SBN Nov 2012

Surat BasinNEWS THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2012

inside Death of Solar Dawn Page 4 Living the pipe dream Page 20 Face to Face Page 28

32 PAGES $1.10 inc GST

SBNEWS The Team David Richardson General Manager Laurell Ison Media Sales Manager Beth Walker Graphic Design Jillian Poulsen Editor The Surat Basin News will publish every month and will be delivered via the three dominant newspapers of the region: the Chinchilla News,Western Star and Dalby Herald.

It will reach the homes and offices of almost 20,000 living, working and playing in the Surat Basin, connecting the business and mining communities throughout the booming region.

Plans are to make the newspaper more frequent as the development increases.

Surat Basin News is not a necessity. It was born out of a passion for Australia's fastest growing communities — a passion for a region of unbridled potential and a future of vast economic growth and opportunities.The newspaper, professionally designed and regionally topical, will be a must read for anyone associated with the exciting Surat Basin.

Surat Basin News will allow local businesses to network and communicate with everyone in the 300 sq km basin, providing unprecedented access to new clients and markets. It will give a revealing insight into major industry while lifting the veil on current and proposed developments.

It will be there for each and every announcement shaping the region's future while profiling the colourful characters that define our communities.

With the Surat Basin region receiving national attention, Surat Basin News has gone online to ensure our readers in every corner of the country has the latest news sent directly to them.

View our previous editions on www.issuu.com/suratbasinnews Regular updates on

inside this edition in theNews

pages 4-10

The proposed clean energy project, Solar Dawn, has met with an untimely end. Details Page 4.

The first round of Royalties to the Regions funding has been announced. Find out how the Surat Basin faired on Page 5.

Owner of Cameb Downs Mine,Yancoal, have reported a jaw dropping loss on Page 7.

"The RSPT (Resource Super Profits Tax) has created significant uncertainty for the future of mining investment into Australia and would impair the value of previously approved projects and exploration to the point that continued investment can no longer be justified," Xstrata Plc chief executive Mick Davis said after Xstrata announced earlier this month suspending $586 million of expenditure.

down tobusiness

pages 16-21 The ABS has released population data for regional Queensland.

Not surprisingly the Surat Basin’s population has gone through the roof. Find out how many peopel have moved to the region on Page 16.

Surat Basin Rail appears to be a done deal. Find out the details on Page 19.

building theBasin

Placesandfaces

pages 22-27 pages 28-32 Origin are making serious ground and have started burying their pipeline. Find out hoe far along they are on Page 22.

Maguire Coaches goes into overdrive. Read teh full story on Page 25.

Surat Basin Property Group CEO Jason Van Hooft’s column.

Page 26.

November’s Face to Face Page 28.

Out and about at the TSBE’s networking function in Roma. Fin out if you were snapped on Page 29.

Origin contractors are tickled pink. Details Page 30.

The Chinchilla Recreation Grounds heated up. Read the full story on Page 32.

advertisers index Apel Consultants ............................................12

F K Gardner & Sons Pty Ltd ........................10

Surat Basin Industrial Park ............................11

Brandon & Associates ..................................18

IOR Petroleum ................................................20

Surat Basin News ............................................15

Budden Contractors ......................................32

Loughlin Crane Hire ......................................26

Tilly's Crawler Parts..........................................7

Chinchilla Fluid Power....................................10

Maguire Coaches and Travel............................6

Chinchilla Rest & Relaxation ........................32

MI Helicopters ................................................14

CMS Hire ..................................................9 & 10

Ray White Rural Chinchilla ..........................23

Diamantina Village Roma................................24

Santos ................................................................25

Easternwell ................................................6 & 21

SMK Consultants ............................................12

Tresed Liquid Waste ......................................18

Ergon Energy ......................................................3

Surat Basin Energy & Mining Expo ..............13

Wild Desert......................................................19

Toowoomba & Surat Basin Enterprise..........9 Trades and Services ........................................30 Trades and Services ........................................31

www.suratbasin.com.au

Surat Basin NEWS

Published by Chinchilla Newspapers Pty Ltd, 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413, Printed by APN Print Toowoomba, 50 Industrial Avenue Toowoomba Q4350 (2012) General Manager - David Richardson, 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413, PO Box 138 Chinchilla Q4413

Our unique position within the major centres of the Surat Basin allows this newspaper to supply relevant and required information to our local communities.

This newspapers is staffed and driven by passionate locals who have an investment not only in their communities but also the people that reside in them. To gain a foothold in the Surat Basin talk to the people who will work as hard for your business as you do.

Next Issue will be available

20 December 2012 Double your profile and build your exposure in the unique Surat Basin

Utilise our local knowledge to help you succeed in the Surat Basin Start now phone Laurell or David 4662 7368

Phone Laurell 07 4662 7368 and start building your business www.issuu.com/suratbasinnews PAGE 2

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

this WEEK

Regional plan revealed T Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney visited Chinchilla this week to finalise discussions about State Government statutory plans in the region.

Over the past few months a regional planning committee has consulted with Darling Downs stakeholders with the goal of establishing a Statutory Regional Plan, outlining use of land for mining and agricultural purposes.

Western Downs Regional Council has focussed on protecting local communities from the negative impacts of the resource boom, proposing campsites for miners to minimise impacts on small communities and town exclusion zones WDRC wants an exclusion zone for mining opportunities around all towns, including those less than 1000 people.

But industry and communities argued a two kilometre buffer zone was not appropriate for all towns, arguing that consideration

should be given to fringe activities and community perception in individual towns.

WDRC flagged the prospect of identifying new miners' camp sites to minimise community impacts.

Mr Seeney said the draft issues paper, now released, will fulfil Liberal Government election promises.

"The issues papers seek to deliver on our election commitments to address the land use conflict issues by proposing priority agricultural areas be mapped across each region with co-existence criteria to be established for other land uses within those priority agricultural areas," he said.

"Similarly, town protection areas are proposed to protect the amenity and social values of regional towns, hamlets and rural residential areas."

The draft statutory regional plans will be released for public consultation early next year.

Western Downs Regional Council has flagged the prospect of identifying new miners' camp sites to minimise community impacts

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 3

in the page 5 page 6 page 7 Funding success

New Hope expansion

Yancoal suffers loss

Clean energy project on the Western Downs abandoned

Solar Dawn just a dream lean energy initiatives in Queensland took another hit this week after the Federal Government abandoned a $1 billion solar plant in Chinchilla.

The $1.1 billion Solar Dawn project, originally proposed for land near the Kogan Creek Power Station was scrapped to move the funds to other projects in regional areas.

The decision comes about two years after the State Government scrapped a plan for a multimillion dollar clean coal upgrade at the Kogan Creek Power Station.

The Solar Dawn project was abandoned due to "current

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market conditions" and was understood to be due to the large scale of the project.

Western Downs Regional mayor Ray Brown said he was bitterly disappointed by the outcome.

"It was the first major step towards renewable energy in this country," Cr Brown said.

He said the reason the project was finally abandoned was because there was no Power Purchase Agreement.

"All of the hard yards had been done; all that was needed was to get the end product into the grid," he said.

"Neither the State nor Federal Government were

theFACTS

The project would have created up to 450 jobs in the construction phase.

Production was due to commence in 2015.

It is estimated Solar Dawn would have contributed $1.5 billion to the State's economy.

prepared to get on board and take it."

The project would have created up to 450 jobs in the construction phase, and around 30 while in production, which was due to begin in 2015.

Solar Dawn's website now contains a homepage statement from the Solar Dawn Consortium, stating that after "extensive discussions" with ARENA, it would no longer pursue the project.

Consortium spokesperson Anthony Wiseman said the group remained committed to the solar power industry.

A spokesperson from the office of Mark McArdle, Minister for Energy and Water Supply, said

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

the Queensland Government was working towards establishing a stronger renewable and alternative energy sector with a focus on practical research and development of Queensland's abundant renewable energy resources.

The cancellation of Solar Dawn, and another clean energy project in Victoria, will see the $2.2 billion funds re-allocated to smaller solar and clean energy projects around regional and remote Australia.

A new funding strategy was announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, with the Regional Australia's Renewables taking the $2.2 billion from the Solar Flagships Program.

NEWS page 8 page 9 Toowoomba airport blocked

Windfarm worries

SHORTLISTED PROJECTS

Royalties funding announced Surat Basin takes a large slice of the State’s funding pie THE long-awaited upgrade to the Miles water supply, Roma's flood mitigation levee and problematic roads around the region will be the first to benefit from Royalties for Regions funding.

Deputy Premier and State Infrastructure Minister Jeff Seeney announced in Kingaroy earlier this month the successful projects short-listed to share in this year's funding pie.

The Surat Basin dominated the first round of funding with Western Downs Regional Council and Maranoa Regional Council coming out with 14 successful applications.

The WDRC secured $10.7 million and was successful in 10 of its 16 applications.

WDRC mayor Ray Brown said it was a significant win for the region."We have been pushing for it (funding from royalties) for years, so we are very pleased with the outcome," he said.

"It is a huge shame the Federal Government is not matching it."

Four Maranoa Regional Council projects have also made the shortlist for funding.

These are improving flood mitigation in Roma, sealing the Wallumbilla North Road,

improving Roma's sewerage system and upgrading the Maranoa water supply.

Mayor Robert Loughnan said if their submissions were successful, Royalties to Regions could fund a substantial amount of Roma's flood mitigation levee.

The funding would also help address Roma's sewerage system problems.

"The Roma sewerage augmentation project, if funded through this program, will allow construction of over 5km of gravity mains, another pump station, 1.8km of pressure mains and allowances for ULDA gravity main connection," Cr Loughnan said.

"The Maranoa water supply project has also been successfully shortlisted, with Injune's bore and water facility to receive an upgrade to handle increased pressures due to energy sector demand on water supply."

Cr Brown said all projects had to be "shovel ready".

"We are not mucking around," he said. "Everything is ready to go...it is a very fierce program which is what I like about it."

The fund, designed to help communities negatively impacted

by the resources boom, will roll out $495 million over four years with $60 million to be handed out this financial year to critical projects.

