SHIFT MINER Monday 3rd December 151st Edition 2012 The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news MAGAZINE All accidents and personal injury claims: Darren Sekac* Call 4944 2000 www.macamiet.com.au *Personal Injuries Law Accredited Specialist (MACKAY) PERSONAL INJURY EXPERTS MACKAY News Local angst over dust » page 4 News Coal to rebound » page 5 News Acland to downsize » page 6 News Hitachi spends up » page 9 News Shifts take a toll » page 13 Money Matters Enjoy fringe benefits » page 23 Locally Owned and Operated - www.shiftminer.com A GLOBAL construction giant building three LNG gas plants on Curtis Island has been under union fire for the fifth time in as many months, this time over alleged safety concerns. Last week, union members took to Glad- stone’s streets to protest Bechtel’s sacking of three QCLNG site workers the previous day. According to the union, the men had been fired for raising safety concerns - an allega- tion Bechtel Gladstone general manager Kevin Berg has dismissed as outrageous. “That is absolutely appalling to us to say that they were fired over safety issues,” he told Shift Miner. Health and safety representative on the QCLNG site, Joe Munro, told media he was chosen by his colleagues to put forward safe- ty concerns, and was fired for doing just that. He says there was a number of acci- dents over months and the final straw was last week when a hammer was accidentally dropped on a worker’s head. “We had a meeting and the boys voted that we sit in the crib huts until something was done about it,” he told media. “We decided on a stoppage of work due to a reasonable belief that there was a safe- ty hazard.” Mr Berg says the safety incidents Mr Munro referred to happened over many, many months and each one was investigat- ed, dealt with and rectified. » continued page 12 Curragh goes global » More pictures page 14 CHRISTMAS CAPERS UNIONS BATTLE BECHTEL Safety dispute widens
Transcript
SHIFT MINERMonday 3rd December 151st Edition 2012 The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news
M A G A Z I N E
All accidents and personal injury claims:
Darren Sekac*
Call 4944 2000www.macamiet.com.au
*Personal Injuries Law Accredited Specialist (MACKAY)
PERSONAL INJURY EXPERTS
MACKAY
NewsLocal angst over dust » page 4
NewsCoal to rebound » page 5
NewsAcland to downsize » page 6
NewsHitachi spends up » page 9
NewsShifts take a toll » page 13
Money MattersEnjoy fringe benefits » page 23
Locally Owned and Operated - www.shiftminer.com
A GLOBAL construction giant building three LNG gas plants on Curtis Island has been under union fire for the fifth time in as many months, this time over alleged safety concerns.
Last week, union members took to Glad-stone’s streets to protest Bechtel’s sacking of three QCLNG site workers the previous day.
According to the union, the men had been fired for raising safety concerns - an allega-tion Bechtel Gladstone general manager Kevin Berg has dismissed as outrageous.
“That is absolutely appalling to us to say that they were fired over safety issues,” he told Shift Miner.
Health and safety representative on the QCLNG site, Joe Munro, told media he was chosen by his colleagues to put forward safe-ty concerns, and was fired for doing just that.
He says there was a number of acci-dents over months and the final straw was last week when a hammer was accidentally dropped on a worker’s head.
“We had a meeting and the boys voted that we sit in the crib huts until something was done about it,” he told media.
“We decided on a stoppage of work due to a reasonable belief that there was a safe-ty hazard.”
Mr Berg says the safety incidents Mr Munro referred to happened over many, many months and each one was investigat-ed, dealt with and rectified.
» continued page 12
Curragh goes global » More pictures page 14
CHRISTMAS CAPERS
Unions battle bechtelSafety dispute
widens
Page 3 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
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Queensland mining community's best source of local news
Published fortnightly by Fitzroy Publishing Pty Ltd A.B.N 72122739879 PO Box 1440, Rockhampton Q 4700www.shiftminer.com
Regulars 16 Weather & Tides 17 Stuff to the Editor 19 Frank the Tank 21 Miner’s Trader 23 Money Matters
Page 4 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
THE debate over a major new port devel-opment at Hay Point looks to be well fund-ed on both sides.
The McEwens Beach Progress Group (MBPG) says it will spend more than $100,000 of its own money to install coal dust monitor-ing stations near the Hay Point coal terminal.
Group president Gordon Johnson bought into the area in the mid 1990s and was happy to live with the side-effects of being close to the already-established Hay Point coal terminal.
However, he says he isn’t happy to live with the proposed expanded port facility that will see its throughput nearly double.
“We want to stop the Dudgeon Point coal port from going ahead,” he says.
“North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP) is proposing to have a 14-metre high coal stockpile covering 400 hectares, 13 kilome-tres from the heart of Mackay.
“The prevailing winds in the area are south-easterlies which means we are going to have a Gladstone coal dust situation all over again.
“We don’t have a problem with coal min-ing - everyone has to make a living - but we do have a problem if it is affecting the peo-ple and oceans around us.”
If approved, Dudgeon Point will become one of the largest coal ports in the world.
Up to 1800 jobs are expected to be cre-ated over the six to eight year construction phase and 640 jobs during operation.
However, Mr Johnson says NQBP will not accept that there is a coal dust problem.
“I am not on the community reference group for the port expansion because they just won’t accept that there is a dust prob-lem that is going to get worse,” he says.
“I have told them, come over and have a look. I will show you the dust that we are hosing off our houses.
“We have been trying for three years to get them to set up independently managed coal dust monitors.
“I mean if they install them and there isn’t a problem, I will welcome the develop-ment, and I will scream it from the rooftops. But they won’t do it.
“So we are going to do it ourselves and it’s going to cost around $36,000 a year for three years to get this done, but we are pret-ty well funded.”
Mary Steele, head of corporate relations with NQBP, says they are installing moni-tors of their own in a matter of weeks.
In a written statement to Shift Miner, she said the proposed Dudgeon Point project is currently in the “cumulative impact studies phase”.
The information gathered during this phase will be used in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which will assess the potential impacts of coal dust.
“There will be a public consultation peri-od for the EIS which will address many of the community concerns with sound scien-tific analysis and evidence,” she says.
“In saying that, comprehensive dust monitoring of the existing terminals is undertaken and the reports are delivered monthly and published on our website.
“With regards to any new dust monitor-ing - specifically at McEwens Beach - the Mackay Regional Council has approved an area in the Aura Street car park at McE-wens Beach for NQBP to locate dust moni-toring equipment.
“I cannot provide you an exact date when these will be installed, but NQBP have assessed the proposals from various service providers and a preferred provider for dust data management has been identified.
“We expect to appoint the successful provider within the next two weeks.”
News
Hay Point residents pay $100k to prove
dust problem
“We don’t have a problem with coal mining - everyone has to make a living - but we do have a problem if it is affecting the people and oceans around us.”
Page 5 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
Merger imminentTHE announcement is imminent. It could be today or next week but it will definitely be before Christmas when Central Queensland’s dual-sector university gets the final nod from Cabinet. The push to merge Central Queensland University (CQU) with the Central Queensland Institute of TAFE (CQIT) began over two years ago. A CQU spokesperson told Shift Miner that all the boxes had been ticked and it was just a matter of it going before cabinet. CQU’s vice-chancellor Scott Bowman told media that the merger is designed to break down barriers between TAFE and the university in the region...............................................................................
Camp homecomingACCOMMODATION camps and small towns don’t often mix but a new one in a small township not too far from Gladstone is different. Two of the company members are both Calliope boys returning after several decades away and want to build a camp that focuses on lifestyle and mixes with the local community. Roco Solutions involves Andrew Creswick and his uncle Ron English. They will turn the first dirt on their 498-bed camp at Christmas. It should be fully complete by September next year. This is Roco Solution’s first accommodation camp, and the idea came from Mr English, who had managed the construction of six US Marine camps in Iraq.
FAST NEWSDON’T write off coal.
That may well have been GVK’s message at the Brisbane Major Projects Conference.
GVK Hancock Coal chief development officer Justin Crotty told the more than 800 delegates that the company expects coal prices to rebound to $US100 a tonne by the end of 2013.
“We have demand for 43 million tonnes,” he told delegates.
“It’s a good indicator that (buyers) have confidence in coal.”
Mr Crotty said that there was strong demand for coal from GVK’s joint Alpha project in the Galilee Basin.
The project is 79 per cent owned by Indian conglomerate GVK and 21 per cent owned by Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.
Spot coal prices have fallen to a three-year low during 2012, hitting $US81 a tonne at the end of October.
“We’re near the bottom and it’s only up from here,” a positive Mr Crotty said.
Increasing demand from China, along with other Asian countries including Viet-nam, the Philippines and Thailand, is likely to help support the rise in coal prices next year.
“We actually think that beyond 2015 we will see the demand for coal basically
increase at least two Alpha coal projects a year,” he told the conference.
The Alpha project is set to create 650 jobs during port construction while the
combined Alpha mine rail and port project will provide 1800 ongoing, intergeneration-al operational jobs and employ 4000 people during construction.
There’s still confidence in coal: GVK
News
FIFO options set to increase with demandMORE centres offering more options for fly-in, fly-out workers. That’s the view of some of the aviation industry’s leading figures.
Speaking at the Major Projects Con-ference on FIFO were representatives of Queensland Airports, Alliance Airlines, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Adagold Aviation and the Western Downs Council.
Queensland Airports managing direc-tor Dennis Chant says as flights increased in Brisbane mine operators would look for other centres to fly from to cut travel time for staff.
On Tuesday at Brisbane Airport it was taking more than 40 minutes to pass through the bag drop area and security before getting to the departure gate for one group of Rockhampton-bound travellers.
Mr Chant told delegates that the indus-try took little interest in scouting new air-ports to dispatch fly-in, fly-out workers because Brisbane normally served them well. However, with delays and extra work-
ers flying across Queensland services are set to change.
