Shift Miner Magazine_SM85

SHIFT MINERMonday 26th April 85th Edition 2010 The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news

M A G A Z I N E

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News Mining towns planning for the future » page 4

NewsWho is in the ring to buy Macarthur? » page 4

NewsQld’s greenhouse gases go underground » page 7

CQ BusinessMEM makes strategic sale » page 14

Around TownA good day at the footy » page 10

Money MattersTax crackdown on DIY super » page 27

THE cost of a bed for miners and their fam-ilies has again reached stratospheric levels across Queensland.

The mining industry is surging on the back of doubling coal prices, and as a conse-quence so is demand for accommodation in mining towns.

Currently a standard four-bedroom home in key mining centres like Moranbah and Blackwater are being listed for rent at more than $1200 a week.

Meanwhile in Emerald, people are being asked to pay more than $200 a week per bed-room, or more than $600 a week for a mod-ern three-bedroom home.

For miners renting in the coastal cit-ies the story is slightly better, but rents still remain very high.

The Rental Tenancy Authorities (RTA) figures for the first three months of the year show the median cost of renting a three-bed-room house in Mackay is around $420 a week.

However, houses in high demand coastal areas are being listed for as much as $850 a week.

In the Whitsundays, Rockhampton and Gladstone the figures are slightly less daunt-ing, with the RTA median rental figures for a three-bedroom home ranging from $300 to $350 a week.

But again, many single properties are being listed for far more than the median price.

» continued page 2

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BED-LAMThe cost of sleeping in the Coalfields

Page 2 - Shift Miner Magazine, 26th April 2010

85th EDITION. 2010

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To put it into perspective, that means the cost of renting a house in the Coalfields is about the same as in the most elite suburbs in Brisbane, and far more that many inner city residential areas.

What makes it more astonishing is there is no shortage of land in Central Queensland.

To address this very issue, back in 2008 the Premier Anna Bligh went to Blackwa-ter to announce a $100 million infrastructure fund called the Sustainable Resource Com-munities Agreement.

This money was to be allocated to infra-structure projects in towns like Blackwater, Dysart, Moranbah and Emerald to ease the cost of living in mining communities.

“The boom has also created its fair share of challenges, including increased demand on health and education services, housing availabil-ity, rental costs, labour availability and increased traffic on our roads,” Ms Bligh said at the time.

“The [Bowen] Basin’s population has increased by over 1700 people in 12 months, and this is placing immense pressure on the

region’s social resources, particularly housing.” However nearly two years on, with just

under $2 million left in the kitty, the housing problem remains severe.

Central Highlands Mayor Peter Maguire says he is pleased the money has been spent, but says the decision to invest more than a third of it on fixing and building roads has meant some social issues have missed out.

“During the recession last year, they ended up fast tracking how the money was spent,” he said.

“By my calculations we got a bit less than $4 million, the Isaac Regional Council got a bit over $6 million, Banana shire got $1.5 mil-lion and Mt Isa, the Western Downs and the Maranoa Shire got about $15 million alto-gether,” he said.

“Nearly $40 million was spent on roads,

and don’t get me wrong the money need-ed to be spent, and I am glad it was, but I thought the agreement was more about deal-ing with some of the social issues.”

Cr Maguire said some of the money was spent on housing solutions with great success.

“Some of the funding went to Moranbah’s affordable housing project which was so success-ful we are looking to replicate it here in Emerald.”

“But that was just over $3 million out of $100 million.”

“There is still a lot of money to be spent on childcare facilities, more affordable hous-ing, allied health, and just attracting more doctors to town.”

“It is about making these regional towns attractive to all the young people working in the mining sector.”

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News

“To put those prices in perspective, that means the cost of renting a house in the Coalfields is about the same as for the most elite suburbs in Brisbane, and

far more that many inner city residential areas”

FROM PAGE 1

$1200/week to rent in the Coalfields

SUCCESS STORY: Moranbah’s affordable housing project will most likely be

mirrored in other mining towns


85th EDITION. 2010CONTeNTs

WHEN it comes to issues like housing in Central Queensland coal towns it can feel a bit like Groundhog Day.

In any commodities-based industry, there will be boom times and there will be busts.

It seems that when we’re not reporting about job cuts we are reporting about a lack of housing in mining towns - and as a result, how it will cost you an arm and a leg to live there.

Once again, rents have sky-rocketed in Central Queensland, with people in towns like Blackwater forking out $1200 every week for a basic house.

It felt like a breakthrough back in 2008 when the State Government commit-ted $100 million to fixing some of those big problems in regional mining towns like housing and health care.

But two years down the track, with near-ly all the money spent, and there has been no dramatic changes in those key areas.

Almost $40 million of the funding ended up being spent on the region’s roads - large-

ly thanks to last year’s economic slowdown and the desire to pour money into programs that would keep people in work.

Certainly no-one begrudges that, and the roads funding was needed, but it has meant some other areas missed out.

There have been some admirable and successful projects launched as a result of the funding - like Moranbah’s sustainable housing project, which was so successful it’s looking to be replicated in other towns like Emerald and Nebo.

What is evident is that fixing such deep-seated problems isn’t cheap and it isn’t easy.

Hopefully the new social impact man-agement plans that councils are in the proc-ess of drawing up will guide mining and development in other areas like Alpha.

At least in those communities there is still time to get it right and make sure essen-tials such as housing, water and health care are appropriately provided for if and when new projects get the go-ahead.

FROM THE EDITOR7

Alex Graham

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85th EDITION. 2010News

MORE than 40 representatives from local councils and state government depart-ments met in Moranbah last week to dis-cuss growth and regional development.

The Regional Growth and Develop-ment Forum was the brainchild of the Isaac Regional and Central Highlands Councils.

High on the agenda was discussions about the EIS process and putting together social impact management plans - as coun-cils are required to do by mid-May.

“I guess some of the impacts to do with mining and development are going to be very similar across a lot of these councils,” said Isaac Mayor Cedric Marshall.

“This meeting means we are all reading off the same hymn sheet.”

Cr Marshall said the new social impact management plans will map out guidelines to do with vital infrastructure like housing, roads and water.

“It will be a very useful document because when companies come to develop or start up in the region we say - here is our social impact management plan, these are things we want you to address.”

“It’s too late when they have already come in and set up and we suddenly have housing and water shortages.”

“This is about forward planning and not playing catch up all the time.”

Central Highlands Mayor Peter Maguire said key social impact issues had been iden-tified by councils in the Bowen Basin area five years ago.

“We need to all be working together to ensure our communities are sustainable in the long term.”

Local governments that attended the forum included Isaac Regional Coun-cil, Central Highlands Regional Coun-cil, Banana Shire Council, Barcaldine Regional Council and Western Downs Regional Council.

The State Government was represented by the Departments of Infrastructure and Planning (DIP), Environment and Resource Management (DERM) and Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) , as well as the Office of Econom-ic and Statistical Research and the Urban Land Development Authority.

Think tank nuts out social impact plans

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THE future for more than 700 miners in Central Queensland is in limbo as the battle for control of Macarthur Coal continues.

Over the past month, several differ-ent mining companies have shown inter-est in taking over the Queensland-based Macarthur to capitalise on the value of its unique steel-making coal.

While a change in ownership is unlike-ly to mean sweeping changes to the current workforce at Macarthur sites in CQ - it does not mean there will be no change at all.

A new owner could bring with it a new style of management, and it could also reconsider the use of contractors on Macarthur mine sites; however, this is pure-ly speculative.

At the time of printing, the only bid left on the table for Macarthur was from giant US-based coal miner Peabody, whose $16 per share bid values Macarthur at about $4 billion.

However there have been strong and persistent rumours that Xstrata was also in the process of developing a competing offer

for the company. The battle for control of Macarthur Coal

actually started months ago, ironically when Macarthur itself was seeking to buy a small-er coal miner called Gloucester Coal.

Gloucester is majority owned by the Noble Group, who agreed to sell Glouces-ter to Macarthur for both cash and about 24 per cent of Macarthur’s shares.

However, Noble abandoned this deal after Macarthur stalled on negotiations in light of the other offers being made.

Peabody currently operates three Bowen Basin mines - the Millenium, North Goonyella and Burton mines.

The company has another coal mine in the Surat Basin, as well as two mines in New South Wales.

Peabody currently employs directly and indirectly about 3500 people across Australia, and the purchase of Macarthur would add to that the 750 strong work-force at Coppabella, Moorvale and Mid-dlemount mines.

Macarthur miners wonder who’ll be new boss?

REGIONAL APPROACH: More than 40 people attended the first Regional Growth and Development Forum in Moranbah last week


85th EDITION. 2010

GROSVENOR DETAILS Anglo has released its terms of reference for its $1.1 billion greenfields underground mine near Moranbah. The Grosvenor project would employ 1000 people, and would be built in 2012 if all the necessary approvals are gained. The mine would be next door to the company’s Moranbah North mine, and would produce five mtpa of coking coal for export. The public has until 9th June to comment on the terms of reference. .....................................................................

FASTER PROCESSING New laws passed by State Parliament recently will speed up the process of approvals for new mines in Queensland. The Land Court will no longer need to assess mining lease applications unless there is an objection lodged. Another change will be that case managers are appointed to guide applicants and keep track of progress. The Mines Minister is confident the changes will speed up the process by as much as six weeks. .....................................................................

BLACK SPOTS FUNDING The Gladstone area will have two dangerous black spots on roads after a Federal government injection of $265,000. The intersection of Rossella St and Lord, Side and Murray Sts will be turned into a single lane roundabout with $165,000. The other $100,000 will be used to put in a roundabout at the intersection of Beltana Dr and Brin St at Boyne Island.

