10 monitoring station at McEwens Beach in April.

“This additional monitoring station aims to improve the understanding of particulate matter and ust monitoring in the local area, but is not a regulatory requirement,” the submission read.

“The five fans, which are almost 80 centimetres in diameter and with 75 horsepower motors, gradually build the volume and create enough pressure to lift the roof from the ground to the top of the tank.

The fans are so effective that no cranes are required at all,” Mr

Anderson said.

Once the roof reaches the top of the tank it is secured in place by a team of specialist welders and boilermakers.

The construction of the LNG storage facility is on time, with the first LNG still expected to be exported by mid-2015.

LNG raises the roof

On she goes. APLNG has now fully covered a storage tank.

NO, Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) didn’t throw an all-night dance party, but they’ve raised the roof on one of the LNG storage tanks on Curtis Island, marking the halfway point of the project.

This latest milestone comes after a productive six months that saw several key

developments in the project, including finishing off the material offloading facility and beginning work on both processing trains.

ConocoPhillips’ downstream project manager Kent Anderson said the raising of the roof is a significant milestone in the LNG

project and represents a complex construction feat in itself.

“With 1050 tonnes of carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium materials lifted into place by low air volume created by fans - in principle [it’s] not dissimilar to blowing up a camping air bed.”

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Jobs Ladder

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By Therese Lardner

Staying up when the chips are down • Discuss the situation with your partner, family or friends when you’re home. Trying to ignore the issue while you’re home might make it harder to deal with when you return to site; • If the issue is related to the type of work you’re doing (or not doing), start planning ways to work around it. If you’re frustrated by dull tasks, consider whether you could be assigned to another project. Use any ‘downtime’ to gain new skills that might lead to more interesting work.

Ensure your manager knows that you want to be doing different work. Managers are not mind readers.

Discuss what you’d like to be doing and some solutions you’ve already thought about. This is a much more positive approach than just complaining.

WE’RE constantly bombarded by issues that drain our positivity: illness, job insecurity, difficult colleagues or supervisors, lack of interesting tasks.

How, then, do we keep up our positivity and why is it so important to manage this at work?

Whether we’re aware of it or not, optimism has a big impact on our performance: when we feel good our performance goes up; when we feel bad our performance goes down. Simple equation!

In a significant review of studies on this topic, researchers found that an employee’s negativity can greatly influence how they’re viewed by their manager (Kaplan et al., 2009).

In essence, this means your negativity might affect your chances of getting a promotion, being assigned to interesting tasks/projects or even impact on discretionary bonuses or salary increases.

That’s three great reasons for staying positive at work!

Here are some simple ways to make it happen: Try to remain objective There’s a strong chance you’ll look back on a stressful event and realise it wasn’t the big issue you thought it was. For example, conflict with a co-worker might seem like a massive issue now, but that’s because there’s so much emotion (anger, frustration, annoyance, defensiveness) involved.

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These emotions fade over time, so it’s worthwhile asking yourself: “Will this be a big deal in a year’s time?” If the answer is no, take a step back from the situation and focus on what you can control rather than letting the situation by dictated by what you can’t control. If the answer is yes, I would suggest reaching deep into your coping ‘toolkit’ because you’ll need some strategies for staying positive during this stressful event.

Rely on your coping ‘toolkit’ Many people don’t even realise they have a coping toolkit, and some emotional toolkits are definitely better stocked than others.

Ask yourself “how do I cope with stressful situations?” Of course some strategies are more effective than others, and some can damage careers and relationships. Often, people bottle it all up and take it out on someone or something else.

Using this technique is likely to mean that you either vent onsite before you head home (not great for that promotion you’re after) or you vent at home before heading back to site (not great for your family and friends).

Effective coping strategies can include: • Spending time with other people while you’re onsite. Even sharing a meal in the mess hall can give you a chance to ‘decompress’;

• Focus on where you want your personal and work life to be in three to five years’ time. What will you be doing? What can you do NOW to help yourself get there? Focussing on a future goal is more motivating than focussing on what you don’t like right now.

• Get to know, and utilise, all the resources available to you. They include: personal and professional networks; your HR department; Employee Assistance Program (EAP) support – a much underutilised, but highly valuable resource; community groups; online forums/groups; books, articles etc.

Don’t just expect yourself to ‘snap out of it’ This type of thinking is rarely, if ever, effective. You might feel more positive for a few days, but more than likely you’ll slip back into a negative mindset.

Deal with the issues by using some of the techniques above, and if you feel that your negative thoughts are starting to affect how you’re functioning at work or at home, it really is time to seek professional assistance. Your partner, family members and friends might be able to spot this before you do, so take their concerns seriously rather than brushing them off.

Some great resources include your local GP, beyondblue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14) and websites such as the Black Dog Institute and Head Space (for younger readers).

Staying positive at work can be a real challenge when we’re faced with stressful situations.

The alternative, though, can lead to serious consequences both at work and at home.

Therese Lardner is an industrial and organisational psychologist with extensive experience in all areas of the employment cycle from recruitment and selection to development, employee engagement and career transition.

She currently works for Lee Hecht Harrison in Brisbane.

This column first appeared on the Mining Family Matters website www.miningfm.com.au

Engineer grads with real life skills

CQU Mechanical Engineering student Martin O’Driscoll

CQUNIVERSITY Mechanical Engineering student Martin O’Driscoll has been comparing the levels of temperature, humidity and energy consumption in two air-conditioned shipping containers located on Rockhampton Campus. One is covered by a ‘green roof’ of plants and the other is not.

He is one of 44 engineering students who are nearing graduation and made real-world project presentations and poster displays at the Rockhampton campus earlier this month.

The projects range across the fields of transport, energy, mining and resources, sustainability and infrastructure.

Research projects are just one way of ensuring CQUniversity Engineering graduates are primed for the workplace.

Martin says the most useful aspect of his course has been the availability of paid work placements (co-op placements) in relevant industries.

“The experience gained in the workforce is invaluable, cannot be learnt in a classroom, and is something that many employers look for,” he said.

“After my first year as a student, I worked at Gladstone

Ports Corporation for four months. For my first CoOp placement, I worked for Queensland Alumina Limited for eight months. During my next summer holidays, I undertook vacation work at Queensland Alumina for another three months.

“My second Co-Op placement was during the second half of my fourth year when I worked for eight months at Queensland Energy Resources.”

CQUniversity’s Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op)/Diploma of Professional Practice program features two sixmonth paid work placements as well as project-based learning. This allows students to develop the technical and professional skills required to work as an engineer in real-life contexts and graduate with one year of industry experience.

The work experience component of this program gives students an opportunity to put learning into practice while experiencing different workplace cultures. Students can also develop important interview and application skills through the completion of this combined program.

Students have the opportunity to apply for work placement overseas to enhance their global learning experience.

Previous students have worked in locations including the USA for bridge construction and in Switzerland for international engineering projects.

