News
136th EDITION. 2012
Gas Commission seeks personnel THE newly formed GasFields Commission is seeking nominations for member commissioners. The commission was established by the Newman Government to better manage tensions between landholders, regional communities and the coal seam gas industry. Now it is seeking six people to sit as commissioners and has asked the public to comment on what the real issues are, who should be on the commission and what powers it should have. Former AgForce boss John Cotter was announced as chairman last month and he will accept and assess submissions from the public. The commission is based in Toowoomba. Last week more than 4000 people staged an anti-CSG protest in New South Wales which highlighted the depth of feeling across the country surrounding the industry.
Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said the commission would consult closely with industry and community ensure concerns and issues about the industry’s expansion are properly addressed “from the ground up.” Feedback and suggestions about the role and functions of the commission must be made in writing directly to the Chairman and ideally limited to two to three pages with the author’s name and contact details clearly marked. To be a commissioner nominees need to be available at least one day each month, with potential for out-of-session work commitments. Key skills include land management and landholder negotiations; land valuation; CSG industry experience; legal and business experience. More information on the commission and public consultation is available at www. csg-lng.industry.qld.gov.au
“Last week more than 4000 people staged an anti-CSG protest in New South Wales which highlighted the depth of feeling across the country surrounding the industry.”
Page 4 - Shift Miner Magazine, 7th May 2012
FROM PAGE 1
Workers ignore the black dog
The NSW Minerals Council that commissioned the report says it’s time for an industry wide approach to mental health and the issues covered in the report. Mackay-based Shane Hopkinson, President of the Regional Social Development Centre, said mental health continues to be a big issue for resource workers because of the nature of their work. He said fly-in, fly-out workers, which spent large amounts of time away from family and living in male-dominated camps were particularly at risk of developing mental health problems. “They can be socially isolated living in a camp while they are at work and then when they come home their family can exist without them and they are like a visitor,” he said. His advice to workers that feel they have symptoms of a health or physical illness is to speak to a friend or colleague and visit their GP. There are also workplace programs to assist workers who feel they have mental health issues, though few speak up because of the stigma. “Whether these guys are going to take up these opportunities for help is hard to say,” he said. The RSDC is the key regional body for
social and community issues in the Mackay and Whitsundays region. The findings back work done by rural health specialist Dr Jennifer Bowers. As CEO of the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in Queensland she has been campaigning to convince mining companies that prevention is the key. “People work in tough climatic conditions, there can be high levels of stress, as well as isolation and working away from family and friends,” she told last year’s health and safety conference in Townsville. “We are talking to engineers and businessmen so we talk in numbers and productivity because the feel good stuff doesn’t cut the mustard,” she said. Her figures showed that based on a 12-hour shift, a person with a mental illness will average two hours and 42 minutes of unproductive time. If it is assumed on the 1:3 ratio that 1000 employees out of 3000 have a mental illness during a year, that means every day there are 2700 hours of unproductive time. “That equates to 225 people not showing up to work at all, or in the big scheme about 7.5 per cent lost productivity,” Dr Bowers said.