FAST NEWS

News

BET you were glad you work in CQ and not Kalgoorlie when a giant earth tremour hit the Western Australian mining town last week.

Those who were unlucky enough to be at work at the enormous Super Pit gold mine were evacuated after the 5.0 magni-tude earthquake hit.

The roof didn’t cave in at the mine, but there was enough damage to keep the mine shut for 24 hours before it was given the all clear.

If you thought after a work day like that it might be nice to slip down to the pub and have a quiet one - well, you’d have been out of luck there too.

Six of the town’s historic pubs had their reinforcements tested - the second sto-rey verandah of one hotel completely col-lapsed and many others now have huge cracks running down walls.

On top of all that, the local school’s ceil-ing collapsed and there is some concern that some of the town’s historic buildings will have to be condemned.

But the good people of Kalgoorlie seem to be copping it on the chin.

“As far as earthquakes go, aren’t we lucky?” said publican Laurie Ayers, whose pub The Recreational Hotel suffered fall-en facades.

“We’re complaining about a few cracked walls and facades.”

Holy Kalgoorlie! What was that?!

THE Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has controversially suggested that unemployed Australians who are under 30 should be off the dole and working on mine sites.

Mr Abbott made the suggestion during a meeting with 15 mining industry leaders in Perth.

“I had a very free ranging discussion with people who were complaining bitter-ly about the difficulty of getting people to work,” Mr Abbott told ABC Radio.

“And we were canvassing about whether changes to the social security system might help to create more incentives to work.”

While the idea of banning the dole for under 30s is not coalition policy, it is believed the coalition is considering limit-ing the time spent on the dole for people in that age bracket,excluding those who are vulnerable.

“There has got to be a system which encourages people to take up work where that work is available and certainly the idea

of having people on the dole where there is relatively unskilled work freely available, I think the Australian public don’t like that idea very much.”

But the idea has not been well received by the mining industry or union officials who have dismissed it out of hand.

“Mining is a hi-tech industry often requir-ing very specialised skills,” said Minerals Coun-cil of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke.

“It is not a simple matter of picking someone off the street and sending them over to Western Australia or wherever to work in a mine.”

Those thoughts were echoed by Queens-land Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche.

“If he thinks you can translate an unem-ployed young man or woman from Towns-ville or Cairns or wherever overnight into the resources sector, then clearly we need to give Mr Abbott a good briefing on the

workforce’s needs and the fact that we need skilled people that have done some train-ing,” Mr Roche told ABC Radio.

Australian Workers Union boss Paul Howes has ridiculed Mr Abbott, saying the comments were a “Sarah Palin moment” for the Opposition Leader.

“You can’t just pluck any old Joe out of an area of chronic unemployment, dump them in a mine and think that that somehow is going to solve the skills shortage, because the shortage is about skills,” he said.

“To take people and say ‘right, you can go and work with expensive equipment in an open cut or underground mine with-out training and no regard to skills is total-ly disastrous - no-one in our industry would come out in favour of this idea.”

“It’s crass politics at its worst. It’s the type of thing we heard from Pauline Hanson.”

Out of the dole queue and into the mines?

Think tank nuts out social impact plans

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Teachers clued up on mining

Coal companies hounding QR

MORE than 100 teachers attended a forum in Brisbane recently aimed at get-ting more knowledge of the resources sec-tor into the classroom.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) put on the “Powering the Future” forum, which included presentations on low emissions technologies, energy from gas and renewable energy.

“With the emergence of new industries and evolution of existing industries, new jobs are emerging,” said QRC chief execu-tive Michael Roche.

“Students need to be prepared for this, and the best way to ensure a future work-force for the resources sector is by provid-ing teachers with information about the latest advances in our industry.”

The forum also supports the ‘Powering the Future’ series of on-line professional development opportunities that QRC has been offering over the past 12 months.

The on-line series provides opportunities

for regional and remote teachers to increase their understanding of the resources sector through participation in interactive forums and live seminars.

The forum also officially launched the QRC’s educational website OresomeResources.com.

OresomeResources houses hundreds of teaching resources aligned to both the Queens-land and draft National Curriculum documents.

The resources and free supporting profes-sional development opportunities are designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge and confi-dence in teaching this area of the curriculum.

“Industry’s $1 million dollar invest-ment in the OresomeResources website is testament to our support of education in Queensland, not just in mining towns, but across the state,” said Mr Roche.

All participants at the forum were pro-vided with additional teaching materi-als to enable them to implement units of work related to the resources sector in their classrooms.

THE group of 14 coal companies that wants to buy part of Queensland Rail (QR) is maintaining the pressure on the State Gov-ernment over its decision to sell off the track and rolling stock together.

In a sign that they haven’t given up on own-ing QR’s coal track system, the companies have been holding talks with Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) in New South Wales.

The ARTC operates train tracks in eve-ry state except for Queensland, and in New South Wales it operates the Hunter Valley coal network.

Pacific National and QR compete to provide the rolling stock that carry coal to port in that region.

So far in Queensland, Premier Anna Bligh has refused to consider an offer from mining companies to buy the rail infrastruc-ture, preferring instead that the business be sold as one entity that includes the rail and the rolling stock.

From a political perspective, the pri-

vatisation of QR is already a very difficult proposal for the Labor government, with key unions and many QR employees dead against the idea.

It could become an even more poison-ous proposal if QR is sold to mining com-panies, which might be why the Premier dismissed the idea before a price had even been dangled in front of her.

However, QR chief Lance Hockeridge told media at a briefing in Mackay last week that the core reason why they wanted the business to be sold in its current form is because it will prevent self interest among several owners.

“The successful railways around the world are vertically integrated because its the best way to align interests from an investment point of view,” he said.

“If you’re injecting another player in there you have the potential for more self interest and bottlenecks in the system.”

APLNG is a CSG to LNG Joint Venture between Origin and ConocoPhillips.

Australia Pacific LNG’s coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) project stretches from the Surat and Bowen basins, along a 450km pipeline to a LNG facility at Laird Point, on Curtis Island, Gladstone.

To learn more about the Project’s procurement process, Australia Pacific LNG invites potential suppliers and contractors to the GEA’s ‘Tender Readiness Program’ event.

To register your interest as a supplier, please visit aplng.com.au

Australia Pacific LNG Tender Readiness Program

Project Information Session

Date: Tuesday 18 MayTime: 5:30pm registration for a 6pm startLocation: The Grand Hotel,

Goondoon St, Gladstone

Commercial Workshop

Date: : Tuesday 25 MayTime: 7amLocation: The Grand Hotel,

Goondoon St, Gladstone

Bookings are essential. If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] orphone 07 4972 4020. A cost for non-GEA members will apply.

You’re invited!

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APLNG 0001 Procurement Roadshow 155x125.indd 1 21/4/10 10:03:57 AM



85th EDITION. 2010

THERE aren’t many events in the coalfields that you could where a cravat to and not feel out of place, but this was one of them.

The recent “Dysart Kitchen Rules” com-petition held at the town’s Garden Pla-za Shopping Centre saw sporting groups, accommodation providers, BMA mine man-agers and Isaac Regional Council employees showing off their skills behind a barbeque.

The competition celebrated the end of the “Measure Up” program and also raised some funds for the children’s cancer research.

The “Measure Up” program had been running since February and provided an

opportunity for BMA employees, their families and the local community to receive specialist advice from a dietitian in order to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle.

“We want to provide opportunities for our employees and communities to be fit and healthy and what better way than providing the services of a professional dietitian,” said Norwich Park mine manager Gus Gomes.

“BMA was proud to partner with the Dysart Lions Club and the Dysart Com-munity Support Group to deliver this event and present the Dysart Lions Club with new barbeques for future fund raising activities.”

News

Searching for gassy spaceQUEENSLAND has taken the next step to establish safe, long-term underground stor-age of greenhouse gases from coal-fired power stations.

Mines Minister Stephen Robertson has today released a tender to explore land in central and south west Queensland that may be suitable for underground storage of carbon dioxide gases.

“We are committed to a clean energy future and progressing with carbon capture and storage of greenhouse gases is the way of the future,” he said.

The 13 areas of land that industry can explore as potential storage sites are locat-ed in the Blackall–Tambo area, near Emer-ald, in the Roma–Wandoan area and in the Chinchilla–Moonie area, covering the Gali-lee, Bowen, Surat and Adavale Basins.

The land release covers a total of about 66,000 square kilometres and is subject to a call for tender available to all explorers.

“Sufficient land has been released to accommodate special criteria in the tender giving preference to Queensland-based ven-tures which have lodged applications with the Commonwealth’s Carbon Capture and Stor-age Flagship program,” Mr Robertson said.

Mr Robertson said Queensland and Australia will continue to rely on coal as a major source of power generation.

“The Bligh Government is focused on protecting our environment from the impacts of climate change while securing a reliable low-cost energy supply and sup-porting the growth of Queensland’s coal industry,” he said.

“With growing electricity demand and an abundant supply of low-cost, high-qual-ity thermal coal, Queensland is well placed to pioneer low-emission coal technology.”

“When combined with the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, low emission coal technology will be capable of achieving greenhouse gas emission cuts of more than 75 per cent.”

“This land release will enable the devel-opment of a carbon storage industry in Queensland to ensure greenhouse gas emis-sions are reduced, further strengthening the future for Queensland’s billion dollar coal industry and the 25,000 people who work in that industry,” he said.