Specialisations are available in Civil, Electrical and Mechanical. Visit www.cqu. edu.au/explore for details.

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Surat Basin is the gas

At the time of printing, organisers of the Surat Basin Expo in Toowoomba said they were on track to reach their target of 7000 people through the gate over the two days.

On day one they had 4750 pre-registrations and a further 1200 registrations at the gate.

With the CSG industry likely to reach its peak of activity in the next 12 months, there was a very positive mood among CSG businesses, with more than 500 taking stalls at the event.

Andrea Davis, Mark Mahoney & Amanda Maroske, Robertson Scannell

Donna James & Martin Quinlan, Hutchinson Builders

Brad Wakely, Tiff Vase, Jason white & Emily Stone, HEQ Diesel

Daniel Waddington, Sean Warren & Garry Whitt, All Lifting

Linda Vyver, Jackie Robinson & Geoff Neil, WHK

Rick Palmer & Neil Lethlean, Gladstone INdustrial Area

Henry Campey, The Glennie School Toowoomba

Mark Mingay & Jacquie Prendergast, Stonestreet Coaches

Raylene Jones & Ina Kotze, University of Souther QLD

Shane Brunker & Siobhan Doogan, CFMEU

Shane Charles & Stacey Kent, Toowoomba & Surat Basin Enterprise

Steve Jones, Emma Pike & Chris Palmer, SkyTrans

Susan Barron & Clayton Evans, EzyQuip

Vicky Lerch, Matt McClymont, Brad Cotter, Katrina O’Shea, Tia Stewart, Easternwell

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Around Town

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TURNING JAPANESE, I THINK I’M TURNING JAPANESE....

Blackwater students are going to Japan later this month as part of the Sister City exchange program. This is the twentieth year that Blackwater students have gone to Japan, and they will be in Fujisawa with host families for a week. They will spend another week sightseeing before flying home.

(L-R) Laura Matthews, Imogen Beath, Ryan Cracknell, Matthew West and Bailey McBeth-Cooper with their chaperones Josh Clutterbuck and Thalia Allsop

Students signing their contracts witnessed by their parents.

KOUGARZ THE CHAMPS! Blackwater Touch Football held their Winter Grand Final recently in a fun night of competition.

Kougarz’ winners of the Women’s A Grade final

Lioness ladies working in the canteen (L-R) Keregan Freeman, Roderick Cameron, (L-R) Jo Firsman, Kerry Vesey, Stacey Annette Baker, Shirley Pidgeon, Chris Kirk- Richard and Edgar Broome Anderson and Suzanne King patrick, Laureen Fenner and Tina Schuh

(L-R) Paige Harvey, Indyana Delaforce, Georgia Willman, Kirrilee Lancaster, Angela Russell and Kelsea Anderson

(L-R) Linton Leishman, Rourke Webley, Hugh Russell, Chris Willman, Lee Sainsbury and Brodie Scales

(L-R) Ellie and Julie Fox, Kirrilee and Jenny, and Sally Lancaster and Suzanne Russell

Steve and Michael-Ann

(L-R) Ryan Newman, Shaun Dagan and Jesse Spencer

Nathan Prior and Kurt Kingston

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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GOOD TIMES AT THE GOODWIN The Goodwin Room opened with great food and great entertainment at the Blackwater Civic Centre last Friday night.

(L-R) Lorraine Manuel, Emma Plampin, Bill Plampin, Brent Manuel, Shayne McAlpine and Jenny Plampin.

(L-R) Amelia, Hope, Jayden, Kayleene and Shannon Knapman, with Angela, Sara, Cameron and Jacob Jackson

(L-R) Samara, Flynn, Varleigha and Dakoda Friske.

HEAR THEM ROAR The Blackwater and Bluff Lions and Blackwater Lionesses held their annual changeover dinner recently.

Cutting the cake are Bluff President Kathy Galton, Incoming Blackwater President Adam Fitzgerald, Past Blackwater Lions President Mick Gilligan and President of Blackwater Lioness Club Shirley Pidgeon

Members of the Emerald Lions Club who travelled to Blackwater.

Guest Speaker Trevor Duffy

Jenny and Bill Plampin

(L-R) Laureen Fenner, Tina and Steve Schuh

Lions Mick and Liz Gillgan

Roy and Val Vesey

Buy this and many other images at

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FROm THE EDITOR

This issue’s cover story really highlights the ugly side of the mining industry. While mining companies funnel money into communities and pay a high social licence to operate, it is disturbing to see this doesn’t always extend to the way they do business.

With all the power behind them, mining companies dictate the terms and don’t back down. We have heard many stories of mines telling their contractors and suppliers to drop their price by up to 20 per cent. Not asking. Those contractors then tell their sub-contractors to drop their price. At the end of the line it is often a small business operator who does not have the profit margin to be able to take that kind of hit. If they have employees, they are let go. If there are none, then it’s time to close up shop.

While many can argue that this is just the cyclical nature of the mining industry and the way business is done, there is one element that goes beyond this. It’s the way business is done. For our cover story, we spoke to three different law firms in Central Queensland and each one said the same thing: mining companies have introduced a ‘get out of jail free’ clause in their contracts, which pretty much means they are not worth the paper they are written on.

The ‘termination of convenience’ clause means mines can terminate the contract

with as little as one month’s notice. When lawyers have tried to negotiate that clause out of the agreement, the mines refuse. It’s accept the contract, or lose the business.

It can’t be good when one party holds all the power and there is no room for negotiation. Even if businesses go in with their eyes open, and the proper legal advice, how can they survive in such an uncertain environment?

I was talking to a solicitor in Rockhampton this week, and he told me the story of a local businessman who won a contract with a resource company. The man then invested over a million dollars in new machinery, delivered the machine to the site, only to be told the mine didn’t want it anymore. The problem was the businessman had drawn up his own contract rather than getting legal advice.

There was nothing he could do.

While much of the fault lies with the businessman for not getting legal advice, the mines themselves need to recognise that businesses are made up of people. These decisions can have devastating consequences.

Please text your thoughts.

Inga Stunzner Comment or SMS 0409 471 014

SHIFT MIN ER

Stuff

The Queensl

and mining

Locally Owned

to the Editor

It’s the suppliers that are suffering the most - they’ve had to sack many staff and I think there will be more than a few who don’t make it into the new financial year. Darren, Mackay There’s still jobs out there if you are the right candidate. If you’re worried about your job you’ve got to make yourself absolutely critical to operations. ST, Moranbah The end of solar subsidies has prompted this response from one of our readers: The sun never set on Queen Victoria’s Empire.

But it does set on those solar panels that subsidies have plastered onto Australian roofs.

Solar farms produce for about six hours per cloudless day. But when demand peaks, about 6.30pm in winter, solar panels contribute zero electricity.

