ABC ignorance of mining diversity

Why don’t they dig for ore in Balmain instead? | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog

Deborah Cameron recently made comments suggesting that the mining lifestyle has no lifestyle appeal outside of an econmic one. She then went on to describe mining towns as a place unsuitable for raising children.

On what evidence does she make these claims and are they at all balanced?

As a residence of a bustling North West Queensland mining community i find such blanket statements bordering on the offensive. Instead of getting angry i might illuminate the readers on why mining has many advantages to city life and that the industry is not just Fly In Fly Out mining camps.

Here are some facts about my lifestyle.

1. I work 4 days on and 4 days off, alternating beween days and then nights. Ample time to relax and when i take a block off i can potentially have 12 days of holidays which only cost me 48 hours of annual leave. Going back to a regular working week would cause mild depression.

2. I earn more than a head teacher as a second year electrical apprentice, and do not have to do marking or extra activities once i clock off from work.

3. My real estate prices are not collapsing like coastal prices and the the rent i collect from my rental generated a small profit in its first year of being rented, on the coast your rent maybe covers half your costs and the growth is likely negative.

4. I drive 5 minutes to get to work with no traffic and the showers and uniforms are provided at work. In the city you spend upto 1.5 hours in traffic unpaid.

5. All my friends live five minutes away, all the shops and gyms too. Anti-social is not how I describe my town.

The town I live in is ethnically diverse with locals through to domestic migrants and every single race under the sun all sharing in the prosperous mining lifestyle. I might add that they all get along famously with none of the racial ghetto failings of the city.


As you can see its a relaxed lifestyle with ample free time to pursue other interests.

As for Cameron, she needs to realize there is a multitude of options for mining lifestyles.

The coal belt around Mackay allows drive in drive out work in a range of work patterns and at the end of hard week, your back on the coast taking in the sea breeze like all those blessed city people who own coastal property.

Atleast in Mackay the average mine worker can afford a coastal property, the city folk need to have a few spare millions just to have a peek at the ocean over their neighbours roof.

As for the kids, i am no expert as i am yet to produce a litter, but i have many friends at work who have young families. They came out to the mines to provide their families with a better life.

Kids cost money, mines pay money, lots of it. The move to a mining town has enabled people working for below average wages, barely making ends meet, to provide a standard of living that simply is not available in the city for these families staking their hopes on the mines. They now have houses and new cars, with good schools within walking distance to send their kids too.

The other phenomenon apart from improved wealth and lifestyle that mining provides is how once one leg of the family establishes itself, the extended families also find their way out to the towns. The amount of extended families that migrate out into my mining community is astounding. Something is drawing these families out of the city and away from the coast...perhaps their is a link between economics and lifestlye?

Perhaps working 9-5 on the coast for 50k to provide for a two kid family simply is not a lifestyle at all.

Deborah i think people have made a choice to suit their needs, and instead of making factless denigrations of some imagined toxic mining town, you should go see for yourself what the mining lifestyle has to offer.


Burns your suits and put on a hard hat! The mining lifestyle is fun, the work atmosphere great!