Travelling in the north west of Western Australia is a time to reflect on the rural life in relation to mining towns such as Meekatharra, Port Hedland and Tom Price, to name a few.

Recently there was news that Rio will be receiving a windfall in prices for iron ore, which will no doubt seep down into other companies as well. This will reap the state government an extra billion dollars in tax. People say, why aren’t the companies putting more into the towns, but the question is also why isn’t the government?

I feel the problem is not a lack of money alone, but money and manpower combined. Mines pay a large amount of money to their workers to entice them into remote areas of the state. As a result other workers – teachers, nurses, council workers etc look at their meagre wages and decide they are better off working for the mines – so there are fewer people willing to clean up the streets, teach the children and nurse the sick. Governments refuse to increase the wages for their workers to bring them anywhere near other wages so the temptation increases.

Because there are no workers doing these other jobs and there is also a lack of builders, plumbers, electricians etc, housing is also rare and expensive. Now the price of rentals in these towns are enormous and workers not involved in the mines and government employees are often living in poor accommodation. Hospitals and schools need major repairs in many cases and a lack of skilled workers to fix things adds to the problem. Governments, in these cases need to look to ways of developing incentives for workers to  come. Why would you bother going to these towns??

Families rarely come to the towns to live, so a sense of community is lost. Fly-in/fly-out mining staff – a part “solution” to the lack of housing means that employees work 12 hour shifts that leave them with no time to take part in community sports or voluntary activities.

As one goes through these towns the surface seems normal. But looking more closely we can see full rubbish bins and broken toilets in shire rest areas, makeshift dogas in caravan parks, TV dinners in the shops and not even enough footy players to make up a team – even in a town full of men. What problems are more hidden? Broken relationships because of long absences, loneliness, depression, unequal education opportunities, preventable deaths… And for those who do live in the towns and are not part of the boom, a wider chasm of the haves and have –nots.

What are the solutions? I have not all the answers. However: 1) increase wages of the service workers and government employees so that they stay in their trained jobs. 2) give the Shire funding to increase wages of their council employees 3) Find incentives for skilled workers – electricians etc to come to the towns (even fly in- fly out is better than nothing) 4) Skill up the locals eg as Andrew Frost from FMG hopes to do – teaching Indigenous people to drive trucks etc, 5) Give locals an option of eight hour shifts so that they can have a family and community life.

Something needs to happen, for this mining industry is not a short term boom as others have been and while it is still a “young man’s game’ in some respect, it is so different to the old mining hardships – and more is expected in these days of fast travel and communication.  This is a problem for all Australians – for we all benefit from Government wealth – even if we don’t think we do directly.

August 2008: Since writing this blog in June, I have watched an ABC TV “Four Corners” program called  “Money Pit” reporter Matthew Carney  which addressed these problems in relation to Port Hedland (and South Hedland). One issue I did not mention was the problem of boredom and the resulting over-drinking and drug use that comes from the culture of blokes together with nothing else to do. Improvements in community infrastructure – such as a variety of sporting facilities means more opportunity to interact in other ways – but organization within the industry to allow for co-ordinated times for such interaction is also needed.  Even competitions between different sectors of the minng industry in sporting games or other competitions would be something, and if that could also involve other community members all the better.
In addressing the haves and the have nots – when Council workers are getting only $500 per week compared to $1500 per week from some mining workers – and the council worker has to live in a homeless shelter or his car – something is obviously wrong. Or when a worker has to be satisfied to live in a donga – with a bed and a fridge and no cooking facilities at a rent of $250 per week – then it is no wonder they go out drinking at night. Mining towns are not temporary living and we need to look for Governments to stop thinking of them as such. The first need is to release more land for building and to provide good housing for those who need them. The second need is to provide funding to make the towns more family friendly. With 80% of the mining population on fly in fly out programmes and the long hours of work, we are creating a social problem that will lead to costs that any amount of iron ore dollars will not compensate.