Billions have been spent researching ways to store massive amounts of electricity to

munity’s best

»

Special rep ort

source of loca

l news

Monday June

10, 2013 163rd Edition

www.shift

miner.com

& Operate d

How safe is

Last edition’s front page story on the state of the coal sector has people talking: Thank you for a very true account on what’s happening in coal at the moment. It’s the people on the ground who are getting burnt.

TD, Rocky

and gas com

pages 4-5

PERSONAL INJ EXPERTS URY All accidents

M A G A Z I N E

your job?

and personal injury claims:

• Motor Vehicle • Public LiabilityAccidents • Workers Injury Claims Claims • • Total and Mining Accident Permanent Claims Disability • Boating and Holiday Accident Insurance Claims Claims Darren Sekac Whitsunday is available for consultat and Proserpin ions at the appointment e offices on only.

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cover the 18 hours per day of solar deficit.

Many things work in the lab, but once real engineers take over from green dreamers, their fanciful energy storage schemes become horrendously expensive.

But nature has provided us with the answer - the solar energy of yesteryear is stored in concentrated form in prodigious quantities as COAL. So abundant and cheap is this stored sunshine that even green Europe is rediscovering it. Seventeen coal-fired power stations are being built in Germany, the solar panel capital of the world. China, the world’s biggest exporter of solar panels, is building 363 coal-fired plants.

Green energy subsidies have bloated electricity costs and deficits for EU countries, with zero benefits for the climate. Subsidised solar panels are good for harvesting votes, but hopeless for generating grid power.

Consumers who choose solar panels must pay full costs.

Viv Forbes, Rosewood

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Frank the Tank’s Dear Frank,

I am sick and tired of un-neighbourly behaviour.

The other day I drove past this bloke who was trying to unload his ute while his missus was holding the baby and a dog.

I stopped and gave him a hand - as any good neighbour would.

The next day when I was chopping down an old dead gumtree in the backyard that same fella rings the police to make a noise complaint against me.

What is the world coming to? Doesn’t one good turn deserve another? What can I do to get back at him?

Les, Rockhampton

Fair Dinkum!

I agree with you entirely, Les. Unneighbourly behaviour is running rampant these days.

My next door neighbour insists on closing the curtains when she gets dressed, which is extremely detrimental to my online business, Nude neighbours.com.

What happened to the good old days, when you could go next door to borrow a cup of sugar and wind up watching vintage pornography in your neighbour’s soundproof basement?

Many years ago I actually had an idea for a nightly television drama about a fictional neighbourhood in which the residents struggle against life’s constant hurdles.

Unfortunately the show was deemed unsuitable for television due to its title, Sex Street.

I must compliment you on your reaction to this neighbourhood dispute, Les. So many people opt to complain or, worse yet, talk about their problems.

But you’ve chosen the most appropriate response of all: revenge.

The opportunities for revenge against your neighbour are virtually endless, but the ideal outcome is to achieve maximum annoyance over a long period of time until he cracks and either tries to strangle you with a garden hose

IN GERMANY

- Doctors recently performed surgery to remove a pencil from a man’s head after it had been lodged there for 15 years without his knowledge.

The man sought medical help after years of headaches and worsening vision in one eye. Scans discovered the 10 centimetre pencil lodged in his sinus. Surgery to remove the object was successful and reportedly cured the man’s condition completely.

IN THE US - Former NFL star

This feral cat was caught in Arnhem Land recently. Photo from ABC.

Chad Johnson was sentenced to 30 days in jail after patting his lawyer on the backside during a court hearing. After being asked by the judge whether he would accept a plea bargain, Johnson responded by giving his lawyer a pat on the butt, which prompted

“Streakin” good love advice

or becomes a total recluse.

You can try all the time-worn annoyances: calling all the time and hanging up; throwing your rubbish over the fence; breaking in and stealing his wife’s lingerie... But I’m firmly in favour of thinking outside the box.

If you’re good with animals, purchase a large dog (or small horse) and feed it only things that will cause maximum gastric disruption.

A bit of training should allow you to regulate your animal’s ‘movements’ so every morning your neighbour will wake up to a veritable sea of excrement on his front lawn.

Now, if you really, really want to get back at this neighbour, I’ll give you some serious advice. I should warn you, though, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Build a shed in your backyard and convert it into a makeshift sweatshop, then immediately start populating the shed with children.

Where you get the children is up to you, but I recommend searching for ‘child slaves’ on eBay. Wait until your neighbour goes away on holiday, then move the shed into his backyard and call the police.

This plan is extremely involved and diabolical, but if you pull it off your neighbour will be going away for quite some time, not to mention you’ll get to look like a hero on the local news.

Imagine the headlines, “Rockhampton man frees children from backyard sweatshop”.

Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?

laughter throughout the courtroom.

Apparently unimpressed by the former athlete’s antics, the judge rejected the plea bargain and sentenced him to 30 days in jail.

Johnson was facing court for headbutting his ex-wife.

seen sufferers starve to death, believing they don’t need to eat. Some have even attempted to burn parts of their body off with acid.

STILL IN THE US - A

as big as goats are wreaking havoc in Arnhem Land in the territory.

Park rangers have requested additional funding to deploy specially trained tracking dogs to help locate the cats so that electronic collars can be attached to them.

It is hoped that if monitoring collars can be attached to the cats more information about where they live and hunt can be ascertained.

Some of the cats captured have weighed up to 20 kilograms, roughly the same weight as a five-year-old boy.

man suffering a rare condition was so convinced he was a zombie he would hang out in graveyards to be closer to death.

After a failed suicide attempt the man became convinced he didn’t have a brain and must therefore be dead.

Doctors suggested the affected man’s brain activity was so low it resembled that of somebody asleep or under anaesthesia.

The rare condition, known as Cotard’s ‘Walking dead’ syndrome affects only a few hundred people worldwide and has

Frank

SENSIBLE SUSAN Les, It’s unfortunate that you feel as though neighbourly behaviour is dead, but I don’t think it’s wise to try and ‘get back’ at your neighbour.

Instead of plotting revenge, why not talk to your neighbour and voice your disappointment?

Tell him you were upset by his noise complaint, and ask that in future he speak to you before calling the police.

Nothing good can come from starting a bitter neighbourhood feud.

Susan

IN THE NT - Giant feral cats

Quality doesn’t have to mean slow Mining, Earth moving, Hydraulics and Agriculture

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Specialising in the timely delivery of on-spec components for your business.

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M: 0448 243 343 E: darylweng@gmail.com

dwe Daryl Watson Engineering

24th June 2013

19

CAR FOR SALE

BOAT FOR SALE Offshore Marine Master 2012 Mac5 Cuddy.

MITSUBISHI TRITON GLXR 2011 colour coded drop side steel tray, 5 sp manual, air, steer, power windows, cruise, CD, tow bar, long range tank, UHF, immaculate, 62000K, full history. $35,950 Phone: 0418 725 318

Brand new! 90HP Suzuki 4 stroke, Hydraulic steering, Live well, Bimini, Bait station, self draining fully welded floor, Kill tank.