More than $40 million has been allocated to fixing resource roads in 2012-2013 with the remaining $20 million to be divided between community infrastructure and flood plain security.

Councils will have to submit business cases on their respective projects before December 17 with a final goahead for the projects early in the new year.

The Government received 71 expressions of interests for this year's $60 million fund pool but only six regional councils have been short listed with 20 projects on the list.

Mr Seeney said the councils were faced with intense pressures from the resource sector expansion.

"We are now moving to address these problems," he said.

"Spending will be directed to the areas with the most pressing problems where the biggest cumulative impact of resource development is occurring."

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

Resource Community Building Fund • Roma Sewerage Augmentation Project Maranoa Regional Council • Miles Water, Sewerage and Recycled Water Scheme Stage 1 - Western Downs Regional Council • Chinchilla Washdown Bay Western Downs Regional Council • Maranoa Water Supply Project - Maranoa Regional Council • Winfields Road Landfill Upgrade - Western Downs Regional Council Roads to Resources • Fairymeadow Road Seal Widening - Western Downs Regional Council • Goombi Fairymeadow Road Seal Widening Western Downs Regional Council • Bennetts School Road Sealing - Western Downs Regional Council • Wallumbilla North Bitumen Seal - Maranoa Regional Council • Weranga North Road Upgrade - Western Downs Regional Council • Mary Road Upgrade Western Downs Regional Council • Joseph Road Upgrade Western Downs Regional Council • Beelbee Road Sealing Western Downs Regional Council Floodplain Security Scheme • Roma Flood Mitigation Project - Levee Construction - Maranoa Regional Council PAGE 5

in the NEWS

New Hope expands ew Hope has released new plans for the controversial New Acland mine expansion in a bid to get State Government approval for the project.

Member for Condamine Ray Hopper and the LNP Government have previously stated that the mine's third stage would not be allowed to proceed.

New Hope said in a statement released today that it had "developed a sensible compromise plan for the continuation of the mine which will ensure jobs and economic benefits are maintained".

CEO Rob Neale said the company had compromised on a number of key elements

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associated with the previous version of the New Acland Stage 3 Expansion Project to address concerns while also keeping the mine open beyond 2017.

"Hundreds of livelihoods are dependent on the New Acland operations and have been for the past decade," Mr Neale said.

"The plan will extend the life of the current operation to about 2029, boosting current employment from 300 local jobs to about 400, increasing 160 full time contractors to 170 positions and growing indirect jobs from about 2300 to more than 2800.

"The plan will also provide an annual $530 million injection into the south-east Queensland economy and $8 billion over the life of the mine.

"If the current New Acland

operations do not continue, redundancies could begin as early as 2015 and the operations would close in 2017.

"The proposed compromise plan will see New Acland continue to act as a spur to the Darling Downs economy through direct and indirect employment, investment, business and community development."

Mr Neale said New Hope would continue to work in partnership with neighbours, local residents, government agencies and other key stakeholders to further develop the plan.

"Under the plan, the Jondaryan rail loading facility will be moved away from near the township and onto a remote part of the mining lease area, as announced in February this year," Mr Neale said.

It will also mean the Acland town area, including the Tom Doherty Park, the War Memorial and the Acland No 2 Colliery, will be preserved.

From the original proposal, there will be an overall reduction in the amount of land used for mining activities by more than half, and mining operations would be at least

10km away from Oakey at their nearest point.

As a result of this compromise, production levels from the New Acland operation under this proposal will be reduced by at least 25%, from the originally proposed 10 mtpa.

Under this new compromise plan there will also be no need for any creek diversions.

Uncovered coal trains a “joke” top Brisbane Coal Trains has attacked the State Government over failing to take action against coal trains travelling uncovered through Toowoomba, Ipswich and Brisbane.

Group spokesperson John Gordon said the government was sitting on its hands

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hoping the problem would go away, as it had done for the last 10 years.

He said Transport Minister Scott Emerson came out publicly in August in a blaze of PR fanfare promising to set up the air monitoring of coal trains.

Mr Gordon said it had essentially been hot air.

The former environmental engineer said the recently completed air monitoring at Tennyson was simply a convenient charade.

"We regard this program as being wholly unrepresentative of fugitive coal dust emissions caused by passing coal trains on the West Moreton rail line," he said.

"Whether its findings are below or above

H e s a i d Tr a n s p o r t M i n i s t e r S c o t t Emerson came out publicly in August in a blaze of PR fanfare promising to set up the air monitoring of coal trains

benchmark safety standards, no-one should be under any illusion about it's lack of scope and effectiveness."

Mr Gordon said he had had discussions with the chief government scientist conducting the Tennyson monitoring, who had informed him that it was set-up in response to a local complaint and not intended to be a thorough investigation into fugitive coal dust emissions from trains along the West Moreton or South East rail corridor.

"Their veneering claims in the Toowoomba Chronicle are simply fanciful, given their antiquated coal loading at Jondaryan.

"They are still loading trains with front end loaders (for goodness sake)."

"In short, it is time for real action.

"It's way past time that these coal train loads were covered.

"We estimate there is around a million tonnes of coal travelling through Brisbane per month.

"And thus Toowoomba and Ipswich too. All trains have uncovered payloads, which in 2012, is a joke."

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

in the NEWS

Yancoal loss hina-owned coal firm Yancoal has reported a loss of $53.1 million for the three months from July to September.

Yancoal owns Cameby Downs Mine, located between Chinchilla and Miles.

A spokesperson for Yancoal told the Chinchilla News the company was not expecting job losses at the Cameby mine.

"Obviously we will be looking to cut

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costs wherever we can...to ensure longer term viability across all of our mines," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the substantial loss could be attributed to poor market conditions.

"Low coal prices, a strong Australian Dollar and increasing costs across the entire coal industry over a number of years are all contributing factors," the spokesperson said.

"We will be looking at the use of contactors and consultants where

possible."

The company's announcement follows an Australian Stock Exchange trading halt.

Yancoal told the ASX on Thursday it would deliver a five-year plan to its board in November before releasing its full-year results in February next year.

The arrival of Yancoal, which was the largest investment by a Chinese state-owned coal company when it was listed on the ASX in

June, was greeted with much fanfare from the industry.

Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche trumpeted the confidence Yancoal had in Queensland coal industry to commit to such an investment.Yancoal owns two mines in Queensland - Yarrabee Mine near Blackwater and Cameby Downs Mine, and holds a 50% stake in a Middlemount mine.

Locals urged to welcome 457 visas he Australian Mining and Metals Association has voiced its support for increasing the availability of temporary 457 visas for recruitment in mining and construction, following the release of a new study into the role of skilled migrant workers.

Partially funded by the AMMA, the study entitled '457 visa workers in Western Australian resources industry' identified the continued use of overseas skilled workers as one strategy available to Federal Government to overcome skills shortages, alongside increased training of Australian workers, and providing greater incentives to encourage workers to travel interstate for work.

Maranoa Regional Council mayor Rob Loughnan said he is supportive of migrant workers in the community.

"I think it's a really healthy thing, looking back through history Roma has always had a diverse community, particularly from the German and British backgrounds," he said.

"But this is a new thing, now we have people from asian and Irish backgrounds coming in which is really good to see I think the community needs to come together and be welcoming of these new communities."

AMMA executive director Minna Knight said temporary skilled migration is particularly important in remote areas where it is difficult to attract the total number of skilled workers required by

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the resource industry, and called on government to speed up the approval process for 457 visa applications and Enterprise Migration Agreements.

"The industry is concerned that the incorrect attention that has been placed on the skilled-migration program has resulted in a slowdown of some of these agreements being approved," Ms Knight said.

"With continued demand for skilled and experienced workers in Australia predicted to increase to 90,000 by 2016, employers must be supported in accessing skilled and experienced labour to fill immediate skills gaps."

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's national construction division secretary Dave Noonan

responded with the accusation that employers have sought to fool the public with tales of a shortage of Australian workers.

"The reality is that the so-called skills shortage in the blue-collar area of resource construction is mainly a fabrication of companies who simply want to have large numbers of workers under guest-labor arrangements because they're

constantly approached by workers who have the requisite skills, experience, and, in fact, have experience in working fly-in-flyout on large resource projects, and they can't even get a call back from employers.

"When we've seen those people given an opportunity, when it's clear that all of the local labor that is available has been soaked up, that's when we ought to be looking for guest-labor situations, and not before."

ECU academic Dr Susanne Bahn led the research for the study, which used

The industry is concerned that the incorrect attention that has been placed on the skilled-migration program has resulted in a slowdown of some of these agreements being approved inherently vulnerable, will do what they are told by management and won't join a union or require decent safety and living standards like local workers will," he said.

"We are

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

interviews with employers, employment agents and workers to assess industry attitudes.

"Participants indicated that they had encountered reluctance from Australian recruits about relocating to WA, with moving away from family and friends and a lack of social infrastructure among the main reasons," Dr Bahn said.

2200 temporary 457 visas were granted in the construction and mining industries in Queensland between July 2011 and January 2012, compared to 4400 in Western Australia in the same period.

PAGE 7

in the NEWS

QantasLink to make way for competitors at Roma Airport

s of next year, there might be competition for QantasLink at the Roma airport.

Maranoa Mayor Robert Loughnan and Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio have met with the minister of transport and main roads, Scott Emerson, to discuss the potential for the de-regulation of the Roma airport from April 1 next year.

Mayor Robert Loughnan said the Toowoomba council is keen to see a Skytrans route, which currently flies from Sydney to Toowoomba, extended out to the Maranoa.

Cr Loughnan said whilst Maranoa council does not yet have an official position on the idea, they are considering all options.

He said the regulation of the airport comes up for state government review next year.

Under the state government Regulated Air Transport Plan, Roma airport, along with many other regional ports, is regulated.

The current regulations ensure the area service provider, which in Roma's case is QantasLink, provides regular flights in and out of the airport.

Cr Loughnan said the increased number of passengers flying in and out of Roma means, for now, demand will ensure flights continue regardless of regulations.