“The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have made their intentions clear they see opportunities in that space,” Mr Chant says.
“It’s about getting all sectors of indus-try together to say we can support a new service.”
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance asset manager Stephen Dumble told the con-ference he favoured workers coming from wherever suited them.
“We are interested in extending the ben-efits of what we are doing as widely as we can,” Mr Dumble says.
“We see south-east Queensland as a whole, and in that regard, the providers who can give the best combination in service and skills will position themselves well.”
Meanwhile, the federal report into the impact on fly-in, fly-out workers is still sev-eral weeks away after a delay caused by competing workloads for the committee chaired by independent MP Tony Windsor.
“We actually think that beyond 2015 we will see the demand for coal basically increase at least two Alpha coal projects a year.”
GVK says don’t write off coal.
“It’s about getting all sectors of industry together to say we can support a new service.”
Page 6 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
First sod turned on new Nebo rail depotPACIFIC National has turned the first sod on the site for its $20 million maintenance depot at Nebo.
First announced in August, the facili-ty will enable extra Pacific National’s coal trains to link central Queensland coal fields and the port.
Pacific National owners, Asciano, says a range of functions will take place at the site including the refuelling of trains, rou-tine train inspections and rolling stock maintenance.
The project also includes the construc-tion of an additional roads for storage and maintenance.
An agreement with coal producer BMA to provide maintenance and daily servicing for BMA’s four new train sets when they arrive in the second half of 2013 allowed the Nebo project to be fast-tracked.
“We look forward to the arrival of the first BMA train set in the second half of 2013 and to our continued collaboration
with the QLD State Government, the Isaac Regional Council and the local communi-ty to ensure continued investment and job growth within the region,” Pacific National coal director David Irwin says.
The development is expected to provide 50 to 100 jobs during construction and about 65 positions when completed next year.
Pacific National transports export coal to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, the Port of Gladstone and Port of Abbot Point under contracts with a number of custom-ers including Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Peabody, Anglo American, Middlemount, Bowen Central Coal and BMC.
Asciano’s coal haulage division, Pacific National Coal, today commenced work on the $20 million expansion of its Nebo Train Maintenance Facility in regional QLD, to meet additional customer demand.
The official sod-turning function involved government representatives as well as indus-try including key Asciano clients.
Smaller Acland plans up for reviewNEW Hope Coal has applied for a small-er scale expansion of its controversial New Acland mine on the Darling Downs.
The Commonwealth says it has accept-ed the revised plans and advised the state government.
The revised proposal significantly reduc-es the proposal’s impact on agricultural land and the towns of Acland, Jondaryan and Oakey.
Both governments will now assess the revised plans.
Falling coal prices may also have guided the decision.
The company said at the release of its annual figures earlier this year that it has now been forced to review the pace it is developing projects because of falling coal prices and the high Australian dollar.
The company owns the open cut mine Acland mine and the Queensland Bulk Handling coal export terminal in Brisbane.
The revised proposal is 63 per cent small-er than the original with the mining foot-print reduced by 2300 hectares.
Critically, mining over the town of Acland is no longer proposed, neither is diversion of Lagoon Creek, the reduction in scope will move mining 10 kilometres from Oakey and the Jondaryan rail load out facil-ity will be moved to the mine site, eight kil-ometres from the town.
LOCAL jobs and business opportunities may open up for Biloela with the Central Queensland town being chosen as Australia Pacific LNG’s northern base for operations and maintenance of the project pipeline.
Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) bought 1.60 hectares (four acres) of land in the Biloe-la industrial estate and will develop this into an office, warehouse, stores and operations facility.
The company’s pipeline project manager Graeme Hogarth says locating a long-term operations base in Biloela provides greater control and efficiency for ongoing pipeline operation and maintenance.
“The pipeline is a critical part of the APLNG project infrastructure and Biloela is the ideal location for a centralised opera-tions and maintenance base,” he says.
Mr Hogarth says the company is work-ing with Banana Shire Council to ensure the benefits from the project flow through to the shire’s communities.
Banana Shire Mayor Cr Ron Carige says the construction of the new northern pipe-line operations and maintenance centre is
great news for the region.“This is a very positive regional devel-
opment as it will create employment for our local community and opportunities for regional suppliers and contractors,” he says.
The new facility will comprise a ware-house and stores area for pipeline spare parts, an office designed to house perma-nent staff, and meeting and training rooms.
A joint venture between Origin, Cono-coPhillips and Sinopec, APLNG is under-taking a CSG to liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that will supply natural gas to both the domestic and international markets.
Construction of the APLNG pipeline is expected to be completed by early 2014.
The 530 kilometre pipeline will trans-port gas from the company’s gas fields in the Surat and Bowen basins with processing facilities on Curtis Island near Gladstone.
Pipeline welding and backfilling opera-tions are well underway, with 76 kilometres of pipe welded and 31 kilometres buried and backfilled since construction began near Miles in September.
Biloela chosen for strategic APLNG base
News
“The pipeline is a critical part of the APLNG project infrastructure and Biloela is the ideal location for a centralised operations and maintenance base.”
The coal handling plant at Acland mine. New Hope has applied for a smaller scale
expansion of the controversial mine.
Page 7 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012News
RECENT announcements that 200 Golding contractors are to lose their jobs at Blackwa-ter’s Curragh Mine by Christmas and Anglo American shelving 40 full-time maintenance positions at its Moura mine is more bad news for a floundering coal industry.
But the Queensland Resources Coun-cil (QRC) remains hopeful, saying some encouragement could be taken from recent global developments.
The QRC’s chief executive Michael Roche says there are signs that global coal pric-es may have bottomed out and that a recent strengthening in export volumes through Queensland ports was also encouraging.
“I think we are also seeing in the wake of the US election and new political lead-ership in China signs of a more optimis-tic outlook framed around rapidly growing consumerism in Asia,” he says.
Mr Roche says while China may not return to the heady days of double-digit growth, the latest 7.4 per cent growth rate for the Septem-ber quarter is not to be sneezed at.
It has the potential to lay a foundation for Queensland’s long-term prosperity.
Mr Roche says that while he remained optimistic for the long-term, the message to
him from the chief executives of Queens-land’s coal companies was that they are dig-ging in for a very challenging 2013 where the focus will stay on reducing costs and re-building export volumes.
The QRC estimates the Queensland coal industry has shed between 4000 and 5000 positions over the past few months.
“These losses have hit contractors the hardest and extend from the coalface to head office,” Mr Roche says.
“They are a sad but inevitable conse-quence of a collapse in coal prices and ris-ing production costs.
“In the past, export industries like coal have been insulated to some extent by a cor-responding fall in the value of the dollar, but Australia’s high interest rates and triple-A credit rating have cancelled out this prospect.
“In the meantime, wage and materials costs in Queensland coal mines have con-tinued to soar. With the current price and cost imbalance we can expect a continuing focus on reducing costs across the board, including an expectation that suppliers of goods and services will sharpen their pen-cils on price.
“Queensland coal producers also need
to cover the added costs of the higher coal royalties that came into effect last month.”
On the upside for Queensland is the
coal-seam gas industry added some 7000 employees and contractors to its ranks in the first half of 2012.
Hope on horizon despite jobs gloomQRC’s chief
executive Michael Roche says the
industry remains hopeful of a better
2013 despite recent job cuts.
Page 8 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
“Infrastructure capacities, particularly port capacity, remain a significant impediment to new coal mining expansion.”
“A detailed washability analysis is underway and preliminary results indicate the mine can produce a medium to low-ash export thermal coal.”
WICET delayed by six monthsTHE Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) in Gladstone has been delayed by six months, and is not expected to be complete until early 2015.
In a statement to Shift Miner, the compa-ny says the construction costs are still with-in WICET’s financing envelope and the project is 35 per cent complete.
“The project has been impacted by con-ditions in the construction market, timing of various approvals and some construction-related matters that have resulted in a delay to the original schedule,” it says.
The company says it will continue to monitor construction progress and review the schedule to reduce the potential for associated cost increases.
WICET is owned and is being developed by existing and potential coal exporters in Queensland to provide increased long-term export coal capacity.
Cockatoo Coal, one of eight stage 1 own-ers, says it is disappointed in the delay and was ready for export in October 2014.
However, the delay provides the com-pany with greater flexibility for financing options for its Baralaba Expansion project, which would see it become a 3 million tonne per annum user of the terminal.
The company says its feasibility study had factored in potential delays in the WICET stage 1 timeline, so this delay will not have a material effect on the value of the Baralaba Expansion project.
“Infrastructure capacities, particularly port capacity, remain a significant impediment to new coal mining expansion,” Cockatoo Coal says.
“The company is well placed to have secured port and rail capacities to enable delivery of the increased coal production from the Baralaba Expansion project.”
A PROPOSED open cut coal mine of 31.1 million tonnes in the Surat Basin is viable, according to preliminary studies.
Columboola, a joint venture between Metro-Coal and SinoCoal Resources, identified the poten-tial open-cut resource at Goombi, which sits halfway between the towns of Miles and Chinchilla.
“We are now pleased to announce an open cut indicated resource of 31.1 million tonnes with a total open cut resource of 45 million tonnes in the Kogan Seam and Macalister Upper Seam,” the partners said in a statement.
A preliminary study has confirmed a strip ratio for coal seams to a depth of approximately 80 metres in the area of interest between 4:1 and 6:1.
There is some potential for a resource at 3:1 subject to further investigation of the depth of oxidation.
A detailed washability analysis is under-way and preliminary results indicate the mine can produce a medium to low-ash
export thermal coal.“More wash results over the potential
open pit are expected before end Novem-ber, which will allow us to finalise reserve work,” the statement read.
The total Columboola resource is 1.76 billion tonnes with 45 million tonnes, of which 31.1 million tonnes is indicated resource reallocated from the underground mineable resource to the open cut resource.