4mm bottom, 3mm sides.

Comes on Dunbier Glider trailer. Fishermans dream $39,950 Phone: 0404 891 776

CAR FOR SALE

CAR FOR SALE

78 XC FALCON GS UTE 250 Alloy head Crossflow on straight LPG, Supercharged with Raptor V-L blower, T5 gearbox, 9\” Diff, 3.7:1 Ratio, Disc Brakes, Regretful sale

$27,500 ono Phone: 0428 344 437 CAR FOR SALE 2010 TOYOTA HILUX Mine Spec, BMA Thiess Mac Coal Certified, New 265 Maxxis Iron Mud Tires, ADB Bull Bar, Lightfrce Driving Light, Twin Battery, Snorkle, Iron-Man Lift Kit, Mine Radio x 2 UHF, 135 Litre Fuel Tank, Oconners Tray. Toolboxes, Fire Ext 1st Aid MSDS

$40,000 Phone: 0421 000 789 BOAT FOR SALE

5.5 mtr markham whaler. twin 90 hp yam, 145 hrs. sounders, gps, twin 160 ltr inbuilt eskys, twin 160ltr fuel in sides, good trailer,

Immaculate Holden

BOAT FOR SALE 2004 PowerCat 2600 Sports Cabriolet. Twin 115hp Yamaha 4 stroke engines.

Sleeps 4, Toilet, Shower.

Road registered tandem trailer. Always maintained and kept in a shed. All safety gear. Excellent condition. Registered until September 2013.

Reduced to $108,000.00 Must be sold. OFFERS, OFFERS, OFFERS Very Negotiable

Phone: 0409 630 311

Currently leased @ $385 inc gst/week WM 2007 model. V6 auto immaculate condition 94,000k.

Includes shares in Rockhampton Cab Company Perfect sideline income

All leather interior.

$18,500 ono Phone: 0407 373 664

$315,000

Phone: 0407 373 664 CAR FOR SALE

CAMPER AND CAR FOR SALE

Compass slide-on camper on Ford F250 ute.Camper sleeps 2 plus makeup 3rd. 3way Electrolux fridge, 2 burner stove, wired 12 & 240 volts, 100Lwater, PortaPotti, space for 2x4.5kg LPG and 2 batteries, steps and legs carried below floor. F250XL 2001, 4.2L diesel, 190,000km, strengthened springs, UHF, compressor.

Whole unit $45,000 ono.

Camper only $11,000 ono.

mags, new power

brake pads, 142000km, great condition

and personal gear to use,

$8,500 ono

$20,000

Phone: 0439 872 215

Phone: 07 4973 9698

BUSINESS FOR SALE Sewing & Patchwork Business in Yeppoon.

Only one of it’s kind on the Capricorn Cost. Operates 5.5 days per week. Agents for Brother & Elna. Busy store currently employing 1 x Casual Employee. Good

BOAT FOR SALE LIGHTNING 7mtr Alloy Walk-around, Twin 90hp E-Techs with very low hrs, Vessel is quick, economical and safe, with all possible extras.

2009 BAJA247 ISLANDER Top of the range luxury bowrider 496ci mercruiser Engine (375 HP) Livorsi Gauges, 3 Blade S/S Prop, Toilet Hull graphics, Custom Upholstery Tandem Trailer, Swim platform

$90,000 ono 0414 330 803

2013 HORIZON 435 Easy Fisher PRO on Dunbier, with 40 HP Mercury Tiller, saftey gear, Bimini top, front casting deck, rear storage with bait tank, Hummingbird 160X sounder, battery/ box, Side pockets, Rolled side decks $14,490 Phone: 0749 467 286

HOUSE/LAND FOR SALE

LAND FOR SALE

LAND FOR SALE

NORTH OF YEPPOON

Get Tax advantages as a Primary Producer!

YEPPOON

Phone: 0450 390 373

TOP-FORM insulated alloy camper,

Phone: 0407 913 914

BOAT FOR SALE

floored, quiet home on the Range.

CAMPER FOR SALE

fits into 1.8mt. tray, fully

BOAT FOR SALE

share. I have a nearly fully-furnished, polished

$16,000 neg.

Phone: 0488 514 713

equipped, only need food

$62,000

25-45 years old and looking for a house to

omega ute 2008 V6 auto 120,000 km\’s bluetooth hands free, reverse camera, a/c, cruise control RWC, rego until 10/2013

steering pump,new

Phone: 49 739 698

HOUSEMATE WANTED. Are you single, between

HOLDEN COMMODORE

water pump,new front

$60,000 +GST+S.A.V

ROCKHAMPTON

UTE FOR SALE

VS CLUBSPORT

Phone: 0417 196 015

ROOM FOR RENT

$48,000 Phone: 0749 337 305

series 2, 19 inch chrome

$22,000 neg

$595,000 ono Phone: 07 4937 3564

Ford Mustang Convertable 67 302 V8 Auto. Left hand drive, disc brakes.

Excellent condition, Fully restored.

Statesman

Phone: 0447 824 539

40ha. Open country, House, Dam, bore (1100gl/ ph) Submersible pump, Yards & ramp. Excellent garden & views. 50ks nth of Yeppoon Turnoff. 1.3ks off highway, bitumen road, School buses from Highway

CLASSIC FOR SALE

BUSINESS FOR SALE OPEN TAXI LICENCE FOR SALE IN ROCKHAMPTON

Turnover, lots of potential.

BOAT FOR SALE 2008 BAJA26 OUTLAW LUXURY PERFORMANCE POWERBOAT AS NEW 496ci Magnum HO Mercruiser 70mph 4 Blade Prop Aluminium Tandem Trailer Toilet, Cabin, Bunks, Seating Custom Upholstery, Graphics $95,000 ono Phone: 0414 330 803

CAR FOR SALE

Acreage Living, City Conveniences!

Buy and stock cattle on 32 acre Hobby Farm at Ravensbourne which is 40 minutes from Toowoomba and 90 minutes to Brisbane.

block, 5 minutes from CBD, schools, transport.

Phone: 0435 347 686

Phone: 0409 391 254

LAND FOR SALE 2.5 ACRES FARMLET Bitumen Road and Phone to front Gate. School, PO, Garage, Hospital, Hotel kindergarden and stores 15 min Drive.

New gold mines in area. $48,000 Phone: 0413 501 222

4000 sqm North facing, corner premium

CARAVAN FOR SALE BOROMA 700ST Insulated Custom designed, Shower/Toilet, fitted with 2x Electrolux Air conditioners, TV/DVD, W/ Machine, Gas cooktop,Grill & Oven,2x80ltr Water tanks, Hot water system, Solar panel, Twin batteries, Battery charger, Wired for 240/12volt, 1x80ltr GWT, Excellent condition.

$42,000 neg.

Phone: 0419 001 369 CAR FOR SALE TOYOTA RAV 4

This one lady owner Toyota Rav4 2010 is the perfect small SUV. Well maintained with full service history.