Tenders will close on Monday 14 June and details are available on the depart-ment’s website: www.deedi.qld.gov.au

Saraji mine reps Mike & Jasmin Preistly showed off their chef skills

Isaac Regional Council CEO Mark Crawley throws another prawn on the barbie

THE Queensland Government has released new guidelines to ensure the burgeoning coal seam gas (CSG) energy sector contrib-utes to a sustainable future.

Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson announced new regulatory triggers to help protect groundwa-ter in areas where CSG is extracted.

“The laws introducing the new trigger thresholds are expected to commence in August, with the independent Queensland Water Commission having oversight,” Mr Robertson said.

“This will be supported by a $2 million CSG groundwater unit we are setting up within the QWC, initially with eight officers dedicated to the task.”

The extraction of CSG is dependent on first removing large amounts of groundwa-ter from coal seams.

“Much of the area under development for CSG lies within the Great Artesian Basin and the aquifers there provide vital bore water for stock, domestic, industrial and agricultural use – often in areas where there is no alternative water supply source,” Minister Robertson said.

“It is important we have arrangements

in place to detect and respond appropriate-ly where large-scale CSG extraction may be impacting on groundwater.”

“To do this, the government will imple-ment a groundwater management regime.”

“Where the impacts from individu-al CSG operations overlap, the regime will manage the cumulative impacts,” Mr Rob-ertson said.

Mr Robertson said an important part of the management regime would be new “trigger thresholds”.

These can be used to investigate both individual CSG operators’ impacts and overall impacts on bore water.

The new trigger thresholds will be a five-metre drop for consolidated aquifers such as sandstone and a two- metre drop for shallow alluvial aquifers.

“If these trigger thresholds are exceeded and a water supply bore is affected, the CSG operator will be required to investigate.”

“If the problem is caused by the CSG operator, then the operator will need to negotiate acceptable solutions with the bore owner,” Mr Robertson said.

There will also be a trigger threshold in relation to springs.

CSG thresholds protect water

Dysart Kitchen Rules!

TM

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85th EDITION. 2010PAGe 9

Photo provided by Vixen Model Management

Bert’s been mining for 20 years. 19 years ago he sold his beloved Harley to start investing for the future.

He took the money to Steve Taylor and Partners for advice.

TODAY HE HAS 6 HOUSES, NO DEBTS - AND A HARLEY

What’s your future going to be like?

Call Steve Taylor on 0749807733 or google “Steve Taylor”

HARLEY NOW OR IN THE FUTURE?

What’s your name? Danah Charlene Wheatley

Where are you from? Sydney.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? I worked at a hotel for a little while. Worst job ever. Even when people were rude to you, you just had to smile and take it. Grr.

How do you spend your Sundays? Pole dancing actually - for fitness!

What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on? Haven’t had a worst date yet. But when I do I’ll be sure to tell you!

What miners do you prefer - undergound or open cut? I’d say underground, just cause it’s a lot harder I guess. But then again, isn’t gold mined from open cutting? ;)

Do you find a man in a hard hat sexy - and why? Depends really. I just like laborer overall - all dirty and stuff, it’s heaps cute haha!

DanahDanah


85th EDITION. 2010ArOuNd TOwN

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.

Kym, Pandora and “Avatar” Kez

Randall Miller and Glen Finning

Shay, Kelly, Emily, Nikita, Tash and Shania-Louise

Brad Gorman, Geoff Anderson, Chris and Luda Little

George and Rorie Elliott

What could be better than a cool Autumn day at the football? Supporters were out cheering on their team at a recent Blackwater Crushers vs Emerald Tiger game recently.

Courtney Napper, Rebecca Pope and Jenny Napper

Storky Campbell and Jamie Hawkey

Shannon Green and Kelsey Ford

Maddi Brown and Maddy Munns

Isaiah Brown and Corban Phillips

Quincy Ryan, Jay Allen, Ash Burnell and Jess Burnell

www.shiftminer.comBUY THIS AND MANY OTHER IMAGES AT

Shift Miner magazine – bringing the mining community closer together

A DAY AT THE FOOTY


85th EDITION. 2010ArOuNd TOwN

Proud mother Libby Humphrey cheers for her daughter Eden

Brianna Ganter Laird Roughan - 1st place Terry Curcio

Jaydah Noonan, Lily Hannay and Emily Dodd

Prep students Damon Peters and Cayley Daniel enjoy ice blocks after the fun run

David Jimenez

Khy More - 6 and sister Keeley Moore - 4

Harrison McLean

Callighan Neven, Will Simmons, Callum Lemke

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FUN RUN RAISES FUNDS!

Moranbah State School held its annual Fun Run recently. The event raised $8000 which will be used to buy new sporting equipment for the school. The

champion team of the day was Pegasus, followed by Orion and Taurus [photos contributed by Tina Daniel].



WHAT do scooters and BMX bikes represent? Young people of course! That’s why they were a pivotal part of the

activities organised to celebrated National Youth Week in Blackwater recently.

The week is aimed at getting young peo-ple between the ages of 12 and 25 to get involved in their region.

Blackwater held a town pool party and then a BMX and scooter competition at the community skate park.

The week was capped off with a dive-in movie at the pool.

All the events were run with support from BMA’s Community Partnerships Pro-gram, and the region’s Youth Development Officer Joshua Clutterback says he plans to run more worthwhile activities for young people throughout the year.

“I hope that young people can feel com-fortable enough to be involved in events during Youth Week, but I also encourage them to get active in their community in events during the year,” Joshua said.

General Manager of BMA’s Blackwater Mine, Steve Badenhorst, said BMA was

pleased to support National Youth Week in Blackwater.

“Developing youth activities for Black-water adds to the liveability of our town and offers a real benefit to our youth and their families,” Steve said.

Something to O’Sing aboutHAYDEN O’Sing was planning to become an apprentice diesel fitter.

But after taking part in an “engineering challenge” for school students at a Dysart mine two years ago, he changed his mind and is now studying engineering.

The Queensland Mines and Energy Academy (QMEA) was set up to inspire young people to consider a career in the resources sector.

Its “engineering challenge” is a week-long event where students and teachers travel to Dysart to work at BMA’s Norwich Park and Saraji mines.

Each mine’s two teams are supervised and mentored by BMA employees.

Hayden O’Sing is one of the program’s success stories.

“Hayden is the youngest of three boys and the first to go to university out of his whole family,” QMEA co-ordinator Dela-ney Nugent said.

“This was a huge undertaking for both

Hayden and his family and one that he has never regretted. ““He looks forward to vacation work with

BMA and eventually finishing his degree and returning to the Bowen Basin as a mechanical engineer for BMA.”

Along with the Engineering Challenge, the QMEA also runs the Adopt-A-Student program where high school students work-shadow engineers on site at Norwich Park and Saraji Mines.

INSPIRED PROGRAM: Hayden O’Sing is now studying

engineering at CQUniversity.

A scootin’ good time in Blackwater

GOOD TIMES: Blackwater’s young people took part in a BMX and scooter competition for National Youth Week recently

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A scootin’ good time in Blackwater


85th EDITION. 2010CQ BusINess

Safety for small mines and quarries The Queensland government will soon introduce new laws that will require all small mines and quarries to develop a health and safety management system.

The new laws will apply to mines with 10 or fewer people working on site, and will mirror the systems that currently apply to larger mine sites.

According to the Mines Minister Stephen Robertson the decision to impose the laws follows a rise in the number of peo-ple being killed on smaller sites.

$90 million QR project A consortium of companies including Mac-mahon, Aurecon Hatch, Parsons Brinck-erhoff and MVM has won a $90 million contract to build a new railway to Abbot Point coal terminal.

The group of companies will design and build the final stages of the QR owned Jila-lan rail yard project,including the construc-

tion of two bridges and some rail duplication. The new rail service is needed so QR can

supply the required to coal to Abbot Point coal terminal whose output will increase by 50 million tonnes by 2012.

Bundy mining hub Bundaberg could become home to more than just rum, with the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDC) discussing the possibility of becoming a mining services hub.

BIEDC chief executive Linda Silburn says they are well placed to service the mining sector.

“We’re not for a moment suggesting that we want to start up a thousand mines here, but there’s a brilliant opportunity for this region to become a service centre,” she said.

“So for example, we can increase our trades and manufacturing and service capacity so that mines can draw on this region and start to access business here that can provide the service they need.”

Need To kNow...

A consortium has won a $90 million contract to build a new railway to Abbot Point. “The whole intention is to develop that block of land so it better serves us in the future.”

The DPSA Group will continue to oper-ate its recently purchased Mine Equipment Maintenance (MEM) business out of Rock-hampton, despite selling the industrial land on which it operates.

MEM has been operating from the site for nearly 15 years, but DPSA Group CEO Neill Clur says selling the land was a strate-gic decision and doesn’t signal a change in how or where the business operates.

“No, not at all,” he said. “In fact quite the opposite, the whole

intention is to develop that block of land so it better serves us in the future.”

The site needs considerable redevelop-ment, and we could have done it ourselves, but we would prefer to have someone else do it.”

“We bought the land with the business as part of the deal in 2008 [when MEM was purchased by DPSA].”

“We are not land developers, we are engineers, and we sold it for a good price and we are happy to have someone else help us develop it.”

DPSA will continue to run its busi-ness from the site under a five-year lease

arrangement, with an option to extend it for another five years after that.

During that time DPSA expects signifi-cant work to be undertaken in developing the site’s sheds, cranes and overhead work areas.

The land was bought by the Followmont Transport Group, and while the pricetag has not been revealed Shift Miner understands it sold for less than the price it was valued at when DPSA bought it two years ago.

Mr Clur says he remains positive about the future of mining in Central Queensland, and says their business volumes have been maintained.

“We have found mining production has been maintained or increased for our cli-ents, and since our business is linked to pro-duction, it is a good sign.”