The joint venture says it remains fully committed to a longer term plan to develop a large modern underground longwall mine.
“This open cut mining resource presents an exciting opportunity for the Columboo-la joint venture to commence production in the near term, ahead of completion of the infrastructure connecting Columboola to the Port of Gladstone and will allow the joint venture to establish a market base for its Surat Basin coal.”
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Page 9 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
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News
HITACHI has opened the $40million first stage of its new Brisbane truck assembly site at Wacol
Covering 48,000 square metres the Coul-son Road site also features a remanufacture facility.
Hitachi chairman Michijiro Kikawa told guests, including customers from across Queensland at the recent opening, that the facility was a clear sign the company had confidence in the Queensland coal industry.
“Despite the recent pressures in the min-ing industry, I believe growth in developing countries, especially in Asia, will bring back demand for natural resources from a long term perspective,” he says.
“With this belief, we Hitachi Construc-tion Machinery continue to expand our mining equipment business with the devel-opment and production of products, as well as sales and support of this equipment.”
Guests were told the company’s goal is to make their dump trucks the best in the business.
Haul trucks weighing up to 360 tonnes will be assembled on site. More than a $1million was spent on concrete alone in the facility.
The new assembly workshop consists of six assembly workstations running from one end of the building to the other.
There are two 80-tonne overhead trav-elling gantry cranes with ten tonne auxil-iary cranes capable of lifting the machines from one assembly station to the next and onto transportation in their built-up form as required.
Attached to the side of the assembly workshop is a fully enclosed heated spray booth capable of painting the 360 tonne trucks as they are assembled.
As the next stages are built a further $40million will be spent at the 8000 square metre site with staff from other Brisbane sites moving in at Wacol in coming months.
Hitachi’s expansion plans include major investments in Wacol, Dalby and Mackay where land has just been purchased.
The Dalby facility is open and supplying parts, field service and customer support.
Meanwhile, Wacol is proving popu-lar with resource companies with Komat-su opening a new $55million site just down the road earlier this year. The facil-ity can construct up to 70 ultraclass dump trucks per year.
Hitachi HQ makes industry presence felt
“Despite the recent pressures in the mining industry, I believe growth in developing countries, especially in Asia, will bring back
demand for natural resources from a long term perspective.”
Page 10 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
QGC signs$80m dealMONADELPHOUS Group has been awarded the $80million QGC contract maintenance of the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) liquefied natural gas plant. The Gladstone arm of Monadelphous will support maintenance activities on Curtis Island including supply and operation of cranes, scaffolding, mechanical and electri-cal equipment. Under the agreement Mon-adelphous will provide up to 40 workers for daily checks and repairs and up to 200 during scheduled shutdown maintenance. Monadelphous will also provide labour and equipment to support operation of QGC’s warehouse in Gladstone and another on Curtis Island. This maintenance will help to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the LNG plant during operational prep-arations in 2013 and when LNG produc-tion starts in 2014. The contract runs from January 2013 until 2019 and includes an option for extension. About half of capital expenditure on QCLNG until 2014 will be spent in Australia and about 80 per cent of operating expenditure will be spent in Aus-tralia from 2014. QCLNG will provide an increase in Queensland’s gross state prod-uct of up to $32 billion in the project’s first decade to 2021.
News
THE approaching wet season has prompt-ed a safety bulletin from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
It says Queensland mines, quarries and exploration sites need to prepare their emergency response plans ahead of the expected heavy and consistent rainfalls in
the months aheadMinister for Natural Resources and
Mines Andrew Cripps was stressing the need for action this week when he high-lighted the release of the bulletin and urged mining operations to have their site contin-gency plans in place now.
“We saw the devastation caused during the 2010-11 wet season when floodwaters inundated many Queensland mines and brought the coal industry to a virtual stand-still,” Mr Cripps told Shift Miner.
“Destructive winds and heavy rain can damage surface structures, cause site flood-
ing, and lead to dangerous conditions for workers.
“The 2010-11 wet season demonstrated that not being prepared can put lives at risk and disrupt mining operations for many months.
“That’s why mine operators and workers need to be aware of any potential hazards that could occur and make preparations to deal with severe weather.”
Safety Bulletin 126 contains a checklist of actions industry operators need to take before a severe weather event and during recovery operations.
Queensland laws require all mining resource operations to have appropriate site safety and health management plans in place.
They must have adequate resources, facilities and procedures in place to main-tain effective management before, during and after a severe weather event.
They must also have a process for identify-ing and warning anyone who could be affect-ed by severe weather events and a system for moving people to safety, and have an adequate emergency response and rescue plan in place.
Potential hazards on site must also be identified and machinery and equipment secured. The full bulletin is available online at www.mines.industry.qld.gov.au/mining/safety-alerts-bulletins.htm
Industry told to batten down for big wet
THE war of words surrounding fugitive gas emissions research has continued with Energy and Resources Minister Martin Fer-guson weighing in to accused researchers of trying to grab headlines.
He was speaking of two Southern Cross University researchers, Isaac Santos and Damien Maher, who say they have identified a massive coal-seam gas leak in Queensland.
The pair say masses of methane and car-bon dioxide were leaking undetected from Australia’s biggest coal-seam gas field near Tara. The small community has been at flash-point for months over the rights of residents and how they are treated by gas companies.
Gas companies in their defence have said a number of times it is a small minori-ty at Tara that are unhappy with their pres-ence and that is only because they want unrealistic compensation.
While raising questions about the accu-racy of industry data the recent research announcement has also brought widespread criticism from within the gas sector.
Mr Ferguson dismissed the claims of the leak.“Let’s have a factual, scientific debate, not
an emotional debate, because there is too much at risk and the community expects that approach to life,” he told a Sydney conference.
“Conduct yourself in a professional way
and focus on the outcome, not short-lived media opportunities.”
The research was outlined in a submis-sion to a federal climate change department investigation into the greenhouse gas emis-sions from coal-seam gas drilling. The depart-ment had called for public submissions.
Dr Santos and Dr Maher say they found large-scale gas leaks in a gas field operated by QGC which suggests the industry may not have properly accounted for gas leaks.
QGC has dismissed the claims and emailed a wide range of media contacts last week stating the research needed to be properly assessed before being covered.
Gas emissions war of words continues
Page 11 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012News
IF YOU are a small business, forget about running after the big resource companies and instead tackle their appointed contractors.
This is the tactic being pushed by the peak tourism and economic development body of the Capricornia region, Capricorn Enterprise.
“We will be engaging with Tier One and Tier Two companies - the Leightons, the Goldings and the John Hollands - and we will look at how our regional businesses can engage,” says the organisation’s economic development manager, Neil Lethlean.
Capricorn Enterprise held an indus-try forum recently, which attracted over 100 paid delegates including 15 from outside the region, with presentations from Arrow Ener-gy, Bandanna Energy and Energy Skills Qld.
Mr Lethlean says with coal prices down, many mining companies and affected busi-nesses will be looking at restructuring, but it is not the end of the world as we know it.
“This is a positive. There are projects emerging in our region and even though we are going through a bit of doom and gloom at the moment, I can see light at the end of
the tunnel in the next 12 to 18 months,” he told Shift Miner.
“Companies have a bit of time to get themselves in order, but will need to get on to it now.”
A common criticism from industry con-ferences throughout Central Queensland has been that unless you are large and have a proven track record, the resource industry is a closed shop.
Capricorn Enterprise is planning up to five industry forums next year and rather than engaging with the resource companies, will be inviting their appointed contractors instead.
“It is a fairly intense field and it is fair to say that once a company has done business with certain companies, they have a track record and will usually continue to do busi-ness with them,” Mr Lethlean says.
“Breaking the mould is not easy, but if you want to get in, you need to be ready.”
The recent forum focused on how busi-nesses can make themselves tender-ready and another forum is planned for March.
Forget the big cheese, think
contractors
Cape bauxite opens for tenderEXPRESSIONS of interest have opened for the Aurukun bauxite resource on Cape York.
Under a drive for greater accountabili-ty and returns for taxpayers the state gov-ernment has decided to put more mining resources to open tender.
The Aurukun bauxite resource is one of the first to be advertised in the process.
Development of the resource has the backing of the Aurukun community and traditional owners and has already drawn strong corporate interest from Australia and overseas.
Member for Cook, David Kempton, told Shift Miner the tender process was a new era of consulting with and involving indig-enous communities in the economic devel-opment of the cape.
“The eventual development of this mine will bring enormous benefits to the people of Aurukun,” Mr Kempton says.
“I know the mine is something that the local people and traditional owners in the area are keen to see go ahead and I fully support their enthusiasm.”
The Department of State Develop-ment, Infrastructure and Planning will handle expressions of interest with five companies expected to be shortlisted from those received by the February 15 dead-line. The preferred developer is likely to be announced in mid-2013
Applicants will have to demonstrate experience in development and manage-ment of mines and associated infrastruc-ture, experience in working with indigenous communities and traditional owners to negotiate outcomes, and the financial capac-ity to take on this scale of project.
More information on the tender is avail-able on-line at: www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/devel-opment-planning/aurukun-project.html
Big ticket items, like trucks and pipelines, make all the headlines in resources but there is plenty of business with smaller contracts says Capricorn Enterprise.
“It is a fairly intense field and it is fair to say that once a company has done business with certain companies, they have a track record and will usually continue to do business with them.”
“The eventual development of this mine will bring enormous benefits to the people of Aurukun.”
Page 12 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012News
LANDHOLDERS struggling in the Toow-oomba region with the heavy weight of paperwork surrounding coal seam gas development no longer have access to Legal Aid Queensland for advice.
This is because the one solicitor offering critical expertise under the service has left to work in private practice. However, the impact may not be as bad as it appears.