Auto MY10 (4/10) 2.4L Cruiser FWD standard features include: Automatic, 5 seater Cruise control Power windows & mirrors, Dual Air Conditioning with Climate Control.

Phone: 0407 840 484 HOLIDAY HOME FOR RENT Whitsundays luxury home now available for holiday rental! Accommodation for up to 10 people.

Total seclusion, amazing views, 12m pool, air con, Foxtel, linen included, BBQ. Perfect for a large group or two families.

Plenty of space for shed, pool, kids to play.

Nightly tariff: $500 peak season; $450 mid season; $400 low season.

$300,000

For bookings call 0419 769 655

LAND FOR SALE WONDAI 160 ACRES 160 undulating acres at Wondai. 16 Metre Weekender, power, phone, 2 watertanks, permanent gully, 2 dams, cattle yards with vet crush, fully fenced.

Splendid home site, with captivating sunsets.

1 Hour to Gympie $345,000 Phone: 0417 704 369

ROOM FOR RENT CANNONVALE $150/week incl power Own entry New house Must be working, clean & honest

Phone: 0497 804 684

Shift Miner Magazine

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MOVIE Review BY JUSTIN CARLOS

Sticking to formula pays off for Vaughn and Wilson

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internship at Google.

The only problem is they’re up against a bunch of Gen Y computer geniuses in a hotly contested series of challenges for a handful of jobs.

Nick and Billy have to apply their life experience and skills as salesmen

The film follows two middle-aged salesman, Nick (Owen Wilson) and Billy (Vince Vaughn), whose livelihood has been rendered obsolete thanks to technology and the internet.

Unable to find satisfactory jobs in sales, Nick and Billy decide to apply for an

THE buddy comedy is a tried and true formula, and when it’s done correctly it can be extremely funny.

The Internship is the latest offering to come through the revolving door of buddy comedies, but thankfully it manages to get it right.

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ACROSS 1. Divulge 5. Valuable possessions 9. Festive ribbon 10. Electric flashes 12. Musical ensemble 13. Run off to marry 14. The O of PTO 16. Solar system bodies 19. Messages to run 21. Young men 24. Mouth sensors, ... buds 25. Frightening dream 27. Atlantic & Pacific 28. Restaurant worker 29. Nun’s title 30. JM Barrie’s classic play (5,3)

in an attempt to win the challenges and secure a full-time job at Google.

The Internship is a pretty run-of-themill take on the buddy comedy. There’s plenty of one liners mixed with some occasional physical comedy, and there’s even a romantic element thrown in as Owen Wilson’s character attempts to seduce a Google executive.

Much of the success of the film hinges on the relationship between Vaughn and Wilson and their ability to create the impression they’re best friends and business partners.

The fact that they’ve worked together on a number of films in the past no doubt helped them capture this dynamic, and you can’t help but root for Nick and Billy as they struggle through their internship.

There are a lot of really funny dialoguebased jokes in the film, interspersed with some physical comedy and a couple of hilarious cameos from Will Ferrell and Rob Riggle.

The Internship is by no means a groundbreaking comedy. In fact the plot is just about as predictable as they come, but the film does achieve exactly what it sets out to do: entertain.

If you’re looking for an off the wall, eccentric comedy like Anchorman or The Hangover you may be disappointed by The Internship. But if you enjoyed the likes of Wedding Crashers or Dinner for Schmucks, this one is for you.

Down 1. Dance clubs 2. Stern 3. Depart 4. Protection from the elements 6. Total power 7. Pierced body parts (3,5) 8. Edge-of-your-seat anticipation 11. Group of tents 15. Retribution 17. Refers to briefly # 48 18. Belgian capital 20. Hourglass contents 21. Luggage 22. Cosmetics (4-2) 23. Winter or spring 26. Book name Handy Cross 2892 ©Lovatts

Publications

LAST EDITION’S SOLUTIONS D E F I N I T I I W E A C A D EM I N C S C OR C H E S T E E N S L E D E Y P A DM I R E S S I I A S ON I C M E I E A B A N I S H C T L E V E N S O

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# 49

What can you learn from a

WINO

MORE- mining news MORE- industrial news MORE- investment news Shift Miner Wednesday’s Industry neWs onlIne (WIno) by Shift Miner Handy Cross blank grid.pdf ©Lovatts PublicationsPremium 5/03/09 Queensland business and industrial news www.shiftminer.com/news

artist – mb neWs you Won’t Get anyWhere else

SHIFT MINER

WEDNESDAY’S INDUSTRIAL NEWS ONLINE

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Bait Shop Banter

Yeppoon - Unpredictable weather

has kept a lot of fishermen in close recently, but there’s no cause for complaint with the creeks and estuaries fishing extremely well.

Adrian from the Secret Spot Bait and Tackle says Coorooman Creek has been firing with flathead recently.

“The flathead are showing up in droves.

The cooler weather seems to get them up here and the big ones group up. People have been catching them on soft plastics.

They’re having a ball at the minute.”

Corio Bay has been fishing well with some nice winter bream and whiting starting to appear as well as the occasional grunter.

There have been reports of some good Spanish mackerel out wide as well as a few big Golden Trevally, but the winter weather has been deceptive of late.

“When the westerly is blowing it looks as flat as a pancake in the bay, but once you get out it’s actually blowing 20 knots.

If you look at the islands and can see an inch-and-a-half of silver above the water, that means it’s rough,” said Adrian.

Mackay - The creeks and

T

MACKAY Gladstone MACKAY Gladstone

WEEK 1: The southern Coalfields woke to thick frost early last week. Many places recorded their lowest minimum for the year. Last Tuesday/Wednesday morning Roma recorded minimums 2.5C, Surat recorded zero, Clermont 0.8C, Biloela 1.3C and Moranbah 3C - all with frost.

Another North West Cloud (NWCB) covered the northern and most of the eastern half (see sat pic) of Australia. Light patchy rain with heavier falls in the south should follow. The previous NWCB brought 15mm

22

24th June 2013

Boaties! Inshore water rather flat with offshore blowing up (gusting over 20 knots) at night. Mon-Tue: SSW 5-7 tending W/SW 8-12 avo inshore. S/SW 17-13 tending SSE 13-9 during the day.

Wed: SSW/W 4-5 tending SSE/E 7-9 avo.

angus.peacocke@shiftminer.com

Gladstone

Mon 24

to Moura, 14mm to Springsure and 6mm to Capella with lighter falls elsewhere. The cloud should clear (maybe a fog) during the weekend and allow more frost to develop early in the week. Dry sunny days follow for most of the week with maximums around the 19-21C. Another NWCB seems to be developing over the weekend.

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

- The cooler weather continues to favour fishermen in Gladstone, with a variety of species currently on the bite.

Brett from Pat’s Tackle World reckons there’s plenty happening in close at the moment.