DPSA started in 1997 as a drilling com-pany but has since expanded to become an engineering and mine contracting business.

Between 2006 and 2008 the company purchased the Power Electric Switchboard Company, Globe Compressors, Mining Equipment Maintenance, and cabling com-pany Electcables.

To Register:

(+ 61 2) 9080 4307 [email protected](+ 61 2) 9290 3844 www.informa.com.au/suratbasin

Researched and developed by:

The 3rd

Conference19th - 20th May 2010 Brisbane Marriott Hotel

Mining – Markets – Investment – Community

Supported by: Media Partners:

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15284 Informa Surat Basin Ad_SM P10R15 25/2/10 11:30 AM Page 1

Numbers You Can Trust**When audited by the CAB


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Servicing the mining industry for over two decades.

www.micomm.com.au Phone: 07 4922 3322

MEM still running from sold site


85th EDITION. 2010

THE Australian Competition and Consum-er Commission (ACCC) has approved the closure of the Barney Point Coal Terminal in Gladstone to coal exports.

The new Wiggins Island Coal Terminal will now export the coal that was formerly exported via Barney Point.

The application to transfer coal exports to Wiggins Island was requested by the Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) who is concerned about coal dust pollution from the old site.

The ACCC says the location of the Wig-gins Island terminal, and its use of more mod-ern will mean the process exporting coal

through the new port will cause less pollution. Last year was a record year for the GPC,

with exports reaching more that 80 million tonnes for the first time; just under 60 mil-lion tonnes of that were coal exports.

The exact date that the Barney Point to Wiggins Island transfer will take place depends on the time it takes for the expan-sion of Wiggins Island to be completed.

As soon as that happens, the board of GPC has pre-approved the transfer so the process should be swift.

Grain and other exports will continue to be exported through the Barney Point terminal.

COAL seam gas (CSG) projects will only have a limited role in meeting the future demand for gas in the world, according to a respected energy research company.

Head of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) con-sulting for Wood Mackenzie Frank Harris made the comments at a recent gas confer-ence, where he said unconventional LNG supply projects would account for no more than 5 per cent of total global LNG supply in 2020.

Mr Harris said unconventional LNG can be defined in a number of ways.

“Firstly the feedstock can be unconven-tional gas rather than being supplied from conventional gas reservoirs, the projects will be fed with gas produced from uncon-ventional gas reservoirs i.e. shales or coals, with multiple projects already proposed in Queensland, North America and Indone-sia,” he said.

“Or secondly the location of the lique-faction plant is unconventional - it is off-

shore, in the form of a floating LNG facility, or a modified LNG tanker.”

“We fully expect unconventional gas feedstock to become a feature of the LNG supply industry, but its suitability as a feed-stock for LNG appears limited and it will be geographically constrained - it is hard to see the next Queensland at the moment.”

However, the comments don’t under-mine the coal seam gas (CSG) buzz that has been sweeping Central Queensland over the past 12 months.

The location of Queensland’s CGS makes us uniquely placed to be one of the unconventional gas provinces that will sup-ply to the world gas market.

So far there have been two major deals involving the supply of Queensland CSG as LNG to overseas customers.

BG Group has signed a $60 billion deal to ship LNG from Gladstone to China, and another $20 billion contract to supply Japan with 1.2 million tonnes of LNG a year.

CSG smaller player in global LNG industry

CQ BusINess

Meet us: level 1, 214 Quay St Rockhampton QLD 4700 – or call us and we will come to you! www.shiftminer.com call 07 4921 4333

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Barney swaps to Wiggins


85th EDITION. 2010sTuff TO The edITOr

Got somethinG to share? send us your text messages or phone photos to 0428 154 653 or email to [email protected]

Crocodiles seem to have eve-ryone in CQ talking - especial-ly after our story about a sighting near Baralaba:

Too many rums will make a spar-row fight an emu. Too many VBs will make a lizard look like a croco-dile! M.A, Moura

I’ve been telling blokes for years that they should think twice about skiing on the Dawson. F.W, Emerald

What do you mean a crocodile first sight-ed?! They’ve never left! R.W, Moura

Our story a few editions ago about an accommodation village in Coppabel-la being a virtual ghost town saw this response from one reader:

Re - Coppavillage. First they didn’t want the miners. (Front page Daily Mercu-ry 2007), with local shops even refusing to serve miners, and now they want us back? Even QR workers now stay at the camp across the highway. B.W, Mackay

One reader wanted to express sad-ness about the explosion in a US mine

in West Virginia that killed 29 men:

It’s hard to believe that in this day and age an explosion in a mine can kill so many. RIP boys. It’s a reminder to make every day count and always play it safe on site. T.R, Mackay

As usual, Frank’s love advice has its regular fan mail:

Frank, I would pay you good mon-ey to come to my place and sort out my life. While you do that I’ll go streaking past the gymnasium. Wayne, Rocky

““340 terex bogged at Dawson mine” Sent in anonymously

SEEN SOMETHING WE HAVEN’T?

PRIZES FOR THE BEST MINING PHOTOS.TAKE IT ON YOUR PHONE OR CAMERA AND SEND IT IN

Text to 0428 154 653Email [email protected]

SHIFT MINERMonday 12th April 84th Edition 2010

The Queensland mining community’s best source of local news

M A G A Z I N E

The Partners:

John Taylor - LL.B

Sharon Smith - BEc/LL.B Hons

Craig Worsley - LL.B

Greg Carroll

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS

Mining Accidents

Work Accidents

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Insurance/TPD Claims

CONVEYANCING ESTATE L

AW COMMERCIAL

LAW Phone 4957 2

944 Fax 4957 2016

www.taylors-solicitors.com.au

email: [email protected]

om.au

Level 2/ 17 Brisbane Street

Mackay

TAYLORS

SOLICITORS

(SPQs excepted)$1.00

NewsShould coal ships

have reef pilots?

» page 4

NewsGregory Crinum

wants women

underground » page 6

NewsJapan signs

latest LNG deal

» page 7

Business

Brouhaha over

Palmer in�uence

» page 13

Around Town

A very Aussie

affair » page 10

Money Matters

Holiday houses on

the up » page 23

THE LATEST statistics from the Queens-

land mining industry shows a general

improvement in safety.

The Mines Minister Stephen Robert-

son recently released the Safety Perform-

ance and Health Report 2008-2009, which

showed the lost time injury frequency rate

was down from 4.3 to 3.4 [number of inju-

ries per million hours worked].

“That re�ects industry’s efforts in making

mines and quarries safer for its 40,000 work-

ers,” said Mr Robertson.

“However, the average number of days

lost due to injury and illness has risen from

32.9 days to 36.6 days per injury.”

“Although there are fewer injuries over-

all, those injuries are more serious.”

Four people died in mining and quarry-

ing accidents during the 12-month period;

three of the accidents involved interaction

between personnel and heavy vehicles.

The �rst fatality was a result of a truck

rolling back and crushing its driver; in the

second a light vehicle drove into a heavy

vehicle, and in the third a mucking unit in an

underground metal mine drove into a stope.

The fourth fatality occurred when a com-

ponent of a mobile crushing plant fell on the

worker during maintenance.

In the report, Health and Safety Com-

missioner Stewart Bell wrote that the

inspectorate was working relentlessly to

eliminate such tragedies.

“Last year I initiated a program looking

into the feasibility of proximity detection sys-

tems,” he wrote.

Locally Owned and Operated - www.shiftminer.com

» Details page 7

NEW THREAT

TO MINING?

QLD MINES SAFER

But new stats 15 months old

» continued page 5

stuff to the editor


85th EDITION. 2010fAIr dINkum!

IN AMERICA - in the past teenagers have been known to communicate with a grunt, but now it seems texting is the new grunting.

New research has revealed that a third of American teenagers with mobile phones text more than 100 times every day.

The study by Pew Internet and Ameri-can Life Project shows that texting is now more popular among teenagers than call-ing friends, social networks like Facebook and even just good old fashioned talking face-to-face.

According to researchers, texting has exploded in popularity over the past 18 months, mainly because it can be done under the noses of teachers and parents.

There are also differences between how males and females use their phones - most boys won’t punctuate at all whereas for girls it is extremely important to use icons like smiley faces.

IN NEpAl - Mount Everest is set for its first spring clean to remove garbage that has sat on the mountain for decades.

Twenty Nepali climbers are braving the “death zone” which is 8,000 metres above sea level - it’s the first time anyone has dared to try and clean the area which has notoriously thin air and treacherous terrain.

What gets left behind on Mount Everest? No, it’s not coke bottles and KFC

wrappers. It’s empty oxygen bottles, gas cannis-

ters and old bits of tents and ropes. They hope to bring down 2000 kilos of

rubbish and the body of a Swiss climber who died on the mountain two years ago.

IN VENEZUElA - a man and woman have been arrested for pretending to be plastic surgeons.

The pair have actually performed surgery for silicon breast and buttock implants in an illegal clinic.

Venezuela is known for its beau-ty queens, and is a country that is so image conscious that plastic sur-gery has remained popular despite the current recession.

The pair was part of a group called “The Silicons” which attracted customers with rock bottom prices.

IN JApAN - wouldn’t it be excellent if someone invented a machine that would turn your scrap paper into toilet paper?

I know it sounds scratchy, but it would be worth the pain to know you were using your telstra bill to wipe your.. well... you know where I’m going with this.

Enter The White Goat (see picture). This machine, developed in Japan,

allows you to do just that - it doesn’t get much more satisfying really.

FAIR dINkUM!

Mount Everest is set for its first spring clean to remove garbage that has sat on the mountain for decades.