"Ultimately if deregulating results in lower prices and more carriers that's not necessarily a bad thing," Cr Loughnan said.

"If the airport is deregulated we could ask for the regulations to be reinstated in the future if the number of flights into the airport started to drop off."

But he said they had to be conscious of the fact the Roma route also connects out to Charleville airport, which could be disadvantaged if flights were deregulated.

"That's something the minister is very aware of," Cr Loughnan said.

Surat Basin news contacted Skytrans to ask the company if they planned to expand out to Roma, but no one was available for comment.

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Army blocks new airport lans by Wagners to build a second airport in Toowoomba have come screeching to a halt with the Department of Defence interjecting on safety grounds.

Toowoomba company Wagners lodged a development application earlier this year to build a jet-capable airport in Wellcamp on the outskirts of the town.

The proposed airport would include a public terminal and a 2.8km runway capable of accommodating large passenger jets.

But the Department of Defence believes the proposed project has the potential to significantly impact on Army aviation training and operational capability at Oakey Airstrip due to the proximity to restricted airspace.

A defence spokeswoman said there were also safety concerns with regards to air traffic control procedures.

"The concern is in relation to the location of the land," she said.

"Specifically it is around safety concerns when an aircraft is landing or departing and has to be given an airspace clearance.

"This clearance would require any other airspace users to land or move out of the affected area."

The spokeswoman said numerous training missions would be disrupted and lost each day because airspace would be unavailable to military traffic for up to 10 minutes every time an aircraft lands or departs from the proposed airfield.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Greg Johnson said the airport

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would be good for Toowoomba's transport infrastructure.

"Full marks must go to Wagners who will use and invest their money for the betterment of the community," Mr Johnson said.

Mr Johnson said the project would also benefit both the tourism and business

industries, not just in Toowoomba but also for greater southern Queensland.

"Skytrans already has very good family numbers," he said.

"But the corporate sector is yet to embrace it.

"It would be good to see a 747 landing near town."

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

This clearance would require any other airspace users to land or move out of the affected area

in the NEWS He doesn’t have the typical greenie look

But

cattle farmer Cyril Stewart is right behind a "clean, green" proposed wind farm in Cooranga North.

The grazier is president of the 400-strong Coopers Gap Wind Farm Supporters Group, and said "misinformation" had been rife in the debate, which has split the Cooranga North community.

Protest groups have been arguing that noise and health concerns outweigh any economic benefits the project could bring.

Mr Stewart, who would have a turbine 650m from his house if the project went ahead, said 17 international studies had found no link between health problems and wind farms.

"The host farmers are going to be the closest to any towers, so if there's health problems, or problems with any noise, we're going to suffer the most," Mr Stewart said.

"We don't consider ourselves to be that silly that we would bring it upon ourselves.

"The landholders who are getting turbines will get an income during droughts.

“An opportunity to do that to a farm doesn't come along very often in anyone's lifetime."

Mr Stewart admitted that landholders next to the turbines would not have the same benefits as host farmers, but said the benefits to the wider community were clear.

"There's six permanent jobs, which means there'll be six more people employed in the district," he said.

"They'll be spending money at the local store; their kids will be going on the local bus.

During construction, there'll be many jobs.

"It'll inject a lot of money into the community - even Dalby and Kingaroy, Jandowae, Chinchilla - all those places will benefit in the initial stages, and in the later stages, I do think that it would probably start a little bit of tourism trade."

However, Cooranga North Concerned Citizens Group spokesman

Bryan Lyons said acoustic consultants engaged by the group informed them that the proposed wind farm would exceed the current Queensland noise policy by a "significant amount".

Mr Lyons said in a statement that AGL's comparisons of noise levels created by the turbines with quiet libraries was "unrealistic".

The project has been cut down from its original planned size due to resident concerns.

Material from energy company AGL, developing the project, said the proposed installed capacity of the wind farm would be about 350MW, to be installed in two stages.

The wind farm would include 115 wind turbines across 11 properties.

"To provide an indication of typical noise levels, two people can comfortably stand directly under a turbine and have a conversation without raising their voices," the website FAQ section said.

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December Enterprise Evening The Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) invites you to join us for the next December Enterprise Evening featuring guest speaker, Andrew Haythorpe, the Managing Director and Chairman of Liberty Resources. A progressive Australian company with a unique UCG project converƟng coal to urea ferƟliser, Liberty Resources seeks to produce a low cost urea ferƟliser for farmers.

We look forward to seeing you there!

EVENT DETAILS: Date: Wednesday 12 December 2012 Time: 5:30pm unƟl 8:30pm Venue: City Golf Club, 254 South Street, Toowoomba, QLD 4350.

Cost: $40 per person ( TSBE Member) $90 per person (Non–Member) RSVP: Please register interest before 5 December 2012 to events@tsbe.com.au

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 25 OCTOBER 2012

PAGE 9

in the NEWS

Job cuts Rental downturn ental prices in Roma are already on the way down, according to a market update report released by independent property valuers Herron Todd White.

Last week's report indicates housing availability has increased to 3.80%, up from an extremely tight 0.80% in November last year.

Local real estate agents have indicated there are approximately 50 properties currently available for rent in the area, which has brought rental asking prices back to levels consistent with mid 2011.

Property valuer Digby Makim said that rental

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rates are likely to flatten out and soften over the next 12 months, as flood damaged properties are repaired and more house and land package products are built within new housing developments like Clearview Rise,The Meadows and Roma Heights Estate.

"This is similar to what has occurred in Dalby and Chinchilla over the past three years where vacancy rates have continued to fluctuate according to market forces," Mr Makim said.

According to Mr Makim, completion of proposed new worker's camps also has the potential to contribute to a further increase in rental vacancies in Roma.

PEABODY Wilkie Creek coal mine officials told between 30 and 40 contract workers they would be finishing their jobs around Christmas time.

The mine's representatives told labour hire outfit HEQ contract workers they would not be required from December 24 onwards.

A worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said contractors believed it was a decline in the industry and low coal prices that were responsible for the job cuts.

Peabody Wilkie Creek vice president of external affairs Jennifer Morgans said the end of workers' contracts was simply the next step after construction was completed.

"Wilkie Creek has expanded its mining lease into another pit," Ms Morgan said.

"To do this we needed to hire more workers.

"Twenty to 30 contractors hired specifically for this job will no longer be required."

The company employs about 250 workers in its Wilkie Creek mine, and an additional 40 contract workers during construction operations.

Ms Morgans said this was a normal occurrence for contract workers and HEQ would now be responsible for finding additional work for the contractors.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

MECHANICS / FITTERS / AUTO ELECTRICIANS CMS has several opportunities based from Miles and Wandoan facilities. CMS is looking to employ auto electricians, diesel fitters or mechanics to work from on a range of machinery and vehicles Duties would include but not limited to: service and repairs of customer and company owned equipment, work shop and field jobs and site positions Equipment range: light towers, generators, telehandlers, forklifts, excavators, skid steers, boom and scissor lifts, general hire equipment, vehicle and truck repairs and serving This position would suit a self motivated person looking for a career path to management and someone that enjoys providing great customer service. Visa holders also encouraged to apply.

An open QLD drivers licence and an industry white or blue card would be required.

To apply please send your resume to peter@machinerysolutions.com.au or phone 0408 777 811 for more info

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

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SBNEWS

12 Mayne Street Chinchilla, QLD 4413 PO Box 138, Chinchilla, 4413 Phone: 4662 7368 General Manager: David Richardson Advertising: Laurell Ison Editorial: Jill Poulsen Design: Beth Walker

Editorial WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO SEE THE SUN USED FOR MORE THAN SKIN C ANCER? SOLAR Dawn has been on shaky ground since the arrival of the Newman Government.

In one of his first orders of business Mr Newman pulled the state's $75 million funding commitment.

However, Solar Dawn Consortium project director Anthony Wiseman assured us all was not lost and Solar Dawn could still see the light of day.

That was until last week when the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) chairman Greg Bourne announced that the project would be abandoned.

Presenter of ABC Radio's PM current affairs program Mark Colvin spoke with Mr Bourne after the announcement.

Mr Bourne told listeners that "the project wasn't appropriate to go ahead with at this time either from their point of view or from our point of view".

When questioned as to why it was not "appropriate" Mr Bourne said it was a combination of things.

"One is size, it was a very large-sized project.They had a look at resizing it, but in the end the overall project we did not believe would have been value for money and would have brought the earnings we need to see to Australia and they agreed with us on that," he said.

It is a bitterly disappointing outcome for the whole of the region but indeed the country.

Australia does not have a large scale solar thermal project, and yet we are on the verge of hosting the largest coal mine in the southern hemisphere, in our backyard no less.

One has to question where our Government's priorities lie.

We know that fossil fuels will not last forever, primary school students have been taught that for decades and yet our governments response to renewable energy is a constant 'not yet, it is still too expensive'.

Let's see how expensive it is when we have no other option but to purchase renewable energy from other countries that had a little more foresight than us.

What do you think?

Drop us a line at editorial@suratbasinnews.com.au

Editorial details Jillian Poulsen 4662 7368 editorial@suratbasin.com.au

Surat BasinNEWS Advertising details Laurell Ison 4662 7368 advertise@suratbasin.com.au PAGE 12

Where are the Feds?

Shortlist success

Ray Brown, Western Downs Regional Council Mayor

Robert Loughnan Maranoa Regional Council Mayor

Better bridge gets put in the fast lane C ongratulations to Jillian Poulsen and her team at the Surat Basin News for building the Surat Basin News into a monthly publication. I was looking back on the files and still remember the Inaugural Edition in September 2007. It is pleasing to see the growth and how the publication has become a focal point for the Surat Basin issues and development. Well done to the past and present Surat Basin News teams - keep up the good work.

FLASHING SCHOOL ZONE LIGHTS In the coming weeks I will be asking for feedback and suggestions on which schools should receive flashing safety lights. There are considerable increases in traffic volumes in many areas of the Warrego Electorate and some schools are located beside major highways, for instance the Roma Junior School and the Brigalow State School are two that come to mind.