Outgoing solicitor Glen Martin said in an interview earlier this year that he has seen the impact on landholders from coal seam gas increase dramatically in the three-and-a-half years he has been working with farmers full-time.
“It absolutely has had a growing impact on landholders,” he said.
“Exploration . . . mining . . . gas is expand-ing across Queensland and landholders are affected by having to spend more and more time on the issues surrounding that and more people need help.”
Legal Aid Queensland is thought to have recently completed a review of its mining legal service which showed many more pri-vate legal practices were now offer mining legal services.
That’s good news for farmers.The law also now allows farmers and
landowners to seek some legal costs in com-pensation matters. Legal Aid will continue providing general support.
Mr Martin has moved to Shannon Don-aldson Province Lawyers in Toowoomba.
Tinkler hits troubled watersNATHAN Tinkler’s making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Last week his private company Mulsanne Resources was placed into liquidation after failing to come up with $28.4 million owed to coal junior Blackwood Corporation.
Ferrier Hodgson has been appointed liquidators to the company by the NSW Supreme Court.
Two weeks of settlement negotiations failed on Monday to spark the appointment.
Mulsanne is a shelf company which Mr Tinkler is a director of. The company agreed to take up 95 million shares in a placement at 30 cents a share - then a 50 per cent pre-mium to the prevailing share price - to fund Blackwood’s exploration campaign.
Blackwood shares slumped 4 cents to 14 cents after the liquidation announcement.
A spokesman for Mr Tinkler has told
media that the liquidation won’t affect any of his other companies or business interests.
In recent legal action Tinkler Group Holdings and Hunter Sports Group settled a $2 million dispute with contractor Sedgman.
Tinkler is now fighting legal action on several fronts - the most high profile is cred-itors wanting to wind up his horse empire.
He says one of the men was dismissed because he refused to make himself availa-ble to work where there was no risk.
“That employee was not fired for bring-ing forward safety concerns. He had a histo-ry of project work rules and had violated a number of them.”
Mr Berg says the issue was taken to Fair Work Australia, which ruled it was illegal to refuse to carry out any work.
CFMEU official Ben Loakes, who helped organise the rally, told Shift Miner Bechtel has been clouding the issue.
“They took the issue to Fair Work Aus-tralia on Friday. While the blokes insisted it was a safety issue, Bechtel turned it into an industrial issue,” he says.
As a result Fair Work Australia ruled that it was illegal industrial action.
“It makes it very hard for us to tack-le safety when they turn it into an industri-al issue.”
Mr Loakes says this is part of the whole dispute with the company.
“Every time a bloke brings up a safety issue, it is turned around and they are made out to be troublemakers.”
Asked if the men who sat out of work on Friday had been given alternative jobs to carry out in the meantime, Mr Loakes says it had never been put to them.
“They were not refusing to make them-selves available to other areas. They were sit-ting down and nutting out what to do, which they are allowed to do [under the law].”
Mr Loakes says many of the men who sat out were not union members and the safety issue had been simmering for months.
“I would like to put it to Mr Berg to actually get out of his ivory tower, go to the island and actually talk to the blokes there.”
He says the safety issues have not been
dealt with and on Friday, there still wasn’t a tool lanyard available despite the company saying it had introduced a tool lanyard poli-cy four weeks ago.
The union plans more rallies.“We are going to protest again and keep
the pressure on Bechtel and we will not back down,” Mr Loakes says.
Mr Berg told Shift Miner that safety is paramount to Bechtel.
“In an imminent danger situation where an employee has cause for concern, they have to remove themselves from that situ-ation. It is not just the law, but is Bechtel’s rule - then work collaboratively to resolve the situation,” Mr Berg says.
“But they still need to work or make themselves available for work where the risk does not exist.”
Bechtel was under union fire in Novem-ber when 200 members protested over trav-el times, saying the island ferry times took too long to reach the mainland after shift and workers were not paid for the added time.
They were also protesting over ‘motel-ling’, when workers are required to pack up their belongings in their room before going on leave so it can be given to anoth-er worker. There is no consistency with liv-ing arrangements, workers say.
Mr Berg says the accommodation is pro-fessionally managed by an experienced service provider, and it is important to Bechtel that employees feel comfortable.
He says Bechtel aims to make the fer-ry travel time to and from the island as effi-cient as possible.
In September, union members gathered in Goondoon St to rally against the use of for-eign workers to operate cranes on a vessel - a job traditionally done by union members.
Bechtel says it was about the complexities
of demarcation and there was an agreement that the ship’s crew would operate the cranes on the vessel, but the key issue was around who rigged up the heavy lift on the ship.
That same month, union members accused Bechtel of choosing fly-in, fly-out workers instead of locals for jobs. An AWU spokesperson told media he had a waiting list of hundreds of local construction work-ers looking for work.
Bechtel said the type of work was
dependent on where the projects were.In August a row broke out between
union workers and Bechtel when it emerged that at least 90 workers had been exposed to white asbestos.
The union threatened to take the compa-ny to the Federal Court when workers, who refused to work until tests were carried out on the pre-built materials containing asbes-tos, were not paid for their time off.
The issue was resolved.
Bechtel facing another union-backed crisis
“But they still need to work or make themselves available for work where the risk does not exist.”
Landholder legal aid cut
“It absolutely has had a growing impact on landholders.”
FROM PAGE 1
Page 13 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
SHIFTMINERladder
G E T W H E R E Y O U W A N T T O B E
All the jobs torn out? Don’t worry they are also available at www.shiftminer.com/jobs
generated at BeQRious.com
UNCONTROLLABLE shift patterns in the mining and energy sector may have far-reaching implications for the physical and psychological health of industry workers, a newly released report says.
Researchers at Griffith University released preliminary findings of the Australian Coal and Energy Survey. They highlight the mixed experiences of workers in the sector.
The first wave of the major two-part national survey, funded through the Com-monwealth’s Australian Research Council under its Linkage program, was carried out from August to December 2011.
“We saw a complex set of reactions among mining and energy workers to shift work,” Professor David Peetz from Griffith University’s Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, says.
“Some were happy, others not. Among those working shifts, views were evenly split on whether they wanted to abandon shift work altogether and go back to day jobs. However, most employees had very little say over their hours and shift arrangements – half had no say at all.”
Professor Peetz, Associate Professor Georgina Murray and Dr Olav Muurlink gathered data from close to 4500 survey
participants including 2566 CFMEU mem-bers and 1915 partners.
“The findings in this report are very much preliminary,” Professor Peetz noted. “Wave 2 will be important as it will exam-ine the same population in 2013. Then we can make firmer conclusions.
“However, we can say at this stage that, for those workers who clearly want and are unable to attain fewer hours of work, there appears to be a significant impact on depression, and a greater use of sleeping tablets, antacids and anti-depressants.
“The respondents showed sleeping dif-ficulties. And when you had lack of con-trol combined with wanting to work fewer hours, it not only made mining and energy workers more likely to feel unsafe, it also had negative health effects, including on psychological health.”
Associate Professor Georgina Murray says: “A number of aspects of job quality were worse for women. More female than male miners felt they had little say or feared losing their jobs.”
Dr Muurlink points out that 65 per cent cited higher rates of pay as one of their rea-sons for working shifts, and 57 per cent cit-ed blocks of leisure time.
“Only 29 per cent cited ‘more convenient for my domestic responsibilities’ – while 23 per cent said ‘bosses aren’t around at night’!”
“But workers with no say over their
hours and shifts seemed to have more dif-ficulty sleeping and be more likely to feel unsafe at work or on their way to or from work,” Professor Peetz says.
Shift work patterns worse for women: study
“But workers with no say over their hours and shifts seemed to have more difficulty sleeping and be more likely
to feel unsafe at work or on their way to or from work.”
Shift patterns are having more impact on workers than what has been
previously thought, a new report says.
Page 14 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
Holding a social event you want photographed? Call the Shift Miner office on 4921 4333 to let us know. You can also give our office a bell if you’d like a copy of any of the photos in this edition.
arouNd towN
IN MORE COUNTRIES THAN CURRAGH COALCurragh mine employees embrac the “Around the world” theme at their Christmas party
(L-R) Zoey Stitt and Natalie Waters
(L-R) Jodie and Brock Hornery
Jake Munro (L-R) Shonna O’Brien, Brad Gorman and Nicole Murray
(L-R) Rose Kelly and Danica Stewart (L-R) Cathy and Barry Weaver
(L-R) Wayne and Sharon Coleman (L-R) Trevor Knott and Chieron Neville (L-R) Aaron McGiver and Kelly Stephenson
Lyndal Polkinghorne with “Papa Smurf”(L-R) Michael and Jenny Lancaster
(L-R) Doyle, Kaye and Mitch (L-R) Kaitlyn and Kelly Hunter with SantaAlexis Quinn(L-R) Zac and Will Clemesha and Sean Dagan
(L-R) Brady, Kerry, Tony and Joel Kuhl (L-R) Karen and David Chelepy with Mark Leishman (L-R) Howard, Lyn, Kelli and Jordy Smith with Jonny Geiger
Curragh mine employees embrace the “Around the world” theme at their Christmas party
Page 15 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
www.shiftminer.comBUY THIS AND MANY OTHER IMAGES AT
Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together
arouNd towN
A BMA CHRISTMAS BMA employees and their families enjoy the BMA Christmas party
(L-R) Logan Robe, Dakota Kirkby and Morgan O’Ryan (L-R) Meagan, Grace and Darren Campbell(L-R) Mick, Sarah, Beth and Maggie Barret
(L-R) Kristy Ryan and Oliver and Liz Blyte(L-R) Aaron, Kristy and Emily Butcher (L-R) Tayah Ellis with Santa
(L-R) Charlotte Pearse with Puss in Boots(L-R) Dusty and Dale Pearse (L-R) Madeline and James Wiskar (L-R) Alyssia Busk on the wall climb
(L-R) Holly, Amelia, and Zac Green
(L-R) Tayla Grant and Gracyn Delaforce (L-R) Christopher, Carissa and Domanic (L-R) Patricia Orreal and Taniesha Gower (L-R) Dean and Debra Rutland
Page 16 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
YePPoonADRIAN from Secret Spot Bait & Tack-le reckons the good oil is on out wide with Findlay’s firing along nicely for grunter and big jewfish.