Dear Jonesy, While your wife’s attack may have

seemed unprovoked, you need to remem-ber that she had probably spent hours cooking something really nice for you and was just hurt by the comment.

Most people do not like to be com-pared to others, no matter how minor the comparison.

So maybe hold off on the comparisons - and present your critic as suggestions.

This will mean you get the best of both worlds - all the rice pudding you can eat, with all the flavour of your mother’s childhood recipe.

Also don’t use the word “mummy - it makes you sound like a nancy boy.

Dear Frank, my wife is a really good cook but so is my mum, and there are some things that never taste as good as mums. The other day when my wife made baked rice pudding (my favourite) and I told her it wasn’t as good as mummy’s she flew off the handle. Where did I go wrong - I thought women liked honesty? Jonesy.

You want the truth?..... But women can’t handle the truth!

As sure as the sun comes up in the morning, so too will your wife or part-ner see alternative meanings to the things you say.

In this instance, you actually said: “Gee this rice pudding is excellent, but there are a couple of things that mum used to do, that I really liked - maybe you could try it?”

What she heard is: “ This is not good enough, nothing you will ever do will be good enough and you are not half the provider mum was, and also I think you have put on weight.”

Given that is what she heard, it is no wonder she got wound up.

There seems to be no end to the abili-ty of the female mind to scramble a sensi-ble message.

And you are not the only man to have been confused.

Even I - with so much experience with women - have been confused at times.

The most notable of these was the time my former girlfriend found me in bed with a Swedish pole dancer from a tour-ing all girls show in Moranbah.

At the time I said: “ Hello sweetheart, meet Ingrid she is telling me about the geography of Sweden, it is very interesting.”

What she must have heard is this: “Hello my enemy, can you go outside and jump all over my car bonnet with your high heels, then throw my clothes onto the street and sue me for half my net worth under the de facto relationship laws?”

To this day, this slight misunderstand-ing has never been cleared up.

On another occasion, for reasons that I still don’t understand, a former girlfriend went completely crackers when I asked whether she planned to eat the eggs and chase the rabbit again this Easter.

She seemed to think this implied something about her weight.

And that, my friend, is the heart of the matter.

As a simple rule of thumb you can assume that anything you say to a girl regarding fashion or food will be inter-preted by that same girl as meaning she has put on weight.

You say : “That dress makes you look as big as a solar system.”

She hears: “You are fat”. You say: “The button on those jeans has

more tension that a dragline coupling”. She hears: “You are fat”. You just can’t win and, as I have always

said, if you can’t win - lie - or pin it on someone weaker than yourself.

Basically, everything a girl asks of you is a test, and with every test there is always a judgement.

To avoid the unnecessary pain of judgement, you will just have to employ some good old rat cunning.

So in the case of the rice pudding, if it isn’t very good, look for someone else at the table to pin the complaint on.

For example, if you had your old Grandmother at the table, whose hearing is nearly gone, just lean over to her for a few moments and then lean away and say: “You are a tough judge Grandma”.

When your wife spins around with an accusing look just say: “Grandma says your rice pudding is sour, and not nearly as good as what she used to make”.

Grandma won’t have heard - and she will just smile with kind old eyes that have seen a hundred years, your wife will politely ignore the slight and you will have got the message across.

“Grandma” can also be substituted with a “young child” quite effectively in most instances.

Good luck and may the force be with you. Frank.

If you have a question for Frank and Susan Email Us at: [email protected]

Sensible Susan

Frank the Tank’s “Streakin” good love advice

Are you really relaxing after work?Are you really relaxing after work?

Call 3808 4788 www.spafactory.com.au


KANGA KID FOR SALE

KANGA KID with bucket. 16 hp Honda

heaps of powergood tracks. new battery

fits through a doorway. good

condition. $20 thou new. $12500.00 ono Rockhampton. 0410091105

BOAT FOR SALE1993 7meter NOOSA

CAT, 200hp Volvo Penta Turbo Diesel. Launch Trailer.

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platform.Stored Rosslyn Bay

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$52000 onoPhil 0429633636

BOAT FOR SALE

4 mt F/G Savage,

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extra canvas cover. 115

hp Evenrude late 1980

motor.deep sounder some

safe gear, trailer & elect

winch, all good condition

and registered.

$7,000 O NO

Phone: 49281484

BOAT FOR SALE

1973 Cruiser for sale 40” Spotted Gum

Cruiser4-71GM, 12v/24v alt,

1500L diesel, 1000L water,

Gas/electric fridge freezer,

Sleeps 6, VHF 27mg and UHF

$45,000 Ono0418988126

BOAT FOR SALE

17” TIMBER SKI BOAT

351 Cleveland motor

15hrs since new

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Phone: 0408 101 247

DRY ICE CLEANING/BLASTING BUSINESS FOR SALE

Kaiser trailer mounted screwtype air compressor only 66hrs

Buse dry ice machine only 40 hrsincludes Australian Buse distributorship.

Great Opportunity! genuine reason for sale.thermoblast.com.au

$85000.00 ONORockhampton0410091105

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Bottom Info herePhone: 0000 0000

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CAR FOR SALE

Dec ‘07 SSV Holden

Commodore VE Manual

Sedan 1 owner

Low Kilometres

Maintained log books

Balance new car

warranty Feb 2011

$37,990 ono

James 0439 031 089

MOTORBIKE FOR SALE

2006 Kawasaki Ninja

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New Condition with only

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6 months rego

$10,200 neg.

Phone: Steve

0749213985

0437232280

CAR FOR SALE

TYPHOON BA MK II

Low 48,000 km

Like new

$40,000 ono

Phone: 0408 101

247

CAR FOR SALERHD 1981 Corvette.

new 4 sp auto with B&M shift kit & B&M shifter.New diff, Ram Jet 350

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wheels.Targa top. High flow exhaust.body off

resto 2 years ago. mak an offer.

$44000.00 ono Rocky0410091105

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HOUSE FOR SALE -STANTHORPE

9.188 acres freeholdFully furnished, w stock

proof fencing240v power

Wood burning Heater2 x 8000l water tanks

security bars on all windows, gas electric hot

water, 3 TV channelsCreek through Property

$215,000 neg.Phone: 0427694495

BOAT FOR SALE12’ (3.85M) Heavy Duty

Stessl Aluminium20HP Mariner OutboardGal. Trailer 13” Wheels

plus spareHumminbird 150SX

SounderFolding Canopy Safety

Gear 2 Swivel Seats and

25 Litre PlasticFuel Tank $2,800

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UTE FOR SALE

TOYOTA Hilux, 11/05,

3ltr auto turbo diesel,

140l tank, old Man Emu

suspension warranty

11/2011, 74500kMs,

no beach,

$34,000,

Phone: 0417 268555

HOME THEATRE

SYSTEM FOR SALE

Unused Home

theatre system.

Unwanted prize,

Panasonic Blue Ray

Home theatre System

$800 ONO

Phone: Ron or Kay on

07 49285610

CAR FOR SALE

2003 Ford Falcon XR6 Sedan, Dark Grey metallic, 4 speed automatic, window tint, log books, genuine 38,000klms.

9 months rego, immac.condition $18,750neg.

0749364123 or 0458064123.

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BEACH HOUSE

FOR SALE

Stanage Bay 3 Bedroom

High Set Home For Sale.

Best Fishing In Australia.

Close To Boad Ramp

Helen Bernard

54453723

0413 386 013

[email protected]

HOLDIAY RENTALPrivatley Owned

Executive Suite in the Treetops Resort Port Douglas, walking to

Beach. Great Deal 50% Saving. $175.00 per

Night Min. Stay 5 Nights. Ideal for Couples or small family. All linen supplied. Exc. Cond., Ground Floor.

Big Verandah.Phone: Suzanne

0414-999410

BOAT FOR SALE5.5 m Caribbean open runabout. 135 Mercury

Optimax (V6) fuel injected motor (30 hrs)GPS, Colour sounder,

VHF radio with loads of fishing space & extras

On Dunbier multi-roller trailer

All in as new condition$29,500 neg

Phone: 4935 4099

P/ABLE ACCOM FOR SALE

New Modern design transportable

acommodation2 Bedroom. dual studio cabin, each room with ensuite and verandah, fully insulated, suitable

for business rural or holiday setting$59,000 neg

Phone: 0413 032 252

BEACH HOUSE FOR

SALE

Two storey beach house

10 years old, immac

throughout. Large block,

ocean views, mins to

harbour, walk to beach,

photos avail neg. phone

owner Top investmen

$459,000

Bob 07 41595328

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Holiday Rental Accommodation.

Privately Owned Exec. Suite in the Treetops Resort Port Douglas,

Walk to Beach.50% Saving @ $175.00/Night

Min. Stay 5 Nights. Ideal for couples/family.

Big Verandah.

Suzanne 0414-999410

QUALITY GEAR AT THE RIGHT [email protected] call 07 4921 4333


85th EDITION. 2010

Hal loved his family. He carried a photo of them with him, all the time. It was because he loved them that he agreed to his wife Jody’s pleas to move them all to Mackay. Emerald had been a great place to live, as far as Hal was concerned. He’d made some great mates there. But Jody’s friends and family were in Mackay, and she really wanted the kids to go to school there.

“Besides,” said Jody, “with twelve hour shifts you’re not really at home when you’re working. You could just drive out from Mackay, work your tour, and then come home after your last shift.”

It made a lot of sense. He really only did sleep and eat at home during his tour. Lots of others did the drive-in drive-out thing. Anyway, he liked the coast. So, they moved.