Should Parents and/or Schools or road users have specific suggestions in relation to the need for Flashing School Zone Lights at a particular school I would appreciate their feedback to my Electorate Office (Email warrego@parliament.qld.gov.au, Ph 1800 814 479) so this maybe conveyed to the appropriate Departmental Team.

UPDATE ON RURAL FIRE SERVICE There is currently a Special Ministerial Review into the Rural Fire Service, Chaired by Ted Malone MP and the review team will be holding a series of

meetings across the state to gather important information towards providing advice on the future of the Rural Fire Service. Volunteers, landholders and representatives from Coal Seam Gas Companies are invited to have input into the review and there will be a meeting held on Monday 3rd December 2012 at Explorers Inn 44778 Warrego Highway Roma to discuss the review. Those people who are unable to attend the review meeting in person are able to obtain a list of the Consultation Questions from my Electorate Office (Email warrego@parliament.qld.gov.au, Ph 1800 814 479) and I will be happy to forward their suggestions onto Mr Malone for them. However I would urge them to have their comments returned to me on or about the 7th of December 2012 to ensure that their comments can be included in the reveiw.

HOWARD HOBBS SCHOLARSHIPS GUIDE 12/13 The Howard Hobbs Scholarships Guide for 2012/13 has been updated and distributed to Year 12 students in the Warrego Electorate.

The Guide is a summary of contact numbers and website address for scholarships at major universities, agricultural colleges, training and apprenticeship information, and a listing of scholarships in a range of areas such as rural industry, veterinary, medicine, pharmacy, teaching, sport, engineering and the arts. Examples of some of the scholarships include the Australian Beef Industry Foundation Scholarship, Marcus Oldham College, Aged Care Nursing Scholarships - Undergraduate, the Bid

Apels Consultants Toowoomba Buyers agent service for SEQ/Toowoomba/Surat Basin

Offering assistance relocation/property purchases Personal home/Investment or commercial

COMMENT Howard Hobbs MP Member for Warrego Shadow Minister for Local Government and ATSI Partnerships

O'Sullivan Teaching Scholarship, the Roma Zonta Club Encouragement Bursary to name a few.

Anyone who wishes to receive a free copy of the 2012/13 Scholarships Guide should call my Electorate Offices Ph 1800 814 479 or Ph 1800 625 430 and a copy will be sent to them.

NEW MARANOA RIVER BRIDGE FAST-TRACKED A stronger, safer, and wider Maranoa River Bridge has started well ahead of its committed 2014 date, following the fast-tracking the funds to start the project.

I was instrumental in calling for the fast tracking of these works following the 2012 floods and raised this matter with my State and Federal Colleagues including the Prime Minister on her visit to Roma.

The new $14.6m bridge at Mitchell would be 3.1 metres wider and 90cm higher than the existing structure, which was severely damaged during flooding earlier this year.

Planning and design of the new bridge was under way, but with approval of these funds we can now speed up delivery to ensure it's completed as soon as possible.

The new bridge will have load capacity to support Type 2 road trains, include a dedicated pedestrian access at deck height and be located immediately south of the existing bridge, and align with Mitchell's main street (Cambridge Street).

About 450 metres of approach works are included in this project.Traffic will continue to run on the existing bridge until the new one is built, after which time it will be removed.

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

opinions was pleased recently to receive news that the Western Downs region was one of 14 local regional council areas to be shortlisted for long overdue infrastructure funding in the first round of the $495M State Government's Royalties to the Regions program.

Western Downs Regional Council has been shortlisted for $10.742M in funding which, if successful, will be included in this year's budget and spent on various projects to be delivered in the region including Chinchilla, Jandowae, Kogan, Miles and Tara.

Of the 10 proposed projects shortlisted to progress to the assessment stage, three are under the Resource Community Building Fund and seven under the Roads to Resources Funding programs. Council has submitted applications for seven road projects throughout the region that will help deliver a safer road network for our community and assist energy sector companies.

I

P RO J E C T S S H O RT L I S T E D : Resource Community Building Fund ($5.24M) • Miles Water • Sewerage and Recycled Water Scheme Stage 1 • Chinchilla Washdown Bay • Winfield Roads Landfill Upgrade Project under Roads to Resources Program ($5.502M) • Fairymeadow Road -Seal Widening • Goombi Fairymeadow Road - Seal Widening • Bennetts School Road - Sealing • Weranga North Road - Upgrade • Mary Road - Upgrade • Joseph Road - Upgrade • Beelbee Road - Sealing If our applications for these projects are successful, it will be a huge win for the Western Downs Regional Council as it means we will have the money in our budget for other projects that would otherwise be second priority and not have made the list.

The whole reason we are applying to get this money is due to the ongoing growth in energy sector developments and the associated impacts these are inflicting on

our roads and communities. Council believes the energy sector is part of our community and should pay their way.

Energy companies are putting a strain on the traditional rates base of the Council to deliver the infrastructure our

should be paying an equitable share of the costs of infrastructure development and services.

A total of almost $23M, including Royalties to the Regions combined with $12.223M in contributions from QGC,

Western Downs on short list for mining royalties communities desperately require to keep pace with the resources boom.The reality is that traditional ratepayers have been meeting too much of the burden placed on Council. Rather, all ratepayer groups

Origin and Western Downs Regional Council is allocated to be spent on roads and community projects.

I thank each organisation for their enormous contribution and commitment

COMMENT Cr Ray Brown Mayor, Western Downs Regional Council

to helping improve our communities.This funding will assist our local areas under enormous strain from the resource boom.We already have all these projects 'shovel-ready'. All the concept design plans are drawn up and the projects are ready to be rolled out as soon as we get the green light.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the State Government for its proactive approach in starting to address the impacts that are occurring in resource communities and this is only the first stage of its ongoing programs of Royalties to the Regions.

It is a positive sign for the future with the State Government recognising that some of the royalties must go back into the regions where the impacts are.

Council will soon begin preparing applications for the next round of the Royalties to the Regions program to be announced in July.

Heading our new funding list will be a number of water and sewerage projects critical for the sustainability of many of our towns' water supplies to address the water issues of our local communities.

At present, the Western Downs Regional Council still has infrastructure agreements in place with energy sector companies on impacts to our towns and roads.

I want to reassure the community that these will be honoured by Council regardless of Royalties to the Regions.

The Council will continue to proactively work very closely with the energy companies to identify and address the impacts of their operations on our communities and infrastructure.

I believe the partnerships forged by Western Downs Regional Council with the energy sector to address impacts occurring across the wider region is the first step of many to addressing the ongoing growth and future prosperity of our region.

In the meantime, we wait until February in anticipation of the outcome of our 10 funding applications.

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PAGE 13

opinions

Royalties for Regions hen the dust has settled on the process and distribution of the first round of the Royalties for Regions funding, my assessment, and that of most mayors I think, will be very positive.

Ignore the static around some of the councils who feel they have been overlooked and from those who may have convinced themselves the fund was designed for their council and theirs alone.

The fact there are only fourteen councils currently competing for just $60m of funding always meant this would not be a gold mine for anyone in the first year.

Fourteen into sixty might be a fair split but not necessarily a productive one. So this was always going to be an uneven sharing arrangement by necessity.The pool will grow significantly in future years albeit the grouping of fourteen councils is likely to be expanded as well. I always said I wouldn't have been too devastated to miss out this year knowing our chances of getting some important projects funded in the future will be enhanced. Having said that, of course I am delighted my council has done so well to be shortlisted across all three funding categories.This fund marks a real change in government direction with the new focus on

W

tackling existing local government problems, many of them directly linked to the resource sector and utilising buy-in from industry. Gone for now are the glamour projects and cultural centres and back are the critical infrastructure upgrades.This program has clearly been aimed at addressing those infrastructure backlogs that torment us year after year, compounded by growth.That is why we have focused unapologetically on underground sewage and water infrastructure that has deteriorated quickly with rapid growth in recent years. Likewise we have confined our road submissions to projects that can demonstrate a high level of traffic and damage but are not obliged to be remedied through the conditions in Environmental Impact Statement approvals for the major

COMMENT Cr Robert Loughnan Mayor of Maranoa Regional Council

projects.This fund must never be seen as a subsidy to the resource sector obligations.

Our focus on fixing our sewage and water network in a staged process will make the ribbon-cutting a pretty dull gig for some lucky politician.

However, I feel this government would ultimately prefer to be remembered for better investment in conjunction with the resource sector.There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in local government in Queensland and particularly here at the business end of the Surat Basin.

positive for local government

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

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The Surat Basin NEWS is now published monthly Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 15

down to page17 page18 page19 Lesson in lingo

Farmers talk CSG

SB Rail update

Popular place to be

he trend of people leaving outlying rural and remote areas to head to mining regions and has continued, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed. The bureau released Census data on population growth and turnover in local government areas between 2000 and 2006 across the nation.

Local government areas with both high turnover and high growth rates included Chinchilla, Emerald, Nebo and Warroo in

T

Queensland, with 65.8% of high growth and high turnover regions.

Areas with low population growth and turnover were mostly in regional areas of NSW,Victoria and South Australia.

ABS Regional Population Growth Statistics revealed that in the past ten years Maranoa Regional Council's population has grown 6.8%, which equates to 854 people moving to the region in the last ten years.

That is a steady growth rate of 0.7% per year.

The Western Downs Regional Council has recorded a 10.5% population increase in the last ten years, around 1% every year.

That means on average 3078 people have relocated to the Western Downs in the past ten years.

SURAT BASIN POPULATIONS AS OF 2011 Maranoa: 13464 Western Downs: 32355

PAGE 16

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

BUSINESS page20 page21 Big win for MPC

Info centre open

Local businesses learn the lingo M

ore than 250 Surat Basin businesses learnt about current and long-term opportunities to work with QGC at the annual local contractor forum in Chinchilla.

Tradespeople, suppliers and other businesses from across the region talked about work with QGC and its principal contractors at the event, which was supported by Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise.

