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ocal music lovers were in for a treat at the weekend, with John Schumann – self-described “left wing folk rock singer from Adelaide” – performing in Roxby Downs on Saturday night.
The iconic Australian singer and songwriter performed a number of songs from his solo career, time with bands Redgum and John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew, and even a slightly reworked Cold Chisel classic, to a warm reception from attendees. He was accompanied by his musical friends Rowan Powell, Polly Politis, Julian Ferraretto and Anthony Thyer. Schumann visited Roxby Downs for the second time this year after making an earlier trip for a mental health workshop. He was interviewed on local radio station RoxFM on Saturday morning, before heading to Andamooka for a look around in the afternoon. “I came up three or four months ago, I do a bit of work in the mental health space and I helped present some workshops on mental health and as I was wandering around town people were saying ‘did you bring your guitar, can you play some songs?” and I said no but I would come back, so here we are,” he said. “I just love the country up here, the sky is bluer, the trees are greener and the sun is brighter and the birds and bigger and the air is sharper.” Local health partnership Time for Wellbeing, supported by Roxbylink and PHN, was the driving force behind the performance, which had a mental health theme. Speaking before the concert, Schumann told The Monitor it wasn’t going to be a “lecture in mental health, it’s just going to be John Schumann and his mates in concert”, but said something as simple as a musical performance could help people feeling isolated in remote communities like Roxby Downs. “It’s about people coming out and being in the one place, we tend not to do that a lot these days,” he said. “I think the internet is absolutely sensational and we wouldn’t be without it but it really does tend to isolate people and they think ‘oh it’s a bit cold or I’m a bit tired or my ankle hurts’ and it’s just easier to sit home and watch YouTube. “Well in fact there is something extra special about being in a room with people enjoying the same thing and you develop a sense of community, so I think it’s important to get out of the lounge room and be with other people, and that’s what live perfor-
Volume 14, Wednesday, July 26, 2017
mance is about.” Schumann said issues such as mental health problems could be accentuated in remote areas – including in mining communities. “There’s been a lot of research done about the risks to people’s mental, social and emotional wellbeing and mental health in rural and remote Australia,” he said. “Simple things like the isolation, the remoteness, the harshness of the environment, the weather, the risks that people work under (can all contribute). “I’ve spent a lot of time in and around the mining industry so I know that safety and the adherence to safety is paramount - if you can’t do it safely don’t do it, that’s been drilled into everyone - but having said that, you’ve got to have your wits about you the whole time if you want to get to the end of your swing or your shift in once piece, and that level of concentration can be stressful. “And of course if it’s the FIFO lifestyle it’s the anxiety of being away from home and there can be all sorts of financial issues and relationship issues - all these things can contribute quite significantly to mental health issues.” Understanding that mental health issues are very common and affect so many Australians was important, he said. “I think my message is … you’re not alone because one in five, or one in four or even one in three people in Australia, depending on where they live, will have a mental health issue in any one year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
John Schumann entertained a small but enthusastic crowd in Roxby Downs on Saturday night. LEFT: The renowned performer also called in to the RoxFM studios to have a chat on air with presenter Craig Sumsion.
100 day shutdown “largest ever”
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HP is gearing up for its largest ever shutdown in South Australia, with preparations for a $350 million smelter upgrade underway. Olympic Dam’s smelter operations will be enhanced by works to the flash furnace, slag furnace and electro static precipitator. Olympic Dam Asset President, Jacqui McGill, said the smelter
maintenance campaign was the largest planned shutdown by BHP in the State. “There will be 1,300 contractors at Olympic Dam during the peak of construction as teams work around the clock to dismantle, rebuild and upgrade integral components of the facility,” she said. “Work is underway on site with teams preparing to dismantle old
infrastructure and starting to take delivery of more than 350 material loads to support the project. “The rolling shutdown across the surface operations starts in August with the maintenance campaign running for more than 100 days in total. “As always, the safety of our people and our contractors is paramount as we focus on this
demanding and complex project which will help underpin stability and growth at Olympic Dam for many years to come.” The $350M investment will see works undertaken to “ensure the ongoing integrity of critical infrastructure and to continue to deliver safe and reliable performance”, BHP said in an announcement last week.
Scheduled works include: - rebuilding key elements of the smelter flash furnace; - demolishing and building a new electric slag furnace; and - removing and replacing the five-story high electro static precipitator. The planned downtime will also be used to complete refinery maintenance.