Hal found his tours to be more lonely then he’d thought he would. It was that hour or so when he got to the apartment and wound down before falling asleep. He missed the quick catch-ups with Jody, and looking in on the kids in their beds. He still fell asleep soon enough, and when Hal fell asleep, he was dead to the world. He missed them all when he woke up, too. It was like a dull ache; a longing to be somewhere else. It didn’t really make much sense. When they were all in the same house he’d only ever got up and dressed in the dark anyway. Still, he’d known that they were there, at home.

On day-shifts, the drive out to the mine in the pre-dawn dark-ness always helped Hal to clear his head. It was his favourite time of the day. Sometimes he’d think about the work ahead, preparing himself for the day. Sometimes he’d think about his family. Some-times, fishing.

The end of each tour ended with two or three night shifts, depend-ing on where he was in the roster. He had a kind of feeling of expec-tation, driving out to the mine in the evenings for his night shifts. It was almost time for his days off; almost time to go back home.

It wasn’t the night shifts them-selves that Hal liked. In fact, Hal hated working nights. What he liked was knowing that he would soon be going home to his family.

What he didn’t like was the effort it took to stay awake. He loathed that time from about three to four in the morning, when his body craved a warm bed; but instead he was two hundred and fifty metres underground, putting up roof-bolts or driving a shuttle-car.

For Hal, the next hardest part of night shift was the drive home. The drives back to Emerald wasn’t too bad. While some blokes felt better the more night shifts they did in a row, it only seemed to get worse for Hal. By the last shift of his tour, he seemed to be runing on adrenaline and willpower.

It was willpower that made Hal drive straight home to Mackay after his last shift. He didn’t want to have another daytime sleep by himself in his Emerald apartment. He just wanted to get home. The mine was half an hour in the right direction anyway. As the great philosopher Meatloaf once said, “Like a bat out of hell, I’ll be gone when the morning comes.”

Hal worked out ways to stay awake and stay on the road on that long, tired trip home. He’d turn the radio on or played a CD, loud. He’d turn the air-conditioner onto freezing, or sometimes open a window. He would stop at the servo outside Moranbah, scratch-ing his scalp and rubbing his face. He’d get an iced coffee from the fridge packed full of them, and then hit the road again. Next stop: Nebo. If he found himself drift-ing off, he’d pull over for a minute and run around the car. Hal had it worked out.

After six months, the car pretty much drove itself home. Hal cut out the Nebo stop, and sometimes Moranbah too. He got better at pushing himself through those sleepy moments. He’d focus. He’d talk to himself. He’d think about Jody and the kids. He’d keep going, going, going. Home.

An elderly couple towing their caravan with an old Landcruiser were the first on the scene where Hal’s ute had been split in half by a huge gum tree about twenty metres from the road. The ambu-lance officers weren’t able to revive him. There were no skid marks, and tests showed his brakes were working fine.

After six years, his family still miss him very much.

by Bernard S. Jansen5 minute fiction

D ay s O f f

Bernard S. Jansen is 31, married has three young boys. He lives in Emerald, works as an engineer at a local coal mine and is active in his

local church. Read more of Bernard’s writing online at surgebin.blogspot.com or email him at [email protected]

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77 #MUIDEM

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1. Keep balls in air

2. Hoodwink

3. Bishop’s hat

4. Children’s nurses

6. Genetic alterations

7. More considerate

8. Lack of hearing

11. Hollandaise sauce dish, ... Benedict

15. Rejection (5-4)

17. Disciples

18. Introductory statement

20. Suddenly lose control

21. Revel

22. Tiled

23. Loved

26. Emerge

ACROSS 1. Decision

5. Preserved (meat)

9. Setting agent

10. Verse

12. Running (of stockings)

13. Hawk’s claw

14. Glides on snow

16. Intermittent rain

19. Clergymen

21. Zodiac crossover

24. Swagger

25. Sent by flight post

27. Tripoli native

28. More old-fashioned

29. Arabic village head

30. Trusted in, ... on

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SHIFT MINERHandy Cross 576 - (15A grid)ShiftMinerHandy084s. pdf© Lovatts Publications 18/03/2010

S I C K N E S S S O A K U PC H A E I N LO P I N I O N S A N G E L AT E L D A T E YI N F E S T I N G M E C C AA S N E E A C

S M U G S A N D P I TV S O T S SA N Y T I M E O S S ON N S A N S SG R O U T S U G A R B E E TU P N Y O O L AA I S L E S W I Z A R D R YR I S N S O ED E S I S T E G G T I M E R

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LAST EDITION’S SOLUTIONS


85th EDITION. 2010Off shIfT

FISHING IN YEPPOON

Adrian at the Secret Spot in Yeppoon says while there’s been a lot of breeze about, from the reports he’s heard the fishing is good if you can get some calm weather.

His tip for the next fortnight was to have a look around the the gravel bars in Coorooman Creek for blue salmon and set a few crabbing pots.

The mouth of Ross Creek is fishing well at the moment - serving up flathead, whiting and bream and even some small grunter.

Good queenfish and trevally can be caught on the tides using lures or poppers

around Corio Bay, while boats out around the usual haunts of Bangalee and Finleys can look forward to snaffling spotty macker-el with swarms of bait keeping them in close.

FISHING IN GLADSTONE

Dylan at Pat’s Tackle World in Gladstone says blue water fisherman are reporting mixed catches at the moment, with grassy sweet-lip, red throat emperor, spanish mackerel and a few cobia about.

Owing to the windy conditions, fish-erman are having to pick their days, but it seems pretty consistent from 12 Mile all the

way out to North West, which is a two or three hour boat ride.

In the estuaries, the winter salmon have arrived and activity has generally picked up with most of the freshwater now gone, thanks to some big tides.

Everyone is still catching crabs, although they are dropping off a bit now in size - and prawns have dropped out altogether.

Barramundi are still being caught at Lake Awoonga, with the warm part of the day being the best time to try the shallow water on plastic frogs.

The bigger bream and jew fish are also present in the harbour.

FISHING IN MACKAY

Wayne at Barra Pro Mackay says the wind has once again stopped anyone doing much out wide, but fingers crossed it might

improve for the May Day weekend. Therefore anglers have been focussing

on the creeks and dams, and while there have not been huge reports from places like Kinchant Dam, there have been enough fish to justify the trip.

Crabbers are still enjoying some good numbers, but there is the odd “floater” among them.

If you can handle the wind and chop at the beaches, the big winter whiting and bream have arrived and can be caught on prawns and yabbies.

He says the snapper have arrived at Rockhampton, which means they are on their way north, so if the wind eases off there could be some good winter fishing on the way.

Bait shop Banter

Adrian’s tip for the next fortnight is to have a look around the the gravel bars in Coorooman Creek for blue salmon

Gla

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to

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Ma

CK

aY

Gla

ds

to

ne

Ma

CK

aY

tide times April/MayMon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30 Sat 1 Sun 2

Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht

0122 0.76 0210 0.63 0254 0.58 0338 0.62 0420 0.75 0502 0.95 0545 1.18

0722 4.10 0806 4.04 0849 3.93 0931 3.76 1015 3.56 1057 3.33 1140 3.10

1341 0.49 1420 0.44 1459 0.47 1534 0.59 1608 0.78 1636 1.02 1659 1.26

1955 4.22 2036 4.36 2116 4.41 2158 4.37 2238 4.23 2318 4.02

0311 0.76 0358 0.68 0442 0.70 0525 0.81 0607 1.03 0014 5.67 0054 5.34

0902 5.64 0945 5.51 1027 5.29 1109 5.00 1151 4.65 0650 1.32 0735 1.63

1530 0.33 1607 0.29 1644 0.35 1719 0.52 1754 0.80 1233 4.28 1318 3.93

2135 5.78 2215 5.95 2255 6.00 2334 5.91 1829 1.15 1905 1.54

Mon 3 Tue 4 Wed 5 Thu 6 Fri 7 Sat 8 Sun 9

Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht Time Ht

0000 3.78 0045 3.56 0141 3.38 0247 3.29 0358 3.29 0500 3.36 0551 3.43

0631 1.39 0726 1.55 0830 1.62 0939 1.57 1039 1.45 1128 1.28 1209 1.12

1225 2.91 1318 2.78 1425 2.74 1543 2.83 1655 3.03 1747 3.27 1829 3.52

1726 1.49 1815 1.71 1945 1.87 2133 1.86 2247 1.74 2343 1.56

0138 4.97 0230 4.64 0340 4.41 0501 4.36 0610 4.45 0056 2.03 0143 1.79

0827 1.90 0934 2.06 1054 2.04 1202 1.86 1252 1.63 0700 4.58 0740 4.69

1413 3.65 1523 3.51 1650 3.57 1807 3.83 1900 4.16 1332 1.40 1407 1.19

1949 1.91 2054 2.23 2227 2.36 2354 2.25 1942 4.49 2016 4.79

If you have a good photo or fishing yarn

send it through to our resident bait chucker- [email protected]

Warmer than average april nightsWEEK 1 - Overnight minimums were warm-er than average throughout the Coalfields this April. Emerald recorded an average min-imum of 18.1C, Moranbah 18.8C, Collins-ville 18.5C and Biloela 17.1C - all one to three degrees above average. This time last year Bilo was recording 10-14C minimums. The minimum this month has only got to 14C twice! Maximum temperatures have been fractionally lower with the humidity higher than average. Rainfall in the north has been below average for the month but close to aver-age in the south. All this is due to the effects of the monsoon lingering a little longer. The cur-rent high in south eastern Australia (see map) is causing cold air to penetrate into northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. It will reach the Warrego but does it have enough push to reach the southern Coalfields? Isolat-ed afternoon thundery showers will precede

the change; mainly south of Clermont/Jeri-cho. Boaties - after last weekend’s brilliant con-ditions Monday’s moderate SE surge will be short lived south of Yeppoon/Heron Island but will continue in the Whitsundays. Then the up-stream high will surge in Wednesday and cause moderate to fresh SE winds with squally show-ers; gusting to 28 knots at times, along the coast into the weekend. One or two brief showers could penetrate into the eastern Coalfields. WEEK 2 - The SOI has had a sudden jump to +10 on the 18th April and continues to rise. This may indicate a chance of one more cyclone developing in the northern tropics and means the proper “Dry Season” won’t start till after mid-May. These signs may be enough to suggest the above average overnight min-imums to continue over the Coalfields with some moisture available for a late April/ early May last spin-off from the monsoon. Then the reality of the winter will appear. This means more winds for the coast but they should ease off by the mid-week.