Out at Flat and Perforated, Adrian reports fisher Bernie Dendle had an hour of power to remember.
Seizing the initiative and heading out solo, Bernie’s punt paid off due east of Flat around the rubble patches.
Bernie reckons he had an awesome morning, bagging a red emperor plus three very nice red jew.
If you can’t get offshore into the red firing line, Adrian also reports Corio Bay is well worth a gander for whiting and flathead.
Apparently the guys are getting some fairly good grunter up in the mangroves on the top of the tide and using live herring.
While it is a small window of opportuni-ty, reports suggest it is well worth the effort.
And perhaps the old saying that any
month with an ‘R’ in it is good for chasing crabs is on the money?
Adrian says the pots are starting to fill in earnest now that we are in November and the weather is baking up.
Finally to the local islands Adrian reck-ons there have been some nice trout speared off Barren and Child.
But before you go grabbing your gear a word of warning: the tax men (aka tiger sharks) are also on the prowl so keep your eyes peeled and under no circumstances dive alone!
GlaDstoneTHE fishing is pretty good is the gas from Gladstone-way with Dylan from Pat’s Tackle World giving a particular nod to the estuaries.
Follow his advice and hopefully you will find large grunter, mangrove jack and nice flathead falling over themselves to take on your tackle.
Fancy a crate of crabs for Christmas?
Dylan says reports indicate they are start-ing to become pretty thick, so either get amongst it or hold out for Santa.
Offshore is looking good for your usual species and the other bit of hot goss is that Awoonga Dam is starting to fire up again.
Dylan recommends trying slow-rolled soft plastic over 10 to 30 foot of water.
Park yourself on top of a reed bed and Dylan reckons you are in with a good chance of bagging a barra.
MacKaYTHE weather is heating up in Mackay, too, but so far this is yet to translate into crabtas-tic good times, says Greg from Reef Marine.
Greg reckons there are a few about but they are not in the big brigade.
Prawns are getting there but are yet to get ablazing.
Throw a net in Murray and Constance Creeks if you are keen to give them a shot.
Greg reports he recently caught a nice bag of three to four flathead on lures.
Rapala X-Rap did the biz for Greg.And while the mac have come and gone,
there are nice fish out wide if and when the weather permits.
Heat storms hit Rolleston to Dysart Week 1 More storms continued to bring some relief to the heat in the Coalfields. Saturday night the 24th November saw a storm system hit Rolleston around 8pm and dump 63mm in a short time. The system moved north and caused massive lightning and thunder with rain 200-300kms further north. Other rainfall totals (mm) that evening of note: Lake Brown 38, Acturus Downs 38, Roddas Lookout 38, Springsure Ck. Jnt. 34, Cowley 33, Rewan 32, Mt. Panorama 29, Raymond 29, Glen Rock 28, Dysart 24, Gregory Hwy. 24, Clermont 23, Capella 22, Kulumur 21, Somerby 20, Comet 18, Blackdown 18, Emerald AL 16, Tieri 16. The hottest temperatures in three years over western Queensland hit heat wave conditions with sustained maximums over 40C. These conditions verge into the Coalfields early this week with maximums around 38-40C. It’s advised all outside work be completed before midday. The elderly over 65 and babies under 4 should stay in air- conditioning. If the trough in the south moves north then isolated storm activity as early as late Tue but more likely Wed/Thr could bring relief. Then relatively cooler temperatures by the weekend.
Boaties! The “old salt continues to say” – “Out before sparrow’s and back before lunch.” Mon: NNE/N 8-10 increasing NNW 15-20 by late avo. Thundery conditions south of Turkey Beach. Tue: Hot N/NNW/NNE 10-15 reaching gusts over 25 knots during the avo. Late storms south of Stockyard Point. Wed: N/NNW 10-15 gusts over 20 knots late. Late storms south of St. Lawrence. Thr: NE 5-10 tending ENE 10-15 midday and ESE 15-20 during the evening with squally showers. Possible severe storm south of a line Percy Island to Heron Island. Fri: SE/ESE 15-20 a squally shower or two. Sat: ESE 15-20 with squally showers in the Whitsundays lighter in the south. Sun: ESE 16-11 in the north and 9-13 in the south. Week 2 The SOI hit +5 mid Nov and now has fallen to +2.5. The ridge along the coast should keep maximums in the early 30s early in the week. Then a gradual warming ahead of - yes you guessed it!! Another storm could occur around midweek. Secure those white goods! Then a slightly cooler spell. Marine Lovers! The coastal ridge hangs in. Mon: ESE/E 10-15. Tue-Wed: ESE/ENE 9-14 could tend NE 15-20 inshore avo. Thr: Cooler ESE/Se winds with squally showers. Possible storm? Fri-Sat: SE/ESE 15-20. Squally showers.
YOuR WEATHER FORECASTWith Mike Griffin
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Who is the best judge of safety? ( Safety Fallout, P1 SM150)
Getting rid of check inspectors will mean only one thing: more incidents and injuries. I could only imagine what some of my supervisors would try to get away with. Anonymous
You wouldn’t let the lunatics be in charge of the asylum, and it’s the same for safety on mine sites. Both the unions and management can be compromised by other demands and this needs to be taken into account. The only person who can make an independent call on safety is someone separate from the industry and who understands the injury. Which is most likely going to be someone from the mines department. Trevor, Hay Point.
If it isn’t broke, why are we trying to fix it? The safety record for our mines is the envy of the rest of the world, and you want to change it? I have been involved with the CFMEU for all of my working life and I have never heard of anyone threatening to shut a mine down for no good reason. Pike River just proves that minie management cannot be trusted with safety. Anonymous.
Mining is a dangerous game, and I don’t think it matters who you put in charge of it. The responsibility is (and always has been) with the bloke in the field. If you see a danger it needs to be reported, and at the moment that is not always happening. Lance, Struck Oil
...And on coal dust (Uncovered coal trains rile residents group P7 SM150)
Everyone wants the benefits of the mining sector - but just not in their own backyard. Retired Miner
This is a HUGE issue and is only going to get bigger. Wake up Mackay miners, the expansions at Hay Point are going to affect the whole city. You need to have a look at the number of trains they are talking about to Hay Point in the next decade. Bill, Timberland
Work if you can get it? (West like another country P14 sm150)
The only reason companies want people from overseas is because they are cheaper. I have followed up at least five jobs in WA, and I have never received even a call back. Andrew, Airlie Beach
And more than miners enjoying the new @home section
I have been living in Moranbah for over a decade and am married to a miner. We love it here, and we have learnt to cope with the difficulties in mining. But it is really great to see someone is doing something for we miners’ wives! Keep up the good work. Louise, Moranbah
My husband has been bringing home the Shift Miner (at my request) because I am loving the @home section. These are big issues for our family and am really glad to have someone talking about them. Lisa, Sunnybank
Not all miners are married. What about an @home about keeping the girlfriend - if the heart doesn’t grow fonder? David, Mackay
SHIFT MINERMonday 19th November 150th Edition 2012
The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news
DOOM and gloom or the bust after the boom? It seems that has been the talking point for months in resources as job layoffs, cutbacks and cancelled contracts hit all along the supply chain.
It seems the ebb and flow of the industry at the moment is like a sledgehammer on concrete. But perhaps reality is that what is being experienced is the cyclical nature of resources.
Coal is down in price, the Aussie dollar is up and so the cloth is trimmed.
Long term the outlook is better and that was evident at the Brisbane Major Projects Conference.
Many speakers from all parts of industry delivered matter-of-fact addresses to the 800-plus delegates.
The term that summed up the suture is “mega-projects”. That gives hope to the many workers, suppliers and contractors nervous about their futures.
There is a lot of work in the pipeline and it may not be happening as quickly as many of us want but it will happen.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney told delegates there are currently 34 significant projects being assessed by the Office of the Coordinator-General.
These projects have the potential to generate $78 billion in capital investment, 40,000 jobs in construction and 23,000 jobs in ongoing operational roles.
They are big figures.He says a record 85 statutory decisions on
major projects have been made by Queensland’s Coordinator-General in the first months of the Newman Government.
The previous highest number of (Coordinator-General) decisions in one year was 67.
Government breast beating aside those numbers are still significant.
More importantly assessment timeframes have been cut by up to 50 per cent.
It’s easy being negative but the best thing for the industry and people in it are to be positive. Without the belief these projects - and the jobs they provide - will slow, or worse still, be deemed too risky and shelved. That will just prolong the pain being experienced now.
Prizes for the best mining photos.take it on your phone or Camera and Send it inSEEN SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T?
The musings of a CQ miner...Redmond’s RantsSleepIt’s all about the greyness in-between awake and slumber. In those few moments, as sleep starts its daily repair of the overworked circuitry of the brain and mind, you can let go and recharge. Infancy teaches us how to sleep, in our secure bed we dream of flying like Peter Pan, of kind old
kings or maybe we take a ride on a magic Arabian carpet.
Sleep.
The child’s gift, the adult’s bain.
Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.
Let your dreams be real life.
You have no control when sleeping.
You need no control when sleeping.
It’s a free pass.
Waking allows no separation from stimulation. Sleep is heaven, nirvana, gestation and golden. It’s free and perfect, it’s unobtainable, it’s ying...
Yang is the devil... insomniayang
“Sleep… sleep tonight,
and may your dreams be realised,
If the thundercloud passes rain,
So let it rain
Rain down on him.”