“Up around the Narrows there’s been plenty of blue salmon being caught on gar and herring, and the flathead are starting

your weather forecast

Thick Frost

to move into the creeks as well.”

It looks as though 2013 is going to be the year of the mackerel, with more reports of good Spanish being caught out wide.

“The Spanish are really biting at the moment. Ppeople have been catching them mostly on pilchards and baits like that,” said Brett.

In spite of the colder weather, some anglers are still landing decent barra and mangrove jack around the creeks.

rivers around Mackay are going gangbusters at the moment.

Clint from Tackle World Mackay says there are some monstrous whiting on offer in the Pioneer River.

“We’ve seen some huge winter whiting in the past week or two. The biggest we measured was 43 centimetres, and people are catching a bag full. Sandworms and yabbies are your best bet bait wise.”

It’s not just the whiting that are on the bite. Flathead, king salmon and crabs are also in abundance.

“Alligator and Sandy Creeks have been fishing well for flathead, and we’ve been seeing some amazing king salmon in recent months thanks to the fresh water run off,” said Clint.

When the weather has permitted, there’s been some nice coral trout and red throat emperor caught around the reefs. The colder weather should see more big reds moving into the Mackay area.

i

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With Mike Griffin

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0.32 3.72 0.43 4.54

0525 1127 1722 2348

0.39 3.68 0.60 4.35

0613 1218 1811

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0038 0702 1311 1902

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0.41 4.99 0.16 6.34

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0035 0716 1306 1911

6.17 0.49 4.83 0.57

0123 0804 1359 2001

5.87 0.66 4.68 0.93

0213 0854 1455 2057

5.47 0.86 4.54 1.31

0309 0950 1601 2203

5.04 1.05 4.46 1.65

0413 1053 1714 2324

4.65 1.17 4.49 1.83

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3.12 1.07 3.70

0047 0641 1242 1910

1.30 3.15 1.00 3.85

0131 0729 1324 1949

1.16 3.21 0.94 3.95

0210 0810 1400 2024

1.06 3.25 0.89 4.01

0244 0846 1432 2057

0.99 3.27 0.85 4.05

0527 1201 1826

4.38 1.19 4.66

0049 0640 1304 1929

1.78 4.27 1.13 4.91

0156 0744 1358 2020

1.58 4.28 1.03 5.14

0248 0834 1443 2102

1.39 4.31 0.95 5.31

0331 0917 1521 2139

1.25 4.34 0.91 5.41

0408 0954 1556 2212

1.17 4.34 0.89 5.45

0441 1026 1626 2242

1.14 4.32 0.89 5.45

SSE 16-12 tending SE 7-11 with a late brief shower. Thr: SE 10-15 with a brief shower. Fri: SE 10-15 gusting to 22 knots in a squally shower. Sat-Sun: SE/ESE 10-15 with a line of squally showers developing mainly offshore.

WEEK 2: The SOI continues to sit in the midteens, although a falling trend is showing.

Now the negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) suggests northern Australia is in for a wetter than normal winter. This indicates that the NWCBs will continue to move across Australia into spring.

The southern Coalfields should get a

reprieve from the frosts, with mostly sunny afternoons with cool nights. Then another NWCB should show signs of developing in the west. Another spot of rain possible and then “Jack Frost” could sneak north from the Darling Downs!

Marine Lovers! South East Trades. MonWed: SE/ESE 10-15 with a brief with a brief squally shower mainly Whitsundays. Thr-Fri: Winds ease in the south and tend ESE/ NE’ly. Late brief showers develop or patchy rain. Sat/Sun: Colder southerly could be 1520 knots with a shower in the far south.

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Seriously weird sports Olympiad in the world.

Shin kicking is...exactly what it sounds like. Competitors feverishly kick each other’s shins in an attempt to knock their opponent over and score points.

Competitors are allowed to stuff hay down their points in order to lessen the impact of their opponents shin kicks.

Ferret legging

Ferret legging. If you were to try this, perhaps it is best in the privacy of your own home...

AS Aussies we love our sport. There’s nothing like a good game of cricket or rugby league over a cold beer, but what about the more obscure sports out there?

We’ve compiled a brief list of some of the world’s weirdest sports. Who knows maybe some of them will catch on in Australia, although it’s more than likely

you’ll be left scratching your head in troubled amazement. So without further ado, let the unlikely games begin!

Shin kicking Shin kicking is a hotly contested event at the Cotswald Games, a 400-year-old tournament that claims to be the oldest

Originating in Yorkshire, England, ferret legging is a competition in which shirtless participants stuff two ferrets down their pants and attempt to keep them there for as long as possible.

It’s worth pointing out that ferrets are carnivorous and have extremely sharp teeth and claws.

Organised ferret legging competitions have unfortunately petered out, however there are several YouTube videos of people paying homage to the sport in the privacy of their own homes.

The official ferret legging record was set in 1981 by Reg Mellor, who kept two ferrets down his pants for five and a-half hours...

Camel wrestling In Turkey, Tulu camels are bred for the special purpose of wrestling one another.

The camels are dressed up in flamboyant garb and forced to do battle

over a female camel in heat.

The wrestling match is won when a camel flees the ring, or is knocked over by its opponent.

Trainers attempt to teach their camel various techniques to vanquish their opponent, but whether or not the camels are receptive to this is open to interpretation (consult YouTube).

Because a female camel in heat is used to instigate the wrestling match, the male camels are often quite aroused while battling, culminating in a lot of spitting and excited urination.

If you ever get the opportunity to view a camel wrestling match, it may be wise to keep your distance.

Wife carrying Wife carrying originated in Finland, and there is some debate as to how it came to be.

A number of theories centre on a notorious band of thieves, who would ransack villages and carry off everything... including the wives.

These days the world wife carrying championships are hotly contested.

Basically a man carries a woman who must be heavier than 49 kilograms across an obstacle course.

Whoever does it the fastest wins their wife’s weight in beer.

Redmond’s Rants

You can’t beat perfection... even in a supercar

THE 1972 GTHO Phase 3 purpose-built supercar. Built with a single goal: to destroy Mt Panorama, Bathurst.

Here’s the picture: 351 cubic inch block; 4MA crank; 4V heads; cold air intake; massive carburettor. Eleven inch clutch; bullnose; 31 spline toploader. Nine inch detroit locker diff; 31 spline HO axles. Huge rear brakes. Thirty-six gallon fuel tank with quick fill. Fat sway bar. Component

names like ‘Detroit’ and ‘Cleveland’ a clear warning of the pedigree. This thing is Armageddon on four wheels .

When it rolled out of the pits on that cold October morning in 1972, the competitors were stunned by the sound exiting from the exhaust, the draw of the intake alone was intimidating.

This piece of machinery was destined to rip the field apart, scorch the tar and blur

the hands of the lap-timers stopwatch.