YOUR WEATHER FORECAST


85th EDITION. 2010

DID you know that miners are actu-ally behind an event that sets Mt Mor-gan’s Golden Mount Festival apart from others like it?

It’s called the Running of the Cutter. The event is based on a tradition dating

back to the early 1900s where beer was tak-en in billycans to miners after they had fin-ished work.

Today the festival honours this tradition in a relay race where teams of six competi-tors have to run between local pubs down-ing a glass of beer at each pit stop.

The final team mate has to drink beer from a billycan.

Sound like your sort of festival? Then make your way to Mt Morgan this

May Day long weekend. On Saturday, visitors and residents alike

can enjoy a street fair and market in the morning and the kids will love the “dig for gold” competition with $1000 up for grabs.

In the afternoon the former gold mining

town will come alive with a street parade - and then the event everyone is waiting for... The Running of the Cutter.

The festivities continue into the night - with live entertainment and a fireworks display.

If you’ve got the time to stick around, there’ll be a rodeo on Sunday and on Mon-day the fun moves to the banks of the dam where there is a fishing competition, bush poetry face painting for the kids, live music and more.

YOUR WEATHER FORECAST

Off shIfT

Send your gigs to [email protected]

GOLDEN MOUNTFESTIVAL

Make your way to

MOUNT MORGANMAY DAY

WEEKENDTHURSDAY,

APRIL 29th toMONDAY, MAY 3rd

StreetProcession,Truckin Ute

Muster

MonsterFire Works, Rodeo, Fun Days and

More

StreetMarkets,

Running of the Cutter,

JazzEvening

FESTIVITIES

LiveBands,

Street Acts,Concerts,

Kids Rides

Golden Mount comes to life!

SEARCH IS ON! Competition will be fierce in this year’s dig for gold competition with $1000 up for grabs

tuesday 27th aprilmouraCoal n CattlePool comp

tieri Tieri Hotel MotelPool comp

thursday 29th aprilmouraCoal n CattlePool comp

Friday 30th aprilBlackwaterBlackwater Hotel MotelDisco Nights

DysartThe Jolly CollierDJ Shaun & promo girls

saturday 1st maytieri Tieri Hotel MotelLive entertainment

DysartThe Jolly CollierDJ Shaun & promo girls

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillA14

BlackwaterBlackwater Hotel MotelKaraoke with Steve O

sunday 2nd mayairlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillKieran McCarthy

monday 3rd mayairlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillPatch

tuesday 4th maymouraCoal n CattlePool comp

tieri Tieri Hotel MotelPool comp

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillPatch

Wednesday 5th mayairlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillDavid Flower

thursday 6th maymouraCoal n CattlePool comp

CapellaCultural CentreComedy Festival Roadshow

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillDavid Flower

Friday 7th mayBlackwaterBlackwater Hotel MotelDisco Nights

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillMark Roberts

DysartThe Jolly CollierDouble Trouble

saturday 8th maytieri Tieri Hotel MotelLive entertainment

DysartThe Jolly CollierDouble Trouble

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillMark Roberts

BlackwaterBlackwater Hotel MotelKaraoke with Steve O

sunday 9th maymouraCoal n CattleMothers Day Luncheon ($20)

tieri Tieri Hotel MotelMothers Day menu & live band

BlackwaterBlackwater Hotel MotelMothers Day entertainment by “The Piano Man”

airlie BeachKCs Bar & GrillTame Eria


85th EDITION. 2010mOTOrsPOrTs

Burning rubber is the name of the game

BEVANS start your engines and prepare to burn into heaven.

The Camco Group Motormania is going to be a cracker if the event’s recent launch is anything to go by.

Come July 16 it seems that just about anything with a motor that can be revved is going to be gunning it to Central Queens-land to be a part of this inaugural event.

Hosted between Gladstone, Rockhamp-

ton and the Capricorn Coast, more than 15 regional motor sporting and motor enthu-siast clubs will be staging a raft of events as part of the 10-day program.

At the event’s Rockhampton launch, Motormania’s deputy chair Russell Mackay burnt some rubber, fuel and coin to give a taste of what the feature drag race meet at the Benaraby Raceway on July 24 will be all about.

Together with his wife Mellissa, the Mackays are heavily involved in Central Queensland’s Drag Racing Association and are hoping to bring 12 cars, mainly of the American muscle variety, along to Motormania.

A motor enthusiast of a different kind, Peter Allen, aka ‘Pirate Pete’, will be leav-ing his sword at home to participate with the All Classic Motor Cars and the His-torical Motor Cycle Club of Queensland (HMCCQ).

Collecting is also a family concern for the Allen family, with three genera-tions - Pete, his son and grandson - shar-ing a passion for classic cars and Indian motor cycles.

Pete regularly displays at Rockhamp-ton’s Archer Street Tram Museum and attends Wintersun on the Gold Coast every year.

As part of Motormania, Pete will be entering vehicles into the show and shine and super cruise events at the Rocky Showgrounds on Sunday 25 July.

The Indians will also get a go at the HMCCQ display and gymkhana on Satur-day 24 July.

Where Queensland’s

mining industry meets to do business.www.queenslandminingexpo.com.au

Register Online

Mellissa Mackay with an Australian muscle car

classic, a XY 350 GT

Sitting pretty for the CQ Offroad Club are Mark Thomas

and Luke Ingram (from left)

Pirate Pete and his 1971 Chevy El Camino


85th EDITION. 2010

IF you want to seriously up the ante on your style file, Shannons’ upcoming autumn auction is the place to be in early May.

Embrace the elegance of a bygone era through the Sydney sale’s selection of pre-war British and American vehicles.

The standout vintage vehicle is a high-ly desirable 1913 Sunbeam 25/30hp Tourer –one of only two surviving examples out of 50 vehicles built between 1911 and 1914.

Powered by a 6.1 litre six-cylinder fea-turing two plugs per cylinder, the Sunbeam 25/30 was one of the fastest production cars of its day, setting a record average speed of 92.45 mph (148.78 km/h) over 160km in 1912.

Chassis number ‘5381’ was imported into Australia in 1913 by Brisbane agents McGees, where it was fitted with touring coachwork by Peel Ltd for its original doc-tor owner.

However, in the early 1960s its body was removed by another owner to re-clothe the chassis of a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost he owned.

The ‘naked’ Sunbeam then remained in storage until 2000, when it was reinstated to its former glory with a painstaking eight-

year restoration by the current owner.Now ready to participate in a variety of

VCCA events, the Sunbeam is expected to attract bids in the $170,000-$210,000 range.

Also stunning and from the United States is a 1940 Packard 160 Super 8 Coupe – one of only five examples known to exist.

Fitted with a 356cid Straight Eight engine and equipped with twin matching spare wheels, the Packard is being offered for sale with many spares available to the purchaser.

Because of its original condition and impressive restoration, Shannons expects the Packard to sell in the $55,000-$65,000 range.

Shannons’ autumn auction range is under the hammer on Monday 3rd May.

mOTOrsPOrTsMoToR eNThUsIAsT

Name: Frank O’Neill

live & Work: Rocky

Type of Car: 1937 Ford Woodie

What have you done to it? Started with a 4 door sedan, using the chassis, cowl, rear guards, bonnet and grille. Purchased fibreglass front guards and a stack of Silver Ash. Drivetrain is small block chev and auto. A/C, electric windows and a leather interior are on the list. Gloss black and clear will cover the outside.

What has been easy and what is hard? Getting some mates around when you need a hand but it’s hard to stay motivated

What do you enjoy about car shows? The time and effort put into the vehicles on display.

Would you ever sell it? Everthing has it’s price

P R o F I l e

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85th EDITION. 2010YOur heAlTh

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

-

TIP:

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For those too busy or embarrassed to ask the important questions about their healthEXPERT ADVICE

Tammy Farrell is a registered nurse, nutritionist and author of ‘The Real Man’s Toolbox – A DIY Health Manual for Men’. Tammy grew up in the Hunter Valley with two brothers in the local coal mines. In 2007, she started to give health talks in the Hunter, and that’s when she began compiling the book, helping hundreds of men answer questions about their bodies.

For the last two editions, our nurse Tammy Farrell gave you some hints on how to make sure what you put into your grocery basket is healthy. Here are some more tips to keep your trolley in tip top shape, and help you decipher the jargon on food labels.

Omega 3Omega 3 has become very popular in the media over the past few years, but a lot of people have no idea what it actu-ally is. Omega 3 is an Essential Fatty Acid important for a variety of health reasons including circulation, and is very good for your overall heart, eye and brain health. Omega 3 is broken down into EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

A good source of Omega 3 in a food will contain no less than 60mg of EPA & DHA per serve. You may notice some breads on the market that claim to be high in Omega 3, but in order to actually gain any of the benefits you would have to eat an entire loaf in order to consume the recommended amounts – so be wary!