Speakers included representatives of Industry Capability Network

Queensland, the not-for-profit advocate for local industry, and Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corporation.

More than 20 similar events have been held by QGC for local businesses across the Queensland Curtis LNG Project area during the past three years.

QGC's Upstream operations manager Richard Schokman said QGC would award contracts to support long-term operations and maintenance during the next two years.

"QGC is delivering significant benefits to local communities,

Glenn Pfluger of Murphy Pipe and Civil has a great chat with the ladies of Tu-Lagoons Nursery in Chinchilla.

with nearly A$400 million already spent in the Western Downs region between Toowoomba and Roma," Mr Schokman told the forum.

"We will be a partner of local businesses in the long-term so this is just the start.

"Last week, QGC awarded a contract to Transfield Services worth more than A$200

million over five years for regular maintenance on gas field and pipeline facilities.

"Transfield Services will open an operational base in Chinchilla and they are committed to employing local people and using local suppliers of goods and services where possible.

QGC's major tender

documents and contracts include clauses requiring it to give Australian suppliers full, fair and reasonable opportunity to participate in QCLNG. More than 47,000 registrations of interest have been received from Australian businesses seeking to supply to the project.

QGC is delivering significant benefits to local communities, with nearly A$400 million already spent in t h e We s t e r n D o w n s r e g i o n

INFORMATION FORUM: QGC Social Performance Coordinator Sarah Worthing talks with Christine Lockery and Gilbert Lockery from Gillcom Enterprises.

Exhibitors at the forum were only too happy to provide local businesses with information.

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 17

down to BUSINESS

Coexistence on the menu at National Farmers Congress H QGC DEAL eld in Canberra over October 22 and 23, the National Farmers Federation Congress delivered a lot of big names discussing the country's big issues.

One of the major topics was the somewhat rocky relationship between Australia's agriculture and CSG industries.

With much discussion from Federal Government ministers, and the big names in agriculture it was generally agreed that coexistence between the two was largely based on trust, and that it was the CSG industry which was the most wanton in transparency.

While Prime Minister Julia Gillard's address to the congress was without mention of the CSG industry, opposition leader Tony Abbott used the opportunity to slam the mining tax and appeal to the economic sensibilities of farmers.

"There will be no mining tax under the government I lead,” Mr Abbott said.

NowI know that miners aren't always the most popular people in a room full of farmers but most farmers understand…- because they are practical people who deal with markets all the time - that you don't speed up the slow lane by slowing down the fast lane.

"You don't make the less effective and the less successful operations better by hamstringing the more successful operations and that is the philosophy at the heart of the mining tax."

National Farmers Federation president Jock Laurie, renewed calls for greater federal government intervention in csg issues within Queensland.

Speaking to Farm TV Mr Laurie said he hoped the CSG debate would be held within a higher level of government.

"It has been a state issue for a long time and in the last 12 months we've tried to elevate it to a federal level," Mr Laurie said.

"I think the Australian community through the

[

Australian Government need to have some sort of overarching view on how mining should develop…taking into consideration agriculture, food production, food security.”

Speaking in his opening address at the congress Mr Laurie called for farming to be more highly regarded and not "strangled" with policy.

"We need to ensure policies on land use changes, like urban developments, mining, and coal seam gas, do not impact future agricultural production; and that policies are in place to encourage new entrants into our industry to fill future labour needs," he said.

One of the major topics was the somewhat rocky relationship between Australia's agriculture and coal seam gas industries

Winning Confidence. Doing Something Right.

A CHINESE state-owned oil firm plans to spend $1.93 billion to buy a stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG project, which will harvest coal seam gas from the Surat Basin before transporting it to Curtis Island for processing and export.

The British BG Group behind the QCLNG plan released a statement on Wednesday evening trumpeting that the deal with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation was to be complete by mid2013.

This agreement also binds BG Group to deliver 5 m tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas for 20 years from the start of 2015.

Combined with an earlier CNOOC deal to supply 3.6m tonnes, BG has now secured demand for 8.6m tonnes a year of its gas.

Once done, the deal will deliver CNOOC a higher stake in one of the CSG to LNG processing facilities or liquefaction plants along with interests in what BG holds in both the Surat and Bowen basins.

Each will share the investment into building an extra two LNG ships in China.

BG Group chief executive Sir Frank Chapman said the deal further improved the relationship between the two firms as CNOOC secures more of BG's LNG supply.

In the past four years BG has invested more than $10 billion with plans to invest a further $20.4 billion to the QCLNG Project in Gladstone.

Since 2008, BG Group has invested more than A$10billion in Australia and has committed a further US$20.4 billion to the QCLNG project.

First gas from QCLNG is to be exported before the end of 2014.

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 25 OCTOBER 2012

down to BUSINESS

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found the missing link Surat Basin Rail looks certain to proceed he Surat Basin coal rail line now appears certain to proceed after a bill to create the railway was read for a second time in state

Wandoan to a terminal in Banana, before linking with the Wiggins Island Export Terminal rail line to export coal through Gladstone.

It was funded by three main groups,

parliament earlier this month.

The bill, which has bipartisan support, will likely pass the Queensland parliament during the next sitting week.

It creates exemptions for the 214km privately-owned railway from some provisions under the Property Law Act and ensures the railway will complement existing state laws.

The proposed railway will link coalfields in the Surat Basin near

including QR Surat Basin Rail and Xstrata Coal Surat Basin, and proponents have promoted its potential to also transport some general freight in addition to coal.

State Development Minister Jeff Seeney said the government gave the joint venture an exclusive mandate to build the railway, as long as the state secured land for the rail corridor and granted the companies tenure rights to ensure the line goes ahead.

T

The mandate was first secured by the previous Labor Government, with the Newman Government following through, with some changes, on the initial proposal.

The proposed railway will link coalfields in the Surat Basin near Wandoan to a terminal in Banana, before linking with the Wiggins Island Export Terminal rail line to export coal through yo Gladstone

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 19

down to BUSINESS

C P M r fo in w r e th o n A

m a e r d e p i p e h t g n i v Li $100 million contract to build 25km of pipelines in the Surat Basin is expected to create about 250 jobs in the region.

The QGC line - to be built by Brisbane's Murphy Pipe and Civil Constructions - will move the gas and water between facilities west of Dalby.

Work is expected to begin almost immediately and be finished mid-2013.

The gas pipelines will link three field compression stations to a central processing plant as the accompanying water pipelines connect ponds to a treatment plant south of Chinchilla.

This latest announcement will form just part of the Queensland Curtis LNG project, which eventually will link 2000 coal seam gas wells in the Surat region to a processing plant at Curtis Island near Gladstone through 540km of underground pipeline.

QCLNG project director Mitch Ingram said work would expand in the next 12 months.

"Local communities are reaping the benefits of our spending on the construction of infrastructure for our QCLNG Project," Mr Ingram said.

"We have spent more than $400 million in the Western Downs region between Toowoomba and Roma and there is much more to come."

MPC Managing Director Jim Campbell welcomed the contract win and said it would further strengthen the solid working relationship the company already had with QGC. MPC was earlier this year awarded the high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline installation contract for QGC's entire upstream gas gathering network.

"While we already have a firm presence within the Surat Basin's CSG upstream gathering sector, this latest contract win will further enable our company's steel pipeline construction arm to make strategic inroads into this developing region," Mr Campbell said.

Mr Campbell said in line with MPC's commitment to the Western Downs, the company will endeavour to source local workers for the project.

"A significant percentage of our existing workforce is from the local area, so we will be looking to those employment markets once again to source workers for this project," he said.

A

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PAGE 20

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Phone Laurell at our Chinchilla Office (07) 4662 7368 advertise@suratbasin.com.au www.issuu.com/suratbasinnews

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

down to BUSINESS QGC opens their new information centre

CSG info made more accessible n an attempt to increase the accessibility of CSG information QGC have opened a new community centre at the Bell Street shopping centre in Chinchilla.

The centre has been designed to provide residents of Chinchilla and surrounding towns with a central location for information about QGC and the Queensland Curtis LNG Project.

QGC sustainability vice president Brett Smith said QGC was providing an environment in which people could learn.

"QGC has a great team of people who live and work in the local community to explain what's involved in producing coal seam gas," Mr Smith said.

"Now they have a space and information at their disposal with which to help people to gain a better understanding of our business.''

About $1 million was spent on the five month project to fit out the community centre.

Information panels and an

I

interactive display kiosk provide information about QCLNG, which involves increasing coal

seam gas exploration and development in the Surat Basin; building a 540km underground

pipeline network to Gladstone; and construction of a liquefied natural gas plant at Curtis

"QGC has a great team of people who live and work i n t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t y t o e x p l a i n w h a t 's i n v o l v e d i n producing coal seam gas." Brett Smith

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

Island, off Gladstone.

The centre-piece of the community centre is a rug that shows Chinchilla at the centre of a map of the region.

Protestors from the Lock the Gate Alliance were out in force at the official opening on Saturday November 3, to share their views and partake in the complimentary sausage sizzle.

Anti-CSG protestor Scott Collins said the presence of Lock the Gate Alliance at the opening was to offer a competing perspective on the QGC and the mining industry.

"We're not here to upset anyone, we're here to inform the community that there is another side to coal seam gas and it's ugly," Mr Collins said.

"It doesn't matter how many sausage sizzles they (QGC) put on or how many balloons they blow up, we're not buying it."

Weekend shoppers raised eyebrows at the awkward standoff as they lugged groceries between the Woolworths checkout and their vehicles.

PAGE 21

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Diamantina makes mark

Maguire Coaches profile

Some big things in the pipeline he first of more than 530km of pipe has been laid underground 15 km south of Miles as part of the pipeline construction component of the Australia Pacific LNG project.

The main transmission pipeline is being constructed to enable coal seam gas to be transported from the gas fields in the Surat and Bowen basins to an LNG plant on Curtis Island, off the coast of Gladstone for processing and export.

Australia Pacific LNG pipeline project manager Graeme Hogarth said the pipe being laid underground was a significant milestone.