When it blazed out onto the mountain, it rolled the power on; the shaker torque twisted and that angry Cleveland ran up to full noise. The courageous, talented and brash driver was pulling the trigger and riding the lightning.

The engine was wide open and using enough fuel to start another hell and keep it burnin’. As it roared back down, the noise grew from a singing of a sweet four barrel carb a-top eight cast iron cylinders into a sound that could frighten off the four horsemen’s approach. Such was the noise that the bikies in attendance got off their Harleys in tears and covered up their tattoos.

While this apocalyptic red and black demon was out on the track laying down its hell-borne power, a young neat thin kid was bent over looking inside the engine bay of his own little meek race car.

He decided it was ready. He spoke quietly with mechanic and fired it up.

The 202 cubic inch Holden red motor.

The top end sounded tight. The triple webers aligning the air up and charging to the ports. The engine sounded harmonic, in tune and crisp.

Later on during his career, this driver

would come to know this mechanical sound, this particular type of mechanical discipline would become his trademark through many different cars, finally becoming his legacy. But on this cold morning he knew nothing other than the perfection he could hear.

He paused before he slipped on his helmet, and listened to the madness he could hear coming from that big supercar as it ran its warm up around the Panoramic Mountain circuit.

The same thoughts had been running through his mind all morning: “I am going to win. Even supercars cannot beat perfection”.

He snuck out of pits quietly and opened the throttle...

The 1972 Mt Panorama Bathurst winner.

Who is Redmond? Redmond was born in a cross-fire hurricane and now resides in Queensland. Former Golden Glove champ turned champion shearer, his shearing career was cut short when he entered the adult film industry and made 3467 films in three months. He now enjoys semi-retirement and lives happily on his 100,000 acre property with his seven wives. He has received the annual Golden Pen award from the Writer’s Guild four years in a row in the Truth Telling category...

24th June 2013

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Ladies in big numbers expected for Condamine Rugby event President of the Condamine Cods Rugby Club Ben Taylor says “you would be amazed” at the number of women they have involved with their tiny club in the heart of the Surat Basin.

Which is good news for young single blokes working in the region, because this weekend is the club’s annual Ladies Day. Normally it stands to reason that in a small community the number of women around for a Ladies Day is equally small but not for the Condamine.

Mr Taylor says they are expecting as many as 300 women at their game on Saturday in Condamine with buses coming from Dalby, Toowoomba and Brisbane.

“Last year we held a Ladies Day for the first time in a really long time and it was really successful,” he said.

“So off the back of that we decided to do it again this year, especially since a lot of the wives’ partners and friends of players who helped have stayed on and helped organise this year.”

“A lot of local businesses have

supplied prizes and we have a ladies’ tent with complimentary champagne and food for just $15.”

While the day is being headlined by the ladies’ event, it is by no means the end of the entertainment.

In another fundraising effort all the Cods’ players will be shaving the moustaches they have been growing since the start of the season.

On the field the Condamine Cods will try to hold onto the WHK shield in their annual shield match against rivals Dalby.

Condamine have held onto it for the last seven years, but this year could be different.

In A-Grade, Chinchilla have struggled for players and are sitting at second last in the table while Dalby are looking very strong currently sitting in second place.

“Yes we have had a lot injury disruptions this year, but we are determined to hold on top of the shield for another year.”

Maybe the hometown advantage and all those women looking on will be enough to rally them.

Have Camel, can ride

Something for the ladies on Ladies Day at Condamine Rugby Club this weekend. Moustaches grown for charity come off. You can vote for your favourite by going to www.facebook.com/condamine

In fact you don’t even need a camel to ride at the Bell Camel races in a fortnight’s time.

You just need to be able to convince the organisers that you’re able to ride one.

To get round the fact that keeping a performance camel in the backyard for the odd race day every year is a big ask for most people, the organisers of the Bell Camel Races have organised a special shipment from Yeppoon.

Club secretary Sheryl Bradley says they are looking for riders.

“We have John Richards from Yeppoon coming as Cameleer for the days and he will be bringing the camels with him,” she said.

“It’s an all-amateur event - a bit like the

New McGrath Breast Care Nurse starts work in Mackay and Hinterland region thanks to Rio Tinto and Caterpillar partnership Newly appointed Lynda Campbell is helping to provide physical, psychological and emotional support for families experiencing breast cancer. As with all McGrath Breast Care Nurses, Lynda’s service is free and families can self refer.

old picnic races format where anyone who wanted to can get up and have a go.”

“Most people will ride [a loan] camel, but I guess you can ride your own camel if you have got one.”

There will be five camel races with the winner of each event going into the Camel Cup, where there is more than $1000 to be won.

This might seem like a lot of work for a small herd of camels, but each race will be just the length of the straight section on a standard race course.

Off the track there will be direct line tote for interstate racing, plus live entertainment, a licensed bar and BBQ facilities.

Free camping facilities are also available.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia is proud to be a part of the central Queensland community and committed to the future

Lynda’s position further strengthens central Queensland’s breast care nurse network.

Pictured (left to right): Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s Colin Mackey, Mackay Base Hospital’s Alan Wales, new McGrath Breast Care Nurse Lynda Campbell, local Judy Evans who accesses the free McGrath Breast Care Nurse service and Caterpillar’s Brett Moule.

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24th June 2013

The partnership is part of Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s ongoing commitment to the region through the Kestrel Mine Extension project near Emerald.

Proudly supporting

riotintocoalaustralia.com.au

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Unit sales soar in tourist centres and lows of the GFC, and the strength of the Aussie dollar, more than most over the past four years so it is heartening to see them stepping back into the light.

“Many of these areas have also become more affordable, even those with unique seaside locations, so this is no doubt spurring buyers into action before the tide has turned to the positive completely.

In Cairns, the strongest growth in sales was in the sub-$250,000 price bracket.

On the Sunshine Coast, compared to the March quarter last year, there was a significant increase in the numbers of unit and townhouse sales priced between $350,000 and $500,000.

On the Gold Coast, according to REIQ data, there was an increase in sales in the $250,000 to $350,000 price range as well in the upper-end of the market.

“There have been reports of late that

DEMAND for units and townhouses in tourist areas like Cairns and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts has skyrocketed in the past year.

According to Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) data, the numbers of unit and townhouse sales increased 54.5 per cent in Cairns, 22.6 per cent on the Sunshine

Coast, and 19.4 per cent on the Gold Coast, compared to the March quarter last year.

“The popularity of units and townhouses in our major tourist precincts has returned,” REIQ chief executive Anton Kardash said.

“These areas have experienced the highs

the prestige market is improving and these figures support that with the numbers of sales between $500,000 and $1 million on the Gold Coast increasing nearly 30 per cent compared to the same period last year,” Mr Kardash said.

In Brisbane, the median unit price was steady at $390,000 over the March quarter.

Solid performers over the period were Upper Mount Gravatt and Kelvin Grove which posted price growth of 9.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively.