High FibreA food claiming to be ‘high in fibre’ must contain 3g fibre or more per aver-age serve. The most likely place you

will see this is in the breakfast aisle if you are buying quality grainy bread or even cereal. Fibre in your diet is very important to your bowel and heart so look for high fibre foods and ensure that you also keep up your fluid intake.

90% WholegrainIn order for a food to claim it is “90% Wholegrain” then 90% of the food must be made from whole grains.

CholesterolFoods claiming to be ‘Cholesterol Free’ or have ‘No Cholesterol’ must contain no more than 3mg of cholesterol per 100g of food. A food claiming to be low in cho-lesterol can still have large quantities of fat, so read your food label carefully.

Light or Lite Your interpretation of what this means may just lead you to the wrong conclusion. Have you ever picked up a bottle of olive oil with ‘“light” in the title and assumed it must be lighter in fat or kilojoules? You’re not the only one to assume this - but it actually has nothing to do with the fat content it just means it is lighter in colour. These two words can refer to a food being lite/light in sugar, salt, colour, even taste. So don’t be fooled and remember to read wisely the next to you go shopping.

Stay healthy, stay informed!(Reference: Milham, C. Australian Healthy Shopping Guide 2007 pp. 20-27)

p 07 4927 3789f 07 4927 3705m 0408 625 532

ANYWHERE... ANYSIZE... ANYTIME...For all your urgent and general freight requirements.

Delivering in Utes,Vans,Body trucks and SemisWe understand the cost of delays in mining and Industry

email: [email protected]

16 Robison Street North Rockhampton Queensland 4701


85th EDITION. 2010mONeY mATTers

Housing recovery threatened by the rising cost of land prices?THE cost of residential land continues to rise with a new report showing the median price of raw land increased by 2.2 per cent to a record $185,222 in the December 2009 quarter.

The latest residential land report from HIA, which represents the building industry, and rpdata.com, which provides property information and analysis, highlights the risk of the new home building recovery losing momentum in the second half of this year.

The report shows the weighted median land price for Australia growing at an annu-al rate of 14 per cent at the end of 2009, the fastest pace since mid 2004.

Meanwhile, the volume of land sales fell substantially in original terms in the December 2009 quarter.

Land sales were down by 4.6 per cent in the December 2009 quarter compared to the same period in 2008.

In the September 2009 quarter sales were 26 per cent higher when compared to the same quarter 12 months earlier.

HIA chief economist, Harley Dale, said that over the year to December 2009, new house prices (excluding land) grew by 2.8 per cent, building materials prices increased by 1 per cent, labour rates fell marginally, yet median land prices jumped by 14 per cent.

“Throughout the last housing up-cycle, land values consistently grew at a substan-tially faster pace than construction costs and the general rate of inflation,” he said.

“Only six months into a new home building recovery this situation is happen-ing all over again.”

“If this situation continues then the recovery will stall, the housing shortage will worsen, and there will be upward pressure on rents and on existing home values that could have been avoided.”

Sydney remains the most expensive res-idential land market in the nation with a median price of $275,000.

Outside the capital cities, the Sunshine Coast is the most expensive land market

(median price of $249,000), followed by the Gold Coast ($241,000), and the Richmond Tweed ($235,000) and Illawarra ($197,500) regions in New South Wales.

There are still thirteen markets across Australia where median land prices sit below the $100,000 mark.

The most affordable market is the North-ern region of South Australia ($59,165), fol-lowed by Mallee in Victoria ($75,000), the Southern region in Tasmania ($76,000), Murray Lands in South Australia ($80,000), and Mersey Lyell in Tasmania ($85,000).

According to rpdata.com national research director Tim Lawless, the recent fall in land sales volumes is likely to set

off a few alarm bells.“With Australia’s population growing at a

rapid rate and housing undersupply worsening we should be seeing land releases and conse-quent sales volumes rising not falling,” he said.

“The shortfall in available land is already being seen in higher land prices.”

“Without further construction of homes we are likely to see affordability worsen and more prospective buyers looking towards an already very tight rental market for their accommodation requirements.”

“We believe that policy makers must act to provide additional residential land which is affordable as well as being close to neces-sary amenities.”

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“If this situation continues then the recovery will stall, the housing shortage will worsen, and there will be upward pressure on rents

and on existing home values that could have been avoided.”


85th EDITION. 2010mONeY mATTers

Exit fees sting in the mortgage tailHOME loan refinancing continues to be an increasingly popular strategy for home-owners for a whole host of reasons.

It may be to consolidate debt, access a lower interest rate and/or find a better deal from their existing or another lender, or to access equity to fund the purchase of other investments.

As a result, Smartline Personal Mort-gage Advisers estimate that 30 to 40 per cent of home loan applications are people looking to refinance.

However, Smartline’s managing director Chris Acret has warned those considering refinancing to fully consider the exit costs associated with changing loan or lender.

He said home loan exit fees had been intro-duced by the major lenders over the past few years, to try and stop them from refinancing.

Exit fees are often referred to as ‘early termination fees’, which is the cost of clos-ing the loan.

Different banks use different terminology and early termination fees can also be known as deferred administration fees, deferred establishment fees or early repayment fees.

You may also be charged ‘other fees’ which can include a discharge fee, adminis-tration fee and any other associated fees.

“If you look back five years or more ago, banks rarely charged exit fees,” Mr Acret said.

“Now, there’s very few lenders who do not charge them.”

“It’s really about forcing the customer to stay with them for as long as possible.”

“A home loan doesn’t really make much profit for a bank for the first two years; those first couple of years are just ‘break even’”.

“With the average loan term now about three-and-a-half years, banks only have a window of about one-and-a-half years to make a profit from that loan.”

While many people are aware there can be significant costs if you refinance a fixed rate home loan, they are surprised by the costs they may face to refinance from a variable rate loan.

As with many aspects of home loans these days, there is quite a disparity in exit fees.

Some lenders, generally larger banks, charge a flat fee of $750 to $1000 while others, generally non-bank lenders, may charge in the order of 2 to 2.5 per cent of the loan balance.

On the average $300,000 loan, this could mean a charge of more than $6000.

Mr Acret said that while exit fees are one factor that you should take in to account when selecting a lender and product, the

level of importance placed on the exit fee will vary depending on your future plans.

“Exit fees generally apply in the first five years of the loan, so think about your plans for the property and expected timeframes,” Mr Acret said.

“If there is a real chance you may look to

exit out of the loan within a few years as a result of either selling or refinancing, it may be worth considering the issue of exit fees a little more.”

“Home loans with a slightly higher inter-est rate often have lower or no exit fees, so may actually end up being a cheaper option if you are looking to repay early.”

“As with many aspects of home loans these days, there is quite a disparity in exit fees.”

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85th EDITION. 2010

THE Australian Tax Office (ATO) has warned it will be cracking down on people who make excessive superannuation payments.

The warning is really for people who manage their own super funds - there is a threshold known as a “contribution gap” which limits how much you can put into your fund each year.

If you exceed the threshold there is a 93 per cent penalty tax.

Specifically, the tax office is warning self-managers against putting in excess contri-butions via a scheme which splits the money into a separate trust account to avoid that tax penalty.

In the eyes of the ATO this is dodging your dues, and the Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo has warned those trust accounts will face close examination this year.

“These clauses are an attempt to avoid the excess contributions tax if they exceed the relevant cap, even though the amount in question was clearly intended as a contri-bution and was treated as part of the super fund by the trustee,” he said.

“The ATO has reviewed these arrange-ments and considers that they are ineffective.”

“The member may still have to pay

excess contributions tax on these amounts, even if the trustee repays the amount back to the member.”

“They may also have to include the amount repaid to them in their assessable income for the year.”

Currently the contribution caps sit at $25,000 per year for people under 25, and $50,000 for people over 50.

But Daniel Butler from DBA Lawyers has told Smart Company that there is noth-ing wrong with the trusts and they have been used by DIY investors for years.

“This is a complete blow out, and it’s like cracking a chestnut with a bulldozer,” he said.

“This is an early warning trying to scare the market, and it isn’t fair because it isn’t appropriate.”

“There is nothing wrong with these trusts at all.”

“When you have a solid legal founda-tion, which the ATO conveniently disagrees with, they go to the courts and this has not been taken up in this matter, it’s been taken up in the form of a statement.”

Mr Butler insists the trust are legal and if the ATO wants to dispute that it should go through the proper channels.

“This is absolutely nothing new, it’s not a scheme, it’s how people draft a deed and it’s not like they are gaining huge amounts of funds by drafting these extra provisions.”

“It’s a popular feature in most deeds, there is nothing unusual about it.”

“There is a correct avenue in order to dispute the validity of the trust deed, and it is not a taxpayer alert - firms are just sup-plying what most people want by giving out a prudent set of tools.”

Meanwhile, the ATO has also announced it has requested information from banks which will be used to identify people who have undis-closed offshore income or over-claimed deduc-tions involving international transactions.

The information relates to the period between 1st July 2005 and 30th June 2009.

“There is nothing wrong with holding an offshore account or investing overseas as long as you pay any Australian tax due,” said Mr D’Ascenzo.

“Our aim is to identify people who may

be deliberately trying to hide income or assets offshore.”

People can still come forward and make a voluntary disclosure - they will receive reduced penalties as a result.

“People who choose not to come for-ward run the risk of being audited in the future, I urge people to come to us before we come to them.”

mONeY mATTers

Taxman targets DIY super investors

“This is an early warning trying to scare the market, and it isn’t fair because it isn’t appropriate.”

Documents

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