South Australia’s outback mining sector has sought and heard advice from New South Wales’ Association of Mining Related Councils (AMRC). The peak representative body for mining affected councils in NSW is a model that could serve as a blueprint for far northern SA. With a united approach, the AMRC has been increasingly successful in highlighting and addressing mining related issues affecting member councils. The Association has built productive relationships, achieving new levels of influence towards strategic, sustainable, positive outcomes.
Regional NSW lends a hand to outback SA… District Council of Coober Pedy’s Phil Cameron; IMX Resources’, Steve Staines; AMRC Chair and Wollondilly Shire Mayor Cr. Col Mitchell; OzMinerals’, Will Short and Mark Bell; AMRC Executive Officer, Don Tydd; and Arrium Mining’s Ron Hardman.
AMRC Chair and Wollondilly Shire Mayor, Col Mitchell and Executive Officer, Don Tydd (from Armidale) headed west, in response to an invitation from Regional Development Australia Far North, Coober Pedy District Council and representatives of local mining companies. They travelled to Coober Pedy and gave a presentation on the operations of the Association.
Mr Tydd said that the Association’s new strategic directions document was discussed, along with the relationship between Local and State Government in the mining approvals process in NSW. “The large scale mining operations around Coober Pedy are metal-based, producing gold, lead and copper. Fly-in-Fly-out (FIFO) is commonplace, with up to 100-seat aircraft utilised to move employees from Adelaide to mines in the area. Some mines have their own airports. One mining village housed up to 1,300 people and contained all amenities to make the employees time between shifts as comfortable as possible,” he said.
The meeting attendees greatly appreciated that Cr Col Mitchell also made the trip and gave an elected council member’s view.
“The Coober Pedy Group was very interested in the history of the Association and its achievements since 1982. The proposed group in Coober Pedy would be regional, as compared to the Association’s state-wide focus, yet would be considering similar mining issues,” Cr Mitchell continued. “It is important that the Association discusses mining issues with other interstate groups. Mining is a national industry but continues to have State-based regulations. Both Councillor Mitchell and Mr Tydd attended a national conference in Rockhampton Queensland early this year, which focused on FIFO employee issues and their effects on local communities.”
Mr Tydd said that representing the AMRC’s 22 councils at State and National levels is important. “The Association must keep abreast of what is happening across the states in relation to mining. It is also important that we help other organisations, keen to follow on from our successful model.”
“The Association will be continuing its contacts with the proposed group in Coober Pedy. We expect that both organisations will gain knowledge from each other.”
For further information, contact AMRC Executive Officer, Don Tydd: 02 6775 3844 or 0418 681 320.
You must be logged in to post a comment.