Unit sales across the whole of Queensland improved by 2 per cent over the past year, possibly due to a general fall in median sale price.

Sale prices of units and townhouses in Gladstone and Rockhampton fell by 15.8 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively, indicating the market in Central Queensland is swaying in favour of the buyer.

Location

Median Sale 12 months (Mar ‘13)

Median Sale 12 months (Mar ‘12)

1 Year Change

Gold Coast

$338,000

$354,000

-4.5%

Sunshine Coast

$335,000

$340,000

-1.5%

Cairns

$200,000

$215,000

-7%

Rockhampton

$270,000

$283,000

-4.6%

Gladstone

$335,000

$398,000

-15.8%

*Data taken from REIQ

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24th June 2013

25

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Salary Sacrifice for Tax Breaks TAX breaks and superannuation aren’t exactly the two most scintillating topics on the planet.

It’s often easy to overlook superannuation - especially early in your working life - as an intangible pile of money you get when you’re about 65 years old.

For high income earners a bit of forethought about superannuation may not only see you retire with more money, but can also provide massive tax breaks.

Salary sacrificing allows you to pay for something out of your pretax income rather than your after-tax income, and although you’re still taxed on this income, it is at a rate likely to be less than your income tax rate.

The most common type of salary sacrificing is into superannuation.

In this example let’s assume your super is taxed at 15 per cent. For someone paying tax at the higher income tax rates, this is a substantial saving and will also help you save for your retirement.

Imagine you are taxed at the top rate of 46.5 per cent. For every $100 of pre-tax salary you earn, after tax you only receive $53.50.

However, if you salary sacrifice $100 into super, you receive $85 after tax, a

hefty $31.50 more for every $100.

You can also obtain a further tax break, as interest earned in your super fund is taxed at 15 per cent, whereas interest earned outside is taxed at the top rate.

An example quoted in the Australian Financial Review suggested that if a 40-year-old salary sacrifices $100 a month into super for the next 25 years, using a conservative rate of return, they would accumulate $527,000 by the age of 65.

While salary sacrificing offers substantial benefits, there are some drawbacks.

Many companies do not allow salary sacrificing, so it’s important to check with your employer to see if they provide salary sacrificing options.

The compulsory super contribution made by your employer (9 percent of your pay) may also be reduced if you salary sacrifice, and too much salary sacrificing will affect your disposable income.

Salary sacrificing into superannuation may be an excellent way to save for your future and obtain some tax breaks in the process.

Before making the decision to salary sacrifice, talk to an accountant to ensure it’s the right move financially for your individual needs.

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24th June 2013

Stay safe shopping online

ONLINE shopping is a double-edged sword. It’s positively fantastic to be able to shop for exactly what you want without having to brave crowds or unhelpful sales people, but there’s also a downside.

I’m not just talking about the pitfalls of using eBay while drinking (after a few beers $500 for a remote controlled T-Rex seems like a pretty good deal). There’s a vast network of dodgy websites and scammers out there looking to cash in on unsuspecting online consumers.

There’s a few easy rules you can follow to make your online shopping experience much safer.

Only buy from secure websites.

A secure payment site will have a picture of a closed padlock somewhere on the page (often in the address or URL bar). An open padlock means the page is not secure.

Do some research on the website and the product.

A quick Google of the website or product you’re intending to buy should indicate whether or not everything is above board.

Be particularly careful when buying smartphones, tablets, pets, motorbikes, cars and boats, as these items are often ‘sold’ by scammers.

Check the price against other websites.

If the price of the item you are intending to buy is substantially lower, this could indicate a scam.

If you decide to shop online, check your bank and credit card statements regularly.

In a lot of cases, if a scammer has fraudulently obtained your card details, they may skim small amounts off your card (e.g.$2 to $3 a day) in the hope that you won’t notice, so always check your statements closely.

When buying online never enter any personal information into a webpage unless you know why it’s required and how it will be used.

If a webpage can’t provide these details, then don’t buy from them.

By applying these rules you give yourself the best chance of shopping online without being scammed, as for drunken eBay purchases...well, at least the remote controlled T-Rex will make a good conversation piece.

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Buying a house? Don’t play fast and loose

Even stars like Toni Collette can get caught out by ‘subject to finance’ clauses.

AUSSIE property buyers have been warned not to play fast and loose with the ‘subject to finance’ clause in contracts, following a recent court decision.

Associate Professor Kristy Richardson from CQUniversity’s Property programs says the ‘subject to finance’ clause is not a clause of the contract that can be taken lightly or used as a ‘get out of jail free card’.

“This is because the Queensland Court of Appeal held in March 2013 that under a contract to buy a property, if the contract is subject to finance then there is a positive obligation upon a purchaser to comply with their contractual obligation to take ‘reasonable steps’ to obtain the finance to proceed to settlement,” Assoc Prof Richardson said.

And it can happen to anyone. Actress Toni Collette and her musician husband were ordered to pay $814,000 and forfeit a $317,500 deposit after pulling out of a property deal.

Collette and partner David Galafassi were sued by the millionaire couple behind the Industrie clothing label, Susan and Nick Kelly, after backing out on a $6.35 million agreement to buy the upmarket property in September 2011.

The Kellys eventually sold their home to another buyer for $5.5 million, but took the Australian actress and her husband to the Supreme Court to recover the difference.

Ms Collette told the court she didn’t have the finances to go through with the purchase of a multi-million dollar property in Sydney’s east and implored the owners to settle the matter privately.

It is a warning to potential homebuyers.

“The realisation that you might not be able to afford the great Australian dream may turn into a contractual nightmare,” said Assoc Prof Richardson.

“On the facts of Hauff v Anor v Miller [2013] Queensland Court of Appeal case 48, the Hauffs being the purchasers entered into a contract to purchase a home unit and the contract was subject to them obtaining finance from ING within seven days.

“The Hauffs did not make any attempt to obtain finance from ING but their broker made application to a building

society. The building society could not approve finance by the nominated date under the contract and accordingly the Hauffs terminated the contract on the basis that they could not obtain finance.

“The sellers of the property argued that the Hauffs had not appropriately complied with their contractual obligation and claimed breach of the contract. The sellers brought court proceedings to keep the deposit and sue the Hauffs for damages and an order that they could resell the property.

“The Court of Appeal agreed, finding that because the purchasers did not take any steps, so on that basis ‘no reasonable steps’ to obtain finance from ING, they had failed to comply with the relevant clause of the standard contract. The Court of Appeal further ordered that the remedies for breach sort by the sellers were available to them.”

Assoc Prof Richardson said that while interest rates might be on the way down and that mortgage may be one step closer, “the Huaffs’ case is a cautionary tale”.

“Under a contract of sale, you as a buyer will be required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to obtain the finance that you are saying that you will under the contract,” she said.

“Also bear in mind that documents supporting your attempts to obtain finance can be called upon to be produced by the seller to support any contention by you that finance ‘has not been approved’.”

24th June 2013

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