"Australia Pacific LNG is committed to high standards of environmental management, and a great deal of

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PAGE 22

Origin making ground with pipeline burial well underway south of Miles construction to be completed in 2014 planning has gone into the pipeline construction phase to protect the environment and preserve the visual amenity of the surrounding region," Mr Hogarth said.

"This means that all 530km of transmission pipe in the Australia Pacific LNG project will be buried 0.75 metres or deeper underground and the land above reinstated and rehabilitated. "We've also developed a comprehensive translocation process for endangered and near threatened

plant species along the pipeline route which has seen the preservation of more than 3,000 plants to date."

The welded pipe segments are lowered into the prepared trench by specially designed side booms. Up to six side booms operate together lifting 180 meters of welded pipe at a time and lowering into the trench ready for final tie-in, testing and commissioning.

Construction of the Australia Pacific LNG pipeline is ongoing and is expected to be complete in the first half of 2014.

P U T T I N G P I P E I N TO T H E G RO U N D I S O N E O F T H E F I N A L S TA G E S O F T H E P I P E L I N E C O N S T RU C T I O N P RO C E S S W H I C H A L S O INCLUDES: • • • • • • • • •

Surveying the pipeline route Clearing of vegetation along the approved pipeline route Delivery and bending of pipes to match the terrain Welding, inspection and coating of pipeline Excavation of pipeline trench Lowering pipe in trench, backfilling and initial reinstatement Tie-in (bedding down of the pipe into the trench) Testing and commissioning of pipeline, and Final reinstatement of pipeline route.

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

BASIN page26 A year of prosperity

BEST BET UNITS in Chinchilla are rated the best in all of Queensland in terms of financial yeild.

According to a study printed in October's Money magazine, Chinchilla units generated a median rent of $465 a week for a median price of $265,000.

Property Sales and Rentals agent Marg Whip said business was steady in Chinchilla with units going between $300 to $900 per week.

"We've had ups and downs but overall business is quite steady at the moment," she said.

Principal of Elders Chinchilla Tess Bourke said units were going for as much as $600 per week and business was booming.

"We've got no rentals, and only one unit that's just been built," she said.

"We're asking $500 a week for it."

Ms Burke said demand from all sectors meant rentals had waiting lists rather than advertisments.

"We've got a lot of contractors, and local business people [buying units]," she said.

"We've got a waiting list on houses.

"That's not to say it's all boom , boom though, June and July were really quiet.

"There has been some instability in the market recently."

The investor’s dream deally located within 600m of Chinchilla's central business area is 'Canaga Court', an innovative complex that showcases six striking two storey townhouses.

Chinchilla's rental market has been specifically considered in the design of each townhouse, taking the typical family home floor plan of four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a double garage and redesigning it to offer tenants a convenient, low maintenance lifestyle in a property that is modern and elegant.

As you enter each of these townhouses you will be surprised by the light and airy feel that pulls you from the

I

foyer into the air-conditioned open plan living and dining.

The well appointed two pac kitchen features stone bench tops, Italian 'Ariston' stainless steel appliances and the convenience of a breakfast bar.

The large windows and sliding glass doors provide views of the lush grass of the fully fenced, landscaped courtyard and breezy outdoor entertainment area.

As you head up the hardwood stairs and onto the landing of the second storey you catch a glimpse of the multipurpose media room and spacious main bathroom which features a separate bath and shower and double vanity.

Each townhouse offers four

bedrooms, with three upstairs and one downstairs, and although the floor plan differs between each residence all feature carpeted floors, built-in wardrobes and ceiling fans.

Completing each of these well designed homes is a spacious remote entry double garage large enough to accommodate 2 four-wheel drive vehicles.

If you have been searching the Surat Basin for a unique residential investment consider 'Canaga Court'. Guaranteed rent return over 7%.

Leased until 2014 To ensure you don't miss out on this opportunity contact our office today for more details or to arrange an inspection of 'Canaga Court'.

TWO HOUSES UNDER $300,000 15 Colamba Street, Chinchilla

6 Dorney Street, Chinchilla

This little beauty oozes character and charm.

Looking to get into the market for the first time? Well this would be a good place to start!

• • • • •

3 Bedroom timber home Semi-modern kitchen Separate shower and bath and separate toilet.

Air conditioning in all bedrooms and lounge room.

Currently tenanted until March 2013

Rural Chinchilla Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

• • • • •

3 bedrooms plus sleepout timber home.

Large kitchen with plenty of potential.

Showerbath and vanity and separate toilet.

Carport & single detached garage.

Ideally positioned in a good area close to the high school and a short walk to the CBD.

71 Heeney Street Chinchilla QLD 4413 P 07 4669 1911 F 07 4669 1912 www.rwrchinchilla.com rural.chinchilla.qld@raywhite.com PAGE 23

building the BASIN basin

Find all the luxuries of home oma is at the heart of the Surat Basin however anyone who has travelled to the region recently would understand how hard it is to find readily available accommodation, with booking confirmations often required months in advance.

The accommodation shortage in regional Queensland is not a problem unique to Roma with many regional towns connected to the mining industry experiencing accommodation pressures.

In Roma alone the rapid and extensive growth across the energy, mining and resources sectors has resulted in pressure being placed on the housing and rental markets where demand often outweighs supply. construction of a new accommodation village 5km east of Roma will relieve these external strains whilst still providing accommodation options for those travelling to the region for work commitments.

Diamantina Village, Roma is currently under construction with stage 1 consisting of 350 rooms due for completion in January 2013. Located on the corner of the Warrego and Carnarvon Highway (Roma Surat Road) the accommodation precinct will provide 700 fully serviced rooms when at capacity.

FKG general operations manager Craig Kimmorley identified Diamantina Village as

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Arrival of Diamantina Village set to reduce accomodation shortage in Roma

rooms for tourists and the general community, while companies working in the region can still provide their teams with modem, well equipped amenities in

TA OPE KI N NG JA BO NUA OK RY IN 20 GS 1 NO 3 W

a positive development for Roma.

"The introduction of Diamantina will mean that local accommodation providers and housing rentals will have readily available

close proximity to their project sites," Mr Kimmorley said.

For added guest comfort Diamantina Village includes spacious individual ensuited rooms with reverse cycle air conditioning, Pay TV, refrigerator and work space. Impressive recreational facilities have also been incorporated into the village design with the inclusion of a gymnasium, fully licensed bar, training rooms, tennis courts, alfresco barbecue facilities, pool tables, cafe, general store, swimming pool, sauna and other amenities you would expect in a modern motel.

Mr Kimmorley also noted Diamantina Village has a commitment to supporting the local community.

"These types of developments are a fundamental driver to the economic sustainability of regional communities that is why we acknowledge the importance of purchasing locally to contribute to the economic wealth of the town," he said.

Urban Development Institute of Australia president Mr Dallas Hunter also acknowledged the economic benefits Diamantina Village will create for the township.

"Diamantina Village will introduce new jobs to the region not to mention the flow on effects which will impact local businesses through a variety of procurement initiatives across both the construction and management processes," Mr Hunter said.

THE LUXURY SHIFT Move your crew to Diamantina Village. Luxuries of home only 5km from Roma.

www.diamantinavillage.com.au PAGE 24

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

building the BASIN Family-owned business goes into overdrive Project Update Message from Regional Manager Sam Klaas: The last year has seen massive growth for Santos GLNG. We’ve now well and truly passed 4000 employees working on our project and will soon reach 6000 at peak construction. From the gas ½elds in the Maranoa to the LiUue½ed Natural Gas (LNG) facility on Curtis Island, we’re all working towards our ½rst e\port shipment of LNG in 2015.

Maguire Coaches managing director Kaye Maguire with some of the company's rapidly growing fleet.

Maguire Coaches shifts gears for resources boom eeting the urgent and often short notice transport demands of the dynamic resource industry is the latest business opportunity for family-owned Chinchilla bus tour and travel company Maguire Coaches.

Owners, drivers and partners Kaye and Leo Maguire purchased their 27th bus this month, and completed a new technology makeover for their entire fleet as they shift gears to help Origin and other resource companies manage complex workforce transport logistics.

It's a far cry from the business' beginnings, when Kaye and Leo had one small Toyota bus and purchased the Chinchilla school bus run from Kaye's parents in 1988.

They still do the original school bus run and over the years have developed and grown with new business opportunities, such as guided day tours, hire/drive options, charter services, international tours and now resource workforce transport.

Kaye said the resource companies placed strong emphasis on safety, and all Maguire Coaches are now fitted with In Vehicle Tracking Systems - similar to the systems fitted to Origin and contractor transport vehicles.

"I really appreciate the safety standards that the resource companies require as it is very important to us that everyone arrives home safely," Kaye said.

"We have always looked to provide the best quality and the safest transport that we can provide, and all our coaches and

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buses are fitted with three-point seatbelts, two-way radios, fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

"Installing the new In Vehicle Tracking Systems matches the type of technology standards used and expected by companies like Origin.

"I used to look in my yard in the

We h a v e a l w a y s looked to provide the best quality and the safest transport that we can provide, and all our coaches and buses are fitted with three-point seatbelts, twoway radios, fire extinguishers and first aid kits morning and say 'where are all my buses', because they'd all be out on the road so early - now I know exactly where they are at all times.

"These new systems are essential and with two-way radio for letting our drivers know if there's cattle on the

road, or if there is a wide load in transit from one of the resource companies."

Kaye said as the volume of work for resource companies increased so did the pressure to meet tight deadlines and timeframes.

"We get calls from people who need a bus tomorrow, or need a weekly pick up to start as soon as possible, and the turnaround time is getting shorter and shorter - you have to be flexible and responsive because conditions change so quickly," Kaye said.

"Even weather conditions - we have to re-route when it rains heavily and the creeks rise, or people can't work on site because of the wet weather and we have to pick them up - it's all very busy.

"This area is growing and it's very exciting to be in our business at this level, at this time of our lives, we have grown and learnt a huge amount."

Origin has completed detailed analysis of likely increases in road traffic volumes associated with the Australia Pacific LNG Project, and assessed capacity and condition of the regional road network.

