The West Australian Lands Minister has refused to extend the lease on a large fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers’ camp in the Pilbara.
Woodside’s 2,000-bed Gap Ridge Village was set up on the outskirts of Karratha in 2007 to accommodate construction workers on the company’s Pluto LNG Project.
The facility still houses some FIFO operational workers, and short-term maintenance, referred to as shut down crews, which Woodside says can peak as high as 1,600 people a couple of times a year.
The camp is also available to other resources companies’ workers.
Lands Minister Terry Redman said the camp lease was due to expire in May 2017.
He said after significant investment and development Karratha was now better equipped to accommodate FIFO workers in more “integrated” town settings.
“I believe there is more than enough capacity in Karratha to be able to cater for [Woodside’s] workforce, even in those times where they have a spiked workforce supporting shut down,” he said.”Given the spaces available in Bay Village, in [the suburb of] Nickol, and also the Aspen Village in Karratha, and all the opportunities Karratha now presents, I don’t think this facility is needed.”
Mr Redman said it was “not appropriate” to have a major work camp right next door to the “city of the North”.
“Karratha is now being described as a city, which means it has a population of more than 25,000 people,” he said.
“The population of Busselton is around about 30,000 people, not that much bigger than Karratha.
“I think the notion of having a 2,000-man work camp immediately adjacent to Busselton would not be supported by anybody, so I think it’s about putting us into context.”
Mr Redman insisted the decision was not about being anti-FIFO.
“We don’t have an aversion to FIFO,” he said.”But what we do say is where there is a significant community, a significant-sized community, then it’s appropriate to ensure we get best use of those communities, rather than having a work camp right next door.
“It’s totally appropriate to have a work camp if you’re in an isolated area, where you have to have a workforce going into a mine that’s some distance from a big centre.”
Iron ore miner Rio Tinto’s FIFO accommodation, in the nearby Wickham township, was one example of successfully integrated housing, the Minister highlighted.
“The people that FIFO actually use the local facilities, they go down to the local recreation centre, they go into the local clubs, the local pubs and the coffee shops and actually support that community directly,” he said.
“So there is recognition of the need for FIFO, it’s just that we need to make sure that integrates and supports the growth of those communities and the businesses in those communities that government has supported through significant investment.”
Karratha Mayor Peter Long said FIFO workers needed to be housed in better-integrated accommodation.
“We want to develop the town so we have a good amenity for the people and we don’t think having 10,000 construction beds, which is roughly what we have got spread around the town now, we don’t think it’s appropriate to have that,” he said.
“We want to make it into a town where we have got lovely permanent facilities and we also think it’s actually much better for the personal health and safety of the people concerned.
“We want to integrate people into our community, even the people that come in temporarily to do maintenance work.”
Cr long said local businesses would support the decision.
“We have had an enormous amount of pressure within the council from local businesses who are trying to stop FIFO workers because they are taking jobs away from local people,” he said.
“The FIFO workers in a lot of these camps, they are almost like jails, they need permission to even go into the town and so the people can’t actually join local sporting teams. They can’t go and shop as they want to, so they are actually just not part of any of our towns at all.”
Woodside said it was “extremely disappointed” and “somewhat perplexed” at the Minister’s response.
A spokeswoman said in the current economic environment it made no sense that the company should be forced to close a “perfectly good” facility and be required to “invest hundreds of millions of dollars” in another option.
She argued the decision undermined the ability for Woodside to undertake “critical maintenance and life extension work” on its facilities, and would increase the cost of operations.
She also said the decision had the potential to inhibit further investment in the area.
The oil and gas giant has been in Karratha for more than 35 years and has reportedly invested billions of dollars in the community during that time.
The decision came as fellow resources giant BHP Billiton sought State Government approval to extend its lease on the 1,100-person Kurra Village in Newman.
That FIFO camp lease will expire at the end of the year.
Terry Redman said a decision on Kurra was still being considered but would not be solely up to him.
“The Premier also has a role to play [in the Kurra decision], as the Minister that is responsible for State Agreements,” he said.
“So there are still decisions from a whole of government perspective around Kurra Village to come … and those discussions are ongoing.”
Source: ABC News