temporary workers accommodation – (mining camps)
TRANSCRIPT
A prosperous community we’re proud to call home
Temporary Workers Accommodation
– (Mining Camps)
The New Social Blight?
Communities Fear for FIFO Future
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-
05-27/workers-on-457-visas-retained-
as-boggabri-coal-slashes-
workforce/4715998
From 3.51
Mining Camps
• What is a TWA
• Planning Framework
• Social Impacts
• Economic Impacts
• Micro and Macro Issues
• Gulgong – Community in fear
• Pressure on infrastructure
FIFO/DIDO
• Who
• 100% FIFO – Local Employment
Pretence
• By-passing local town and region
centres
Mining Camps – What are they?? • Temporary?
• Miners live in these villages while they are ‘on’
roster.
• The buildings are usually transportable in nature
and easily moved.
• The villages provide accommodation, food, laundry,
recreational and entertainment services and
facilities
• Often built outside of a town, not within
• Home or away?
• Totally self contained
• Location
Mining camps – in search of a definition..
• A standard definition would be good...
• Determined by JRPP
• Void of planning control
• Capability of rural communities to
cope
Mining Camps – Social impact • As defined by the NSW Government Office on Social Policy, social impacts are significant events
experienced by people as changes in one or more of the following are experienced:
– Peoples’ way of life (how they live, work or play and interact with one another on a day-to-day basis);
– Their culture (shared beliefs, customs and values); or
– Their community (its cohesion, stability, character, services and facilities).
• Consider these potential impacts....
• Result in a concentration of a large segment of the non resident mine workforce in one place close to an
established residential area,
• Create a significant gender imbalance on the locality with associated adverse social impacts,
• Impose a significant experience of income inequality on the local area with the associated adverse impacts,
• What are social impacts
• Consider these potential impacts
– Concentration of a mono culture
– Gender imbalance
– Income inequity
– Where are the volunteers?!
– Social cohesion
– Where is home?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Mining camps – Social Impacts on the mine workers
• Carrington and Pereira. “Social Impact of Mining Survey: Aggregate Results Queensland Communities”, Queensland
University of Technology, 2011.
Neg
ativ
ity
Health and Building Impacts
Mining Camps – Economic Impact • FIFO workers, by definition, live somewhere else
• Their accommodation and usually food and other
services are paid by the mines.
• The worker often does not have to get his wallet
out...
• Long working hours
• Regional growing pains
• Resident workers build and buy homes, they buy
groceries, buy cars and generally contribute to the
local economy
• Singleton camp – estimates by planning
consultancy
Mining Camps – Social impact
• Mid-Western Council modelled the impact of hosting a 400 person FIFO workforce
compared with those 400 workers being permanent residents.
• Net loss of between $11.5 million and $29.4 million in Gross Regional Product (GRP) during
construction and $15.1 million annually due to reduced worker spending
• It also results in a loss of up to 242 employment positions during construction, and 260
employment positions annually due to reduced worker spending.
• Using FIFO workers (the total impact i.e. Initial impact + flow-on impact) results in a net loss
for the Mid-Western Region LGA of between $21.7 million and $55.5 million in GRP during
construction and $22.5 million annually due to reduced worker spending.
• It also results in a loss of up to 455 employment positions during the construction phase and
up to 322 employment positions annually due to reduced worker spending.
• In Singleton, use of local and regional labour would boost spending on construction and
investment in housing. The regional economy stands to lose up to $311 million in gross
regional product and 3,138 full time positions annually by contracting FIFO workers instead
of using a permanent resident workforce.*
*-“Social and Economic impacts of Proposed Temporary Accommodation in Singleton for FIFO workers”, SGS Economics and Planning, May 2013.
Mining Camps – Tax incentives • Costs associated with a FIFO workforce can
be written off as a cost of production,
• GST is not paid on flights and
accommodation where the employer pays
for these rather than the employee having a
higher salary to fund these costs,
• FIFO workers can claim living away from
home allowance and remote tax offset
despite the mines being in close proximity
to existing communities. • House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia “Cancer of the Bush or Salvation of the Cities”
Mining Camps and infrastructure
• Big sudden hit on water and sewer capacity
• A mining camp can be up and running in a 6 month period
and have an immediate impact on infrastructure.
• Impacts on capacity to service other planned development
Gulgong: A Community in Fear
Disconnected
• http://www.abc.net.au/heywire/stori
es/2011/12/3388314.htm
Further Reading
• Report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee
of Regional Australia – Cancer of the Bush or Salvation of our
Cities, February 2013 (Windsor Report).
• Social Impacts of Mining Survey: Aggregate Results for
Queensland Communities, Prof. K. Carrington et al,
Queensland University of Technology, June 2011.
• Social and Economic Impacts of Proposed Temporary
accommodation in Singleton for FIF workers, prepared by SGS
Economics and Planning, dated May 2013.
• Mid-Western regional LEP 2012, Clause 6.11.
• Part 6.2, Mid Western Comprehensive DCP 2013, Temporary
workers Accommodation, Mid-Western Regional Council,
Planning and Development Department, February 2013.