Origin and Australia Pacific LNG are developing and implementing detailed traffic management plans to reduce the risk of accidents to employees and other road users.

Traffic management plans developed by Origin and Australia Pacific LNG specify controls and protocols designed to improve road safety, limit disturbance to residents and communities, and minimise impacts on roads users and road infrastructure.

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

In the gas ½elds, construction is well underway on our 420 kilometre underground natural gas transmission pipeline. Saipem Australia, our contractor building the pipeline, has been busy fencing, clearing and grading along the pipeline route in Arcadia Valley. Work has recently commenced on stringing, bending and welding the pipe. Burial of the pipe is due to start in the Arcadia Valley this month and once this is complete the area will be back½lled and rehabilitated. We’re working closely with landholders as this work is undertaken.

It was great to have worked with the Roma St John’s year eight students last month when they carried out water testing. Santos GLNG provided the students with the tools and education they needed to be able to conduct their own water testing and monitoring as part of this year’s world-wide Water Monitoring Challenge. We know just how valuable groundwater is to the community and that’s why Santos GLNG puts so much emphasis on monitoring it. What these students learnt re¾ects the e\tensive water monitoring we have in place for our project.

We hope this will encourage them to keep learning about water monitoring. I urge you to have a look at our online water portal www.santoswaterportal.com.au The bush½re season is already upon us and I know many people have already e\perienced the dangers we potentially face. We’ve been working with landholders and proactively preparing our properties by undertaking fuel reduction burns and creating ½re breaks, as have many other landholders. Key personnel working on our properties have all undertaken ½re training and are prepared for any potential ½res.

This year really is one of building, jobs and growth – not just on our project but certainly for Queensland.

I look forward to updating you again with more progress on our project.

As always, if you have any Uuestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1800 761 113 or drop into our shopfront at 80 McDowall Street, Roma.

Speak soon, Sam Klaas.

PAGE 25

building the BASIN basin

More people can Stayover D alby Stayover, located on the outer perimeter of town, has had its development application approved by Western Downs Regional Council to increase bed capacity by 340 to

cope with a growing demand for accommodation for resource workers.The facility, run by Aucso, currently caters for 550 residents in donga style accommodation.

Western Downs Regional council mayor Ray Brown said he welcomed the move.

"It will take the stress off accommodation within the town, which is a good thing for the local community," Cr Brown said.

The facility includes outdoor areas, a gymnasium, a recreation facility and each room is fitted with an ensuite.

It is one of two accommodation facilities of its kind in Dalby, providing an alternative for workers who wish to live closer to town facilities.

Cr Brown said the extra capacity of the facility would free up accommodation for visitors and

travellers passing through or staying in Dalby who may have found it difficult to source accommodation.

The Dalby Stayover will have the capacity to house around 900 people if the expansion goes ahead.

The facility includes outdoor areas, a gymnasium, a recreation facility and each room is fitted with an ensuite

SBPG surat basin property group

A YEAR OF GROWTH AND PROSPERITY

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By Jason van Hooft CEO SBPG AS the year comes to a close the Surat Basin continues to experience unprecedented growth and prosperity.

Both private enterprise, local government and state authorities face challenges in meeting the demands that this growth brings, but the rewards for the entire community are significant so the challenges must be met.

As an example of the international interest in the Surat Basin in recent months there was a high level delegation of business people and a representative of the Canadian Government in the area inspecting firsthand the impact of the resources boom in the region.

The visit was arranged by Brisbane Marketing and also business and commerce groups based in Chinchilla.

Brisbane Marketing senior manager,Alex Smith, said after the trip the visitors to the Surat Basin were very impressed by what they saw.

The delegation included representatives from several companies involved in areas such as immigration, accountancy, training and resources sector professional services as well as a Canadian Trade Commissioner.

The Surat Basin Property Group

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

helped host the visit and as a result the Canadians are planning a greater involvement in the region which has already attracted a number of companies from Canada.

SBPG senior executive Jim Strongman was involved in the organization of the delegation and he said the visit enabled the business and government people to get a glimpse of what is happening in the region.

The wealth that will be created here in the next five years or so will be significant for the State and the country and also for those private investors who seize the opportunity. SBPG is committed to expanding its residential and industrial property activities in the Surat Basin and to working with the range of regulatory authorities responsible for the continued development of the region.

Our aim is to continue to generate employment and prosperity for the entire community so that people at all levels share in the benefits of the resources boom and the evolution of the Surat Basin as some of the world's leading energy companies establish themselves and expand there.

The past 12 months has been one of tremendous growth and opportunity and the next 12 months is shaping up to be just as exciting.We have more residential land to be released and will continue to expand our industrial developments. Our workforce spread between Chinchilla and Brisbane now exceeds 65 and we expect that number to increase during 2013.

The Surat Basin story is only just beginning and the opportunities available are tremendous for those who act.

building the BASIN Through eight decades of working with the civil construction industry, Rocla has developed a comprehensive range of precast concrete drainage products that can be combined with Rocla pipes to create economical civil construction solutions

Making t heir m ark on t he S urat B asin

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ocla Pipeline Products manufactures box culverts, headwalls, sewer access chambers, stormwater pits, kerb inlets, irrigation products, plus a host of specific solutions, big and small. They have supplied products for the construction of Ruby Jo and Woleebee Creek. The high strength, high density and low absorption concrete used in Rocla precast products provide reliable quality and durability.

Rocla's expertise in designing and

manufacturing precast concrete products has led to the development of a range of prefabricated solutions for efficient infrastructure construction.

Among these are modular structures such as bridges, retaining walls and a concrete boardwalk system, all made up of standard precast components that can be quickly assembled on site to create permanent, durable structures.

In creating its own Water Quality arm and dedicating its technical resources to the stormwater and wastewater industry,

Rocla Pipeline Products also made a commitment to improving water quality for future generations.

Working with leading industry experts in Australia and overseas, Rocla Water Quality has evolved a suite of solutions for effective removal of solid pollutants from stormwater and wastewater, as well as oil and grit separation, storage saving for on-site detention systems, and urban rainwater reuse.

The range of Rocla Water Quality products is constantly expanding to meet

ever-increasing demands for sound environmental treatment of stormwater and wastewater.

Rocla sales manager Jason Horswill said the compnay is committed to reducing operating costs and increasing manufacturing productivity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We provide the best in customer service,â&#x20AC;? Mr Horswill said.

Recent customer service initiatives include a new quotation system and an updated website with up-to-the-minute customer-focused information.

World first in technology orld-first technology developed in Australia is cutting the cost and time associated with exploration for new coal mines, while simultaneously helping prevent outburst and gas explosion.

Brisbane-based global company WellDog has commercialised an innovative GasMapper coal seam testing technical service which, for the first time, is allowing mining companies to accurately detect and map underground gas characteristics before mining without drilling the extra wells required by slower and more expensive "core sampling" techniques.

The new technology is already helping major mining companies in Australia and

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southern Africa optimise mine designs and identify safety risks before commencing mining operations, potentially slashing more than 30 per cent off drilling-related exploration costs and cutting years from new mine lead times. WellDog CEO John Pope said mine safety was a worldwide issue, but Australia's stringent safety testing requirements and movement to mining deeper, gassier coal seams provided the perfect motivation to develop and refine GasMapper in Australia before distributing the product more widely.

"We combined gas sensing technology from the USA with Australia's unique open hole coal permeability testing technology to develop a tool that measures both gas content and

permeability at the same time in existing chip holes," Dr Pope said.

Dr Pope said coal exploration in Australia was going deeper than ever before, presenting increased challenges for mine safety management.

"The depths that mines in Australia are reaching means that companies are encountering more gas under higher pressures which has created a need for this more accurate, cost effective and reliable technical service.

"An important application of this technology is occurring in the developing world, where higher-risk mining can sometimes occur when less stringent regulations are in place.

"As a result, this technology can save lives." Current methods of detecting

methane and carbon dioxide characteristics require special wells to be drilled and core samples to be extracted and sent to laboratories, a difficult process that is prone to errors and often takes many months, particularly in areas with limited provisions of laboratory infrastructure and where tests are not performed by experienced staff.

WellDog's GasMapper uses a unique combination of technologies to deliver conclusive results within hours or days at the mine site, and with the need for 30 per cent fewer wells.

WellDog is actively exporting the GasMapper service worldwide, to areas including Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and the United States.

places and page 29 page 30 page 31

facetoface TSBE social pictures

More meals on wheels

Tickled pink

Brad Campbell Murphy Pipe and Civil Solar Boost Project OHSE advisor

From teaching on Thursday Island to working in the Surat Basin as an OHSE advisor for Murphy Pipe and Civil, Brad Campbell has led and interesting life. He kindly caught up with the Surat Basin News to tell us all about it What project are you working on?

I am part of Murphy Pipe and Civil's 40man Solar Boost crew which is installing a solar component to the Kogan Creek Power Station.

Our role in this project is to install 5400 solar panels across an area of about 50 football fields.

This type of solar power project is relatively new to Australia's energy industry so I am excited about being a part of it out here in Kogan.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Brisbane and studied to become a teacher.

Over the years I have worked in schools on Thursday Island, the Sunshine Coast and in Charleville.

While we have moved about a bit, our family still calls the Sunshine Coast home.

How did you first get involved in this industry?

I really loved teaching but I decided it was

time for a career change.

Luckily, I have family that has worked within the construction industry for many years and they agreed to give me a shot working within the safety department of Murphy Pipe and Civil.

It's been great and I am really enjoying this new chapter in my working life.

How did you get where you are today?

Being a teacher for 13 years has really helped me in this role because a big part of work place safety is educating people to always be thinking about their safe working behaviour.

Over the past few years I have also completed a number of certificate fours and other associated qualifications and only just recently I completed a dogman's course and telehandler ticket onsite with my fellow work colleagues.

Did your family move with you?

My wife Heidi and I have two kids and we all live in Chinchilla.

My son goes to St Joey's and my daughter will start kindy next year.

What made you relocate to Chinchilla?