(Credit to U2)
Who is Redmond?Redmond was born in a cross-fire hurricane and now resides in Queensland. Former Golden Glove champ turned champion shearer, his shearing career was cut short when he entered the adult film industry and made 3467 films in three months. He now enjoys semi-retirement and lives happily on his 100,000 acre property with his seven wives. He has received the annual Golden Pen award from the Writer’s Guild four years in a row in the Truth Telling category...
Page 18 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012oFF sHIFt
GLADSTONE’S current industry boom may appear to be the biggest thing since Ben Hur, but the city’s first boom cranked up in 1964 on the back of Queensland Alu-mina Limited’s construction.
Employees of Kaiser Engineers, the company in charge of construction, recent-ly held a reunion to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the completion of the origi-
nal QAL plant and the role they and other contractors played in Gladstone’s original industrial revolution.
Prior to QAL’s arrival, Gladstone’s pop-ulation of around 7000 was largely an itin-erant one and almost solely reliant on the Gladstone Meatworks on Parson’s Point for employment.
When the meatworks closed in 1963
Gladstone’s survival appeared shaky, but fortunes soon reversed with the commence-ment of QAL construction in 1964.
The subsequent surge in population quickly overstretched the capacity of the town and its facilities.
One of the reunion organisers, Jenny Elliot, was married to her engineer husband Jim at the beginning of 1967 and experi-enced first-hand the town’s growing pains during this time of upheaval.
“Don’t let anyone give you white sheets as a wedding present,” was one of the first pieces of advice she received.
“The local water came straight from Toondoon Dam and with no filtration sys-tem in place it was full of leaves and muck,” Mrs Elliott said.
“Spotty sheets would have worked best because after washing there was always a spattering of residue, and like others in the town we soon learnt to rely on our rainwa-ter tank.”
Mrs Elliot said the reunion was enjoyed immensely by the 100-plus participants who gathered for the weekend’s activities, which included a meet-and-greet barbecue at the Calliope Heritage Village, bus tour, reunion dinner and harbour cruise.
One attendee particularly keen to see how the harbour has changed was Rock-
hampton resident Kevin Weisse. During construction he was contracted to trans-port all the material for the conveyor sys-tem, which took mud from QAL down to the Red Mud Dam.
According to Mrs Elliot, Mr Weisse had two barges operating and completed seven trips in total to bring the equipment down through the narrows from Rockhampton.
While the harbour’s current shipping movements may be astonishing, Mrs Elli-ot said some of the challenges created by today’s LNG buoyed boom - like accommo-dation shortages and difficulties in securing tradesmen - are very much a case of histo-ry repeating.
Reunion remembers when the boom began
.B. Shaw Bridge and Causeway -
Official opening by Qld Premier
Frank Nicklin - 2nd April 1966.
Photo: Harry Gallaher Collection.
QAL construction. Photo: Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum (GRAGM) Collection
Drive yourself to distraction with golfIN what other sport can you drink, drive and punish balls with a blunt instrument?
And no, golf isn’t just plaid, plus fours and gophers.
If you have four hours to kill, want to get away from your wife or would like to take a seven kilometre stroll while avoiding water hazards and sand pits, golf is the game for you.
To some, whacking a small dimpled ball over vast distances in the hope of hitting an equally small
hole may sound like hell with well mowed greens. But for those who get the bug, golf is a joyous
ritual of skill, discipline and physical coordination.
Fortunately for shift workers, the days of the standard Saturday members’ comp have been revamped to be more compatible with modern work patterns and many clubs now include a range of mid-week competitions.
According to Central Queensland district representative for Golf Queensland, Ron Murphy, Yeppoon Golf Club has a popular mid-week Wednesday comp while Rocky has extended its Thursday Club to an 18-hole competition over recent years to cater for those who work non-traditional hours.
Club Professional at Gladstone Golf Club, Craig Brown, says they have includ-ed a weekly format in which members can play any day from Monday to Friday as part of the same single competition, in a bid to
accommodate shift workers who are keen to participate but perhaps time poor.
“People are busy and finding the time to play is the hard thing,” Mr Brown said.
Shift workers and golf are also poten-tial winners through various industries pro-viding their workers with entitlements and
incentives to maintain healthy lifestyles and well-rounded work-life balance.
Stanwell currently offer an Employee Wellbeing Entitlement of $600 per annum which has been translated into golf mem-bership at Central Queensland clubs for many of their workers.
Yaralla Sports Club, which operates Gladstone, Calliope and Boyne Tannum golf clubs, provides a lifestyle package which, according to their marketing man-ager Katie Briggs, is popular with industry employers such as QAL, Boyne Smelter and Rio Yarwun.
It’s more than plaid these days.
Page 19 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM – She does have a good set of pipes, but Tina Turner songs played to shoo away birds is a bit beyond the pale for a fit old duck.
A Central England airport has start-ed playing some of Tina Turner’s greatest hits at full pelt after discovering the diva’s distinctively powerful sound effectively deters birds from the runway.
Songs including League anthem ‘Sim-ply The Best’ and power ballad ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ are pumped out from a loudspeaker mounted on a van, which is driven up and down the airstrip at Gloucestershire Airport.
“Normally we use the speakers to play bird-distress calls. But when they stopped working properly we found we could use Tina Turner just as effectively,” head of airport operations Darren Lewington told The Daily Telegraph.
Without the use of deterrents, it is feared aircraft could be hit by crows or gulls.
IN THE UNITED STATES – If you are one of those fellas who claims you don’t get BO and that your natural bodily bou-quet is not only pleasant but attractive, perhaps there is now a way of actually making this delusion a reality.
Deo Perfume Candy is an edible deo-dorant that promises to make you smell like roses.
The rose-flavoured product can pur-portedly make a 66 kilogram person excrete a floral aroma for up to six hours.
Created by US company Beneo with assistance from Bulgarian confection-er Alpi, the company’s web site explains how the product allegedly works: “Gera-niol is a natural antioxidant and its fra-grance, once consumed as a candy, leaves the body through its pores, creating a nat-urally sweet smell that can last for hours”.
The personal hygiene/confectionary
product went on sale online in August and may be on US shelves soon; it’s already being sold in Spain, Germany, China, Korea and Armenia.
At 10 bucks a pop it makes a pretty expensive lolly or deodorant but hopeful-ly it tastes better than sucking on a stick of Old Spice
ALSO IN THE US – If smelling like a flow-er garden really ain’t your thing perhaps the scent of sushi is more to your liking?
And apparently Demeter Fragrance Library’s latest release, Sushi Cologne, doesn’t make you smell like you have just rubbed down with a Spanish mackerel.
Instead, according to the company’s product description, the cologne combines “the fresh scent of just-cooked sticky rice and straight from the seaside seaweed, laced with hints of ginger and lemon essences”.
With a marketing tag line of “Simple. Subtle. Singular scents. Each day. Every-where” at $39.50 per 120 ml bottle you would want it to have some kind of allure.
If you think the pong of sushi has the sweet smell of success then maybe you should put The Fragrance Library’s Dirt, Crayon and Laundromat colognes on your Christmas list.
Fair Dinkum!
Tune into the Michael J. Breakfast show from 7:35 am every Monday for 4RO's CQ Mining Update, with special guest Angus from Shift Miner.
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FaIr dINKuM
Steve,It’s not wron g to stop seeing this woman because
she’s disabled.In fact, I think it would be wrong if you kept
seeing a woman you’re not interested in because she’s in a wheelchair.
You’ve only just met her so you’re under no obligation to spend the rest of your life with her just because she’s in a wheelchair, and I’m sure she wouldn’t expect you to.
If you don’t want to see this woman anymore my advice would be to tell her that you just want to be friends, don’t even bring her disability into it.
Susan
if you have a question for Frank and susan email Us at: [email protected]
Sensible Susan
Frank the Tank’s “Streakin” good love advice
Dear Frank,I haven’t been having much luck with the
women recently so my friends signed me up to one of those internet dating sites.
I must say I was actually quite surprised at how effective it was. I met a girl almost instantly and started chatting with her online.
We had a lot in common so we decided to meet up. However when we were talking online, she neglected to tell me that she was confined to a wheelchair.
She’s a nice woman and everything, but I find it really strange she didn’t tell me up-front.
Would it be wrong to stop seeing her just because of her disability?
Steve, Blackwater
You’re obviously a fairly discerning fellow, Steve. I’ve dated women with all sorts of medical problems and it’s never put me off.
When I was a lot younger there was a girl with terrible asthma who used to go to all the local dances.
No one ever wanted to dance with the poor girl because the inhaler she used made her breath smell like two-week-old yoghurt fermented under a car radiator.
Do you think that bothered old Frank?A few beers and packet of Tic-Tacs later, I
whisked that girl home and had her wheezing like a set of secondhand bagpipes.
I also dated a woman who was missing her left hand, but that relationship came apart spectacularly when she refused to wear a hook instead of her
prosthetic hand for a pirate-themed dress-up party I was hosting.
I’m afraid I don’t know too much about this internet dating you speak of. My rugged masculinity and chiseled features generally mean that I can’t step outside without women asking me to sign their breasts, so I’ve never had much need for the world wide web.
As always though, I will help you as best I can, Steve.Now, before you jump the gun and decide that you
don’t want to see this woman anymore, consider the perks of dating a disabled woman.
Christmas is coming up and we all know how enraging it is trying to find a park at a shopping centre.
You ‘borrow’ your girlfriend’s disabled parking permit, and you’re right next to the entrance every time.
Dating a woman in a wheelchair will also give other people the impression that you’re an extremely kind and compassionate man, making it easier to seduce other women should you be that way inclined.
In fact, your question has just reminded me of a pick-up technique I used to use where I’d pretend to be paralysed, only to rise out of my home-made wheelchair and walk towards the woman I was currently dating.
It was a terrific scheme, because for some reason women go wild for the healing powers of love.
