Locals blast fly-in, fly-out mining culture

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 01/05/2012

Reporter: Amy Bainbridge

Residents in Queensland's Bowen Basin say miners working on rotational-style fly-in, fly-out shifts are damaging the economies of local towns.


EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: Some communities in Queensland's coal-rich Bowen Basin say their towns are being starved of flow-on revenue as thousands of workers fly in and fly out. The rotating shifts used by the mines results in a large chunk of the area's wages being spent outside the immediate region. Locals say a two-speed economy now exists, with the winners largely outpacing the losers. The issue surrounding so called FIFO workers are currently the subject of a Federal Government inquiry.

Amy Bainbridge reports from Moranbah, in the Bowen Basin.

AMY BAINBRIDGE, REPORTER: Australia is in the grip of a mining boom but not everyone here in the Bowen Basin is sharing the spoils. Moranbah was built in the 1970s to service mines in the area. The population has exploded as the number of coal mines has grown. Sandra and Owen Wallace moved here 32 years ago to work for mining companies.

SANDRA WALLACE, MORANBAH RESIDENT: Well it's gone from a small mining town of about 4,000 people to a rather large mining town of about 10 to 11,000 people now. The smaller town was more community-minded. Because of the drive in/drive out and the fly in/fly out, the locals actually are lesser in number. So it's a lot harder to mix with people.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Moranbah has an unemployment rate of just 1 per cent but that also means local businesses are struggling to find workers.

SUE GRANT, STORE MANAGER: It's the mining wages, we can't compete. They do long hours, we don't do obviously the hours they do, but, yeah, we can't compete against their wage. There's just no way, and everyone wants to go to the mines.

CEDRIC MARSHALL, MAYOR, ISAAC REGIONAL COUNCIL: It's definitely a two-speed economy. We've got the high wages within the mining industry, and then we have the average wage - like council wages or service industry wages - and we can't compete with the remuneration packages they have in the mining industry.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Those big packages have been snapped up by an army of around 7,000 fly in/fly out and drive in/drive out workers commuting from Brisbane or centres like Mackay and the Sunshine Coast. The so-called FIFOs and DIDOs mostly work 12 hour shifts and have little time to spend money in town, and the influx has sent rental costs soaring.

PETER FINLAY, MORANBAH TRADERS ASSOCIATION: I can't subsidise the rent of my staff - well I haven't got any staff because we can't get any - but I can't afford to subsidise the rent at $1,500, $2,000 a week. I don't pay them that much!

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Some homes fetch over $3,000 per week in rent, and three and four bedroom family homes are selling for around $1 million.

MARIE PLAHN, REAL ESTATE AGENT: This property went under contract a few weeks ago. It's now unconditional and due to settle on Monday. The contract price is $920,000, which was the asking price, so we're finding that not a lot of properties are even having to negotiate. This property is rented at $3,200 a week, and that's secured for two years which started in February. The home consists of four bedrooms, the main has an ensuite, it's fully air conditioned throughout. It's about seven years old. There's a big colour bond shed at the back as well.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: And you were telling me before that you sold a house across the road - can you tell me about that, it's just over this way, isn't it?

MARIE PLAHN: Yes, probably this time last year, so 12 months ago, the house across the road sold for $680,000; very, very similar style home. The only difference is that one doesn't have a shed. So $920,000 for this one now, which does have a shed. So there's quite a big difference there.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Mining companies are building furiously to house their commuting work force. 7,000 camp rooms or dongas have sprung up in Moranbah. Mining companies more glamorously call them "single person villas" and there are plans for another 6,000.

STEVE DUMBLE, BHP BILLITON MITSUBISHI ALLIANCE: We spend about $30 million a year on third-party rents for our employees in this part of the region, so again that's part of the sort of economic contribution that we make to the region, but at the sort of rentals that we've seen in recent times, we can't justify putting new employees into those sorts of rental arrangements. So we're right at the moment prioritising our new builds and the refurbishment of our existing housing to people who are coming off leases that are expiring.

PETER FINLAY: They've landmarked plenty of land for themselves but if you don't work for the mine. Then you can't get... you know, there's just no land here.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: This crane in the centre of Moranbah is an indication of how the town is desperately trying to catch up with the mining boom. Developers here are now building up rather than out, because the land surrounding the town is taken up by mining leases.

MARK CRAWLEY, CEO, ISAAC REGIONAL COUNCIL: It's been a while coming because people have been used to the traditional big backyard, four bedroom home or three bedroom home. Now we've got people that are actually investing in that space, I think we'll probably see a little bit more of it.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Local MP Shane Knuth said governments are happy to milk the area for mining revenue but are loathe to return it.

SHANE KNUTH, MEMBER FOR DALRYMPLE: What we're seeing is over $1 billion of gross revenue coming out of this region, but we're receiving the crumbs in return. What we want is affordable accommodation; we want, you know, medical services, we want to see doctors, nurses, people in a situation where now we've got such a rich area, but are forced to go to Mackay or Rockhampton just to receive medical services.

MARK CRAWLEY: There is a lot of royalty that goes out of this region into State Government, so the State Government is the beneficiary from that royalty, and we'd like to see our fair share back into the Isaac Regional Council area.

AMY BAINBRIDGE: Sandra and Owen Wallace say the community feel of Moranbah isn't completely gone, and they've resisted selling their house for big money.

SANDRA WALLACE: That's the choice... a choice we have made simply because we like the lifestyle here. It's hassle free; very quiet town, usually.

OWEN WALLACE, MORANBAH RESIDENT: I can drive from one side of town to the other in five minutes, I can go to the dump in two.

SANDRA WALLACE: And the dump is still free! (laughs)

AMY BAINBRIDGE: The federal inquiry into Australia's fly in/fly out work force is due to report back later this year.


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