Last year my swing was 21 days on and 7 days off and my wife and I felt this was just far too long to spend away from my two young children so we decided to relocate the family to Chinchilla.

What do you love most about your job?

Working in a new and dynamic industry like solar energy there is never a dull moment.

In my role as safety advisor I can be at a desk for part of the day and then out on the project site communicating with the company's workforce.

What do you see as the biggest challenges in your role?

The safety sector is always looking for continuous improvement and as a safety advisor it is imperative that I'm across and up-to-date with the multitude of changing rules and regulations within the

construction industry.

I then must be able to effectively implement and communicate these to our workforce.

What do you think of Chinchilla as a town to live in?

I think it's a very warm and friendly town and since we have arrived my wife and I, and our kids, have made a lot of new friends.

It's a nice place to bring up a young family.

What are you looking forward to doing here?

I am a keen trail bike rider and recently participated in the Chinchilla trail ride and it was awesome.

The kids also have ball here and love the pool and the weir and participate in gymnastics and the local soccer competition.

What do you do in your spare time?

I think it's a very warm and friendly town and since we have arrived my wife and I, and our kids, have made a lot of new friends.

PAGE 28

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

We try to do something each weekend and this could be just playing with the kids in the yard, riding my motorbike in the bush with my mates or taking the tinny out to the weir.

What would be your ideal holiday destination and why?

We are a water-loving family, the kids and I love water sports so anywhere we can do this, such as a lake or the beach, is perfect for us.

FACES page32 Cricket pros pay a visit

TSBE mix and mingle in Roma

The crew from Rocla; Jason Horswill, Peter Worth, Scotty Fyfe, Stacey Kent from TSBE and Mike Salisbury.

Keith Harrison and Debbie Tully of KHB Construction with Graham Webb of ANZ Roma.

ANZ Roma's Campbell Crouchley, Allen Ledger from Downs Group Training and Russell Pool of Sika.

Rob Brown from Stonestreet's Coaches, Jay Sharpe of Workplace Solutions, guest speaker for the evening Phil Stonestreet and Graham Secombe from Aspect Architects and Projects Managers.

Brendan Ostwald of Ostwald Bros and SQIT's Maxine Thomas and Debbie Richardson.

Gary Christison of Verifact and Scott Standfast from Wagners.

Kaye Maguire from Maguire Coaches, Kylie Hodges of Dual Recruitment, Matt Crause from Downs Office, Equipment and Supplies with Geiger Civil's Bron Elliott.

Rolly Frizzel from Signasaurus, Carmen Roberts from Roma Commerce and Graham Bidgood of NJ Contracting.

Claire Benet from Group GSA Architects, Dallas Hunter of FKG and Cr Wendy Newman.

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

PAGE 29

places and FACES ustralian Pacific LNG was 'tickled pink' with the novel way contractors working on its Upstream water treatment facilities at Reedy Creek and Condabri promoted breast cancer awareness month.

Australia Pacific LNG project director Adrian Lang said the idea to raise awareness of breast cancer was initiated by Lyncor, a subcontract company which specialises in earthmoving and civil construction.

"In keeping with the focus on health and safety on this project, Leighton Contractors and Lyncor have gone that extra mile by painting two CAT 637 scrapers bright pink to support breast cancer research," he said.

"We're amazed by Leighton Contractors' and Lyncors' highly original fundraising initiative and we congratulate everyone involved for their display of support in helping to beat breast cancer.

It was fully supported by Leighton Contractors, the primary contractor for the Upstream water treatment facilities, and Australia Pacific LNG team.

Leighton Contractors Northern Infrastructure general manager Hugh Boyd said the fundraising initiative during October raised over $4,500 for vital breast cancer research.

"Sadly, each year more than 480 women die from breast cancer - our mums, sisters, wives, friends and colleagues," he said.

"With as little as $25 helping to provide a newly diagnosed cancer patient with support and information resources, and $1,500 helping fund ground-breaking research into the causes of cancer, as well as new and improved treatments, over $4,500 will most certainly help take another big step closer to that 'cancer free future' which we all hope for."

Lyncor chief financial officer Stephen Pitt said Lyncor will continue to donate $5 for each man-hour worked by the scrapers for the life of the machines.

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Origin tickled pink by contractors fundraising efforts

Promoting breast cancer awareness

"Sadly, each year more than 480 women die from breast cancer - our mums, sisters, wives, friends and colleagues." Hugh Boyd.

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Support for an army of locals eals on Wheels clients in central and western Queensland are set to benefit from more than $7,000 raised by staff working for Origin.

During the course of this year, staff working on the main transmission pipeline component of the project raised more than $2,000 in voluntary donations.

This figure has been matched by both Australia Pacific LNG and MCJV, taking the total funds raised to $7,100.

Origin pipelines project manager Graeme Hogarth commended staff on their positive contribution to Meals on Wheels Queensland.

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"Queensland Meals on Wheels is an organisation run by an army of locally based volunteers who do a fantastic job to support less fortunate members of the

Queensland Meals on Wheels CEO Debra Tape thanked the Australia Pacific LNG pipelines project team for their generosity community," Mr Hogarth said.

"Like Meals on Wheels, we

are proud to play our part supporting local communities in the gas fields."

Queensland Meals on Wheels CEO Debra Tape thanked the Australia Pacific LNG pipelines project team for their generosity.

"Many of our rural clients are feeling the effects of cost of living pressures and finding it difficult to pay for their meals and even cutting back on meals to make ends meet some even down to just three meals a week," Ms Tape said.

"This fantastic donation will be used to pay for additional meals for those disadvantaged clients in the South Burnett and Western QLD regions."

APLNG pipelines project manager Graeme Hogarth presenting a cheque to Meals on Wheels CEO, Debra Tape.

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Joy Byrnes - Principal & Sales 0428 223 380 joy.byrnes@raywhite.com Kerri Collins - Sales & Marketing 0428 153 720 kerri.collins@raywhite.com Desley Oates - Finance/Office Manager Jessica Stansbie - Senior Property Manager Sarah Hancock - Property Manager Maree Mitchell - Reception Sam Schefe - Real Estate Trainee With the district thriving, the Roma office has been exhibiting success across all fronts of the property business. For an office that specialises in residential and small acreage sales, commercial and business sales, industrial sales and property management, contact Joy and her team at Ray White Roma .

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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

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48 Colamba St, Chinchilla PAGE 31

places and FACES ISSN 1835-6400

L

egendary cricketers Darren Lehmann, Alistair McDermott and Peter Forrest brought the heat to Chinchilla's rising stars last

Thursday.

The small group made of under-16s were split up into groups, getting 15 minutes of training in bowling and batting from the pros before finishing up with some bat signings.

"How fast can I throw it at you?"

Chinchilla boy Kaleb Hartwig asked Forrest before getting hit for six.

Peter was impressed by the swing on young Keiran Boshammer, who smashed it out to the fence on more than one occasion.

"We'll have to sign you up soon if you keep hitting them like that," Peter said.

Heat and Queensland Bulls coach Darren Lehmann played 27 Tests and 117 One Day Internationals, being a member of two World Cup winning teams.

Brisbane Heat Coach Darren Lehmann said he respected country cricket and emphasised the importance of teaching skills early.

"It absolutely is important to teach the skills early…I've been playing since I was seven," Mr Lehmann said.

"Over 50% of players that represent Australia come from the country, Nathan Reardon, Nathan Horritz to

name a couple," he said.

"Hopefully some of these kids will go on to play for the Brisbane Heat. I started coaching after I finished my career, but I've been playing since I was seven years old," he said.

Peter Forrest captained the Heat in six matches in the inaugural BBL last season, represented Australia last summer at ODI level and scored a century in his fourth professional game.

He said 20/20 cricket had changed the play style and wanted to teach kids the importance of making the big hits.

"We'll be looking at teaching them the basics of 20-20 cricket, letting them have a bit of fun hitting those fours and sixes - these days you need to swing hard," Mr Forrest said.

"In 20-20 it's about getting as many runs as you can in 20 overs, which is why it's a big hit with the community," he said.

"It's a bit of a license to get out and hit those fours and sixes."

Forrest said the top-notch equipment made his job a little easier.

"The bats are bigger these days, more advanced I suppose," he said.

"They used to have skinny ones, but that's probably just Darren's excuse for not hitting fours and sixes back in his day.”

Forrest said the game was a part of his Australian identity.

"I grew up playing footy in the winter

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and cricket in the summer, and I'd really miss cricket if it lost its following,” he said.

"It's a part of our culture I suppose, and people really look forward to watching the cricket in summer.”

Alistair McDermott, the son of former Australian great Craig McDermott, was the Heat Player of the Year last summer and represented Australia 'A' during the off-season.

"The key to 20/20 is not being predictable," Mr McDermott said to the young cricketers.

"You've got four balls; your 'short ball bouncer', the 'top of off', 'Yorker' and 'Wide Yorker' - master each one of these so the bloke doesn't know which to expect from you.”

McDermott tried to explain the ins and outs of A grade cricket to the young bowlers.

"Bouncers are for when you're aiming for head height…not that you should be doing that but at our level we have to," McDermott said.

"Make it nice and full, so the batter can't get under the ball, and save your best shots for the end of the innings.”

The trio finished off the session with some questions and autographs for the star-struck youngsters.

The coaching clinic was made possible

by Linc Energy.

Chinchilla Rest & Relaxation WEEKLY

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Private room rentals EFTPOS AVAILABLE

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•Keep It Local• PHONE STEVEN 0429 346 876 NOEL 0428 457 871 PAGE 32

Lois Fields Mobile 0458 331 952 Email dlfields@bigpond.com www.chinchillarandr.com.au

Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 22 NOVEMBER 2012

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Pro cricketers share some skills

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Peter Forrest cracks a joke as he signs young Zac Iverson's cricket bat.

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Surat Basin News Published by Chinchilla Newspapers Pty Ltd, 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413 Printed by APN Print Toowoomba 50 Industrial Avenue Toowoomba Q4350 2012 General Manager - David Richardson, 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413, PO Box 138 Chinchilla Q4413, Phone 07 4662 7368

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