Unfortunately it all came unhinged with the last girl I tried it on when I accidentally wheeled into the edge of a coffee table, banged my leg and screamed a loud profanity, proving that I wasn’t paralysed and ruining Sunday lunch with her parents.
Frank
Sushi Cologne. It promises to be simple, subtle and singular.
Hopefully not the scent of a Spanish mackerel.
Page 20 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012oFF sHIFt
MOVIE REVIEW BY JUSTIN CARLOS
Box office success doesn’t make a great film“SOMETIMES you have to see mov-ies that you might not necessarily enjoy. That’s part of being a film critic (Term used very loosely).”
That’s what I was telling myself as I settled in to watch Breaking Dawn Part 2, the merciful conclusion to the epical-ly popular Twilight franchise.
I’ll admit from the outset that I am not a Twilight fan, but I made a con-certed effort to keep an open mind and review the film on its merits.
Spoiler alert – Breaking Dawn has no merit.
The film picks up where Breaking Dawn Part 1 ended.
Bella (Kristen Stewart) is now a vampire, and things look fairly rosy for her and husband Edward (Robert Pat-tinson) and their half-human half-vam-pire child Renesmee.
Unfortunately, it’s alleged that Renes-mee is an ‘immortal child’, a destructive vampire incapable of learning, and for-bidden under penalty of death by the vampire illuminati known as the Volturi.
The Cullen clan sets about reclaim-ing their ‘happily ever after’ life togeth-er by amassing enough evidence to prove to the Volturi that Renesmee poses no threat to vampire kind.
Although I have visions of avid Twi-light fans streaming into the Shift Min-er office with torches and pitchforks to lynch me for sacrilege, there really is nothing good to be said about Breaking Dawn Part 2.
The acting is positively woeful, the dialogue is punctuated by awkward pauses and hackneyed ‘sweet nothings’ between Edward and Bella, extreme close-ups are used ad nauseam and unfortunately only accentuate the aforementioned awkward pauses.
The narrative itself seems as though it was written by a high school student whose grasp on basic fiction is tenuous at best.
The film seems disjointed and is pro-gressed by haphazard narration that serves no purpose than to telegraph the blatantly obvious to the viewer.
The plot is trite at best and just when it seems as though we’ve actually reached a climax of sorts - and admit-tedly a far more grisly climax than I had envisaged - we’re slapped in the face by the oldest cliché in the book, “It was only a dream!”
Despite its laundry list of shortcom-ings, the commercial success of the film is undeniable, with Breaking Dawn Part 2 raking in over $141 million at the box office already.
As I exited the theatre, bewildered by the popularity of such an atrocious film, I could only consider Bram Stok-er rolling over in his crypt, as the genre he defined over a century ago is staked in the heart by the all-consuming Twi-light juggernaut.
Although I have visions of avid Twilight fans streaming into the Shift Miner office with torches and pitchforks to lynch me for sacrilege, there really is nothing good to be said about Breaking Dawn Part 2.
C R A Z I E S T R U S S I AR C N I N C LA T R O C I T Y S A C H E TY O U U E D O IO B S E R V A N T O W L E TN S T C R A U
G E N E H U N D R E DE H L E S EG O A H E A D C O D EG Z P Y H S PF L A S H K N A P S A C K SL R A E G H O AI O D I N E D R E A D F U LP E T I L F MS A D I S T I N C E N S E S
The solution to accommodation in Mackay. Stay a few
days, earn income while you’re away. 1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom Beachfront Resort living, pool and
restaurant onsite.
For More Info Call:
Phone: 0428 227 623
CAMPER AND CAR FOR SALE
Compass slide-on camper on Ford F250 ute.Camper sleeps 2 plus makeup 3rd. Range of accessories incl.F250XL 2001, 4.2L diesel, 190,000km, strengthened springs, UHF, compressor.
Whole unit $45,000 ono. Camper only
$11,000 ono.
Phone: 0407 913 914
BOAT FOR SALE
SAILING CATAMARAN
12.6m Light Cruiser.
Sleeps 3.Auxiliary
motor,dinghy and outboard.
Located at Yeppoon.
Call for full inventory and
inspection.
$150,000
Phone: 0448 874 000
HOUSE/LAND FOR SALE NORTH OF YEPPOON 40ha.Open country,
trailer. Always maintained and kept in a shed. All safety gear. Excellent
condition. Registered until September 2013.
Reduced to $108,000 Very Negotiable
Phone: 0409 630 311
BUSINESS FOR SALE
INVESTMENT FREEHOLD HOTEL MOTEL
One hour from Bundaberg 9 year lease with experienced tenant
returning $57,200 p.yr + annual CPI increases.
$540,000
Phone: 07 4151 4500
CARAVAN AND CAR FOR SALE
2010 SOUTHERN CROSS 5TH WHEELER
8mtrs,complete with all upgrades.
FORD F250 V8 deisel w/ gas injection. tow vehicle.Full details on request.Will
pass any inspection.Phone: 07 4162 5730
LAND FOR SALE2.5 ACRES FARMLET
Bitumen Road and Phone to front Gate. School, PO, Garage, Hospital, Hotel kindergarden and stores 15 min Drive. New gold
mines in area.
$48,000
Phone: 0413 501 222
BOAT FOR SALEOffshore Marine Master
2012 Mac5 Cuddy.Brand new! 90HP Suzuki
4 stroke,Hydraulic steering,Live well,
Bimini,Bait station, self draining fully welded
bottom,3mm sides. Comes on Dunbier Glider trailer.
$39,950
Phone: 0404 891 776
Page 22 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012sPort
Rio Tinto’s Clermont Community Development Fund has partnered with the Clermont Community Business Group since 2009.The Group aims to build long term relationships that will help improve infrastructure and lifestyle for a healthy and diverse Clermont community.
In 2012, Rio Tinto’s Clermont Community Development Fund committed to providing a further three years of support to build the organisation’s operational capacity, programmes and staffi ng.
Rio Tinto Coal Australia is proud to be a part of the Clermont, Emerald, Capella, Nebo, Sarina, Mirani and Mackay communities
thth h
y.yy. y.
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Pictured left to right: Clermont Community
Business Group’s Paul Breckon, Rio Tinto Clermont
Region’s Travis Bates and Dawid Pretorius, and Clermont
Community Business Group’s Janine Williams and Tony Upton. www.riotintocoalaustralia.com.au
For more information about funding for your local project or organisation please contact:
We support a range of local projects through our Clermont,
Kestrel Mine and Hail Creek Mine Community Development Funds.
THERE was a time when the playing and administration of rugby league in the coal fields was strictly the domain of men.
But the times they are a changin’.For the second year in a row the admin-
istration of rugby league will be completely undertaken by women.
Add to that the growing population of female players and you are seeing something of a sexual revolution in the coal fields.
Alanna Stanton has been selected as sec-retary and Anne Mckay will fill the treasur-er’s role for the 2013 season.
Both women are from Clermont and will join long-serving Blackwater-based Presi-dent Pat Booker.
The election of an all-female commit-tee once again underscores the critical vol-unteer shortages confronting many sporting organisations in the region.
Last year when Pat was reluctantly nom-inated president for the fifteenth year, she lamented that volunteers are a dying race.
“I would have stepped back and taken a lesser position, or even given the three posi-tions to new people altogether if the people had been available,” she said at the time.
“But they weren’t, and it’s not just foot-ball; it’s across the board.”
“I think maybe there is too much paid work around and people are put off by all the things you have got to have these days, like blue cards.”
“If every club just had a group of 10 peo-ple to help out - the total workload for each person would hardly be noticeable.”
Despite being just a team of three, and Pat being now in her sixteenth year in the role she says they will look to make some small changes in 2013.
“We are looking at an under-20 repre-sentative team for next year, so if there are any players interested we would like to hear from them,” she said.
“We had an open men’s and women’s side in 2012, but no under 20s side so we are
looking to change that.”“There is also talk that Springsure might
re-enter the competition, so we will do what we can to help that happen.”
“Ron Richardson from Bluff will be looking after the referees this year, and we are expect-ing great things from young Jacob Whitehouse,
who is doing excellently as a referee.”“In fact he is away at the QRL’s referee
academy now.”Despite the AGM being over, Pat says
they are still looking for a volunteers to fill the vice president role. She can be contact-ed on 4982 6243
Women in control of a man’s game
COMMUNITY CALENDARSport event date venue
Cricket Springsure v Magpies 8/12/12 Springsure
Cricket Rolleston v Clermont 8/12/12 Rolleston
Cricket Brothers v Blackwater 8/12/12 Emerald
Water Ski CQ round 4 9-10/2/13 Lake Victoria
Water Ski CQ ratings tournament 10-17/3/13 Lake Victoria
CENTRAL Highlands Triathletes will take a much needed break over Christmas, after a tough fortnight of competition.
Last weekend the Central Highlands Tria-thlon Club staged its flagship event at Emer-ald, after a three-week delay due to rain.
The Emerald event came hot on the heels (excuse the pun) of the first-ever Alpha triathlon the weekend before.
Results from Emerald were not available at the time of print, but Marc Fickling from Tieri and Nicole Green from Tambo won the men’s and women’s open long course events at Alpha.
In the shorter courses Robyn Shields
from Emerald won the women’s category and David Comiskey won the men’s.
Part of the club’s rationale for having events at various locations is to keep the racing interesting with new scenery and new challenges.
Triathlete Catherine Shepherdson says it is working.
“It’s great fun competing on different terrains, from what we train on,” she says.
“Which is why we love to travel for these club events.”
The CHTC is finalising details for a pos-sible event in Middlemount in late January, and a Duathlon in Capella in late February.
Coalfields triathletes look to 2013
Last year when Pat was reluctantly nominated president for the fifteenth year, she lamented
that volunteers are a dying race.
Page 23 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012MoNeY Matters
THERE has been a growing trend to get off the beaten track when it comes to buy-ing residential property.
Lifestyle blocks outside the main cen-tres have grabbed the attention of many in the resources industry, and the latest Her-ron Todd White report for November puts these isolated towns under the microscope.
In the Rockhampton region, fringe res-idential towns include Cawarral, Mount Chalmers, the Caves, Bouldercombe and Bajool.
Most of these towns, which are an easy drive to major facilities and employment in Rocky, provide the basics: primary school, general store/petrol station and/or hotel.
Carrawal and Mount Chalmers have the added benefit of being just a short drive from the beaches along the Capricorn Coast.
Owner-occupiers seeking affordable housing in a quiet rural town setting are the dominant buyers in this market, Herron Todd White says, but be careful if you are
looking for an investment property.“Sales activity is limited with homes that
do sell not reflecting any substantial capital growth over the past five to 10 years.
“We consider that this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.”
Entry price point for these towns is in the range of $200,000 to $300,000.
Heading south to Fraser Island, which is just a 45-minute barge trip from River Heads, the property market is stagnant.
“There is an abundance of property for sale on the Island which may be due to a reduction in lifestyle spending from the slow economic climate and a misalignment between vendor and buyer expectations,” Herron Todd White says.
Vacant land near the Kingfisher Bay resort is listed for sale around $170,000, with luxury homes on beachfront sites ask-ing above $700,000.
Eastern Forest estate is a subdivision to the east of Kingfisher Bay resort on the western side of the island.
Sales within the estate were active throughout 2009 and 2010, however there has not been a vacant land sale within this estate since 2010.
Most sales throughout 2010 hovered around $155,000 for sites above 900 square metres, and these lots are fully serviced with
electricity, telephone, sewerage and reticu-lated water.
“Selling agents have reported ongoing enquiry for property on the Island, however many potential buyers become deterred by the regulated building constraints for this location.”
Finally, Herron Todd White takes a look at the Mackay region - and the most isolat-ed hamlet of Clairview.
This small beachside community lies 130 km south of Mackay and is made up of a strip of modest to average housing, all with beach frontage.
Clairview has a small shop and post office, while the nearest primary school is 28 km north at Camila. For more servic-es, including two neighbourhood shopping centres, a primary and secondary school and local shops, it’s a 94 km drive north to the town of Sarina.
“At high tide, most properties have beau-tiful views out over the ocean to surrounding islands. At low tide, you can almost walk to them!”
Prices for small, very basic shacks start around the $200,000 mark with more sub-stantial dwellings reaching up to about $400,000, making this area one of the most affordable absolute beach frontage villages in the region, according to Herron Todd White.
Fringe benefits
Image supplied by Capricorn Enterprise
Page 24 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
IT’S an age-old argument – where should we put our money? Shares or property?
Well, the truth is that property and shares are simply vehicles. The real question to be asked is: “What’s the key to creating wealth?”
Leverage! Pure and simple.We’ve all heard the cry that cash flow is
king and that’s true when it comes to business survival, putting food on the table and mak-ing sure our basic needs are met. Cash flow is also great to fund an investment portfolio.
However, and this is the key distinction that separates the successful from everyone else, it is the ability to use leverage safely, effectively and in the right manner that will accelerate your ability to create wealth.
So the question we always ask is: which vehicle (property or shares) allows us to leverage most effectively?
Banks are much happier to lend you more money against quality property than against shares. So we can leverage more effectively with property.
Let’s look at an example. Imagine if you had $120,000 in equity or savings that you were looking to invest.
Yes we know that most people don’t
have a spare $120,000 sitting around under the mattress, but if you have owned a home for five years or longer, you might be sur-prised at how much equity you have in the home and what you can do with that equity.
If you were to invest in property, you could take your $120,000 and invest in two $400,000 properties giving you a total investment property portfolio of $800,000.
If you were to take that same $120,000 and invest in shares, you could only invest in $240,000 worth of shares because you can’t borrow as much for shares.
Now, let’s imagine that both the share market and property market go up by 10 per cent. That means that within 12 months, your property portfolio is worth $800,000 + 10 per cent = $880,000 ($80,000 gain)
Your share portfolio is worth $240,000 + 10 per cent = $264,000 ($24,000 gain). This means that if you were to invest in shares, within one year you would have just lost $56,000 ($80,000 gain in property value minus $24,000 gain in shares)
With the property portfolio, you can take your additional equity (the increase in value of your properties) and go and buy a
third property for $440,000 (assuming that all properties in your chosen area have gone up by 10 per cent). So now you have a property portfolio worth $1.32 million.
With your share portfolio, you could theoretically try and do something similar except you would only end up with a share portfolio of $288,000.
Now let’s project another 12 months in advance and again assume the same 10 per cent growth on your property portfo-lio and share portfolio.
Your property portfolio is now worth $1.32 million + 10 per cent = $1.452 mil-lion, which equates to $132,000 worth of growth in just the second year.
Your total growth over the two years = $132,000 + $80,000 = $212,000
Compare this to your share portfolio which is worth after two years $288,000+10 per cent = $316,800. That equates to $28,800 growth in the second year.
Your total growth with shares is $28,800 + $24,000 = $52,800
So now you can clearly see how pow-erful leverage is. Just by choosing property over shares, you would have made an extra $159,200. Put differently, if you had invested in shares, you would have lost $159,200. Over
time this loss only becomes bigger and bigger.When you consider what we have talked
about here, you can see why investing your superannuation into shares will never be the best solution for your retirement.
Now of course, you can get higher returns than 10 per cent on both property and shares but we’re looking at an average medium- to long-term scenario here.
It is also interesting that in the Global Finan-cial Crisis (GFC), property prices in Australia were far more protected than share prices.
In fact, some of our client’s properties continued to rise in value despite the GFC! The reason for this primarily is that our population continues to grow while there is an undersupply of housing in Australia.
I know there will be some die-hard sharemarket fans who will say that you can get similar leverage in the stock mar-ket using such tools as options and CFDs. However, even the great Warren Buffet called these leveraged instruments in the stock market ‘weapons of mass destruction’.
Sure you can use them to create wealth but the risk is much higher and personally, we’re not willing to risk our family’s future or our hard earned money on the spin of a stock market roulette wheel. Are you?
MONEY TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS
Karen Anderson is from Votiva. If you are interested in investing in property with high capital growth potential that will put more money into your pocket every month, please call my team at Votiva on (07) 3489 0950 to book in for your no obligation, FREE financial health check.
MoNeY Matters
Ph. 1300 657 184
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in 4-6 years!
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Page 25 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
151st EDITION. 2012
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MoNeY Matters
BEFORE you grab your cup of hot Milo and think this article (based on the head-line) is going to lull you into a gentle slum-ber, think again.
You will be perched on the end of your bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take action by the end. You probably won’t even pause to sip your Milo while reading.
Credit history. Yes, we know, it is a very
important detail you should give attention to each year.
That’s according to Shift Miner’s favour-ite authority, Money Smart, which offers independent advice.
If you have ever applied for credit or a loan, there will be a report on you with a credit reporting agency, and credit provid-ers use this to determine whether they will
trust you with their money.And this is for any application. So think
again before you decide to apply for that American Express application that came in the mail today. That will go on your credit history, as will any hire purchases.
If you are about to buy a property and you have decided to work through a mortgage broker, make sure that they are only going to go through one agency to get your loan.
There are some brokers who will send applications left, right and centre and you are then left with a record of 20 credit appli-cations on your file — and that will make it extremely difficult to get credit in the future. A problem if you didn’t get finance for you home on that round and you want to reap-ply again in several months.
But back to what is actually on your file. A report may include personal details; list-ings of any credit or loans you’ve applied for; details of defaults, and other cred-it infringements; bankruptcies, court judg-ments, to name a few. Phew!
To top this all off, listings usually remain on a credit report for five to seven years!
Therefore, do the annual check to make sure there are no incorrect listings – it can happen – and to ensure your first cousin who shares your same initials hasn’t stolen your identity and run up a raft of debt in your name.
And make sure you pay your bills on time. Money Smart suggests you be wary of
‘debt solution’ and ‘credit repair’ companies that claim to fix your credit rating — for a fee.
First of all, if there are any incorrect list-ings on your file, you can contact the credit agency directly and get this sorted and they will remove it — free.
If the information is correct, then sadly it will have to stay there for the term of its natural life.
You can get a credit reports from: Veda Advantage: www.mycreditfile.com.
au or 1300 762 207Dun and Bradstreet phone 1300 734 806For more information, go to www.mon-
eysmart.gov.au
An interesting tale about credit history
Your credit report is one of the most important financial tools you have and shows your money
history from credit cards to home loans.
Page 26 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
19,326 Acres | 16 Freehold Titles
Lifestyle | Grazing | Farming
f rom $280 ,000‘Lakeview’ incorporating ‘Smithy’s Run’
CAPRICON COAST, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND35km NW of Yeppoon 45km NE of Rockhampton.Country comprises a mix from black soil fl ood plains to sweet volcanic ridges, including extensive areas of ponded and improved pastures. Spotted Gum plantation, dams and bores. Comfortable 4 bedroom home, machinery shed and cattle yards.
• ‘Smithy’s Run’ 1,784 ha $2,585,000• Lot 6 (Lake frontage) 103 ha $320,000• Lot 7 903 ha $1,350,000• Lot 8 315 ha $427,000• Lot 9 146 ha $387,000• Lot 10 408 ha $800,000• Lot 11 62 ha $280,000• Lot 15 534 ha $490,000
Kev Doolan 0408 192 883Emu Park
4 BEDROOM 4 ENSUITE
BUILT IN 8 WEEKS
GROUP 4 www.olyhomes.com.au
Page 27 - Shift Miner Magazine, 3rd December 2012
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