Pilbara TAFE Hospitality course graduates, the appointment of General Services contractor Pilbara Logistics headed by Geoffrey Stocker at Telfer, and the continuing work of Newcrest’s Community Relations personnel have all helped swell the number of Indigenous men and women currently working for the Telfer Gold Mine to about 40. The numbers will continue to rise, boosted by a dedicated driver training program to be introduced shortly through the Bloodwood Tree Association in South Hedland and a new dual-control training vehicle donated by Newcrest.

DEWR link to success

Newcrest’s endeavours in supporting training and employment for Indigenous men and women enjoys the support of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. DEWR is an Australian Government agency which administers a number of programmes and services that help connect people to jobs and promote the transition from welfare to work. DEWR administers programmes under the Indigenous Employment Policy, which was implemented in July 1999 in recognition of the particular disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians in the labour market. It aims to generate more employment opportunities for Indigenous people, particularly in the private sector. Structured Training and Employment Projects form one component of the IEP, providing assistance for projects that offer training and employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

In October 2002, Newcrest entered into a Contract with DEWR to provide support through STEP for the employment and training of Indigenous people at Newcrest’s Telfer operations. Leon van Erp from Newcrest has been working very closely with the Martu people and a number of people from other language groups in the area to gain employment and training opportunities, not only with Newcrest but also with its contractors. Thirty-one employment and training outcomes were achieved under this initial contract and a further contract was recently executed which aims to achieve 27 more jobs for Indigenous Australians. Information regarding DEWR’s Indigenous Employment Programmes can be found at www.workplace.gov.au/indigenous or by telephoning Patricia Plate on (08) 9464 4180.

Tourism Conference.

The West Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Conference held in Perth in July attracted many well-known identities in the Indigenous tourism industries throughout Australia, including television personality Ernie Dingo (below, left), who was a member of a panel of speakers that included international guests and Indigenous tourism representatives from Canada,
New Zealand, Thailand, France and Germany. Attending the conference from the North West Pilbara region, through the support of Newcrest, were Nyaparu Margaret Rose (centre), Chairperson of the Nyangumarta community, whose leadership and vision is being acknowledged through her efforts in developing the Wallal Reserve as a future cultural and tourism destination; and Cris Olegario (right), Business Development Officer of the Pilbara Native Title Service.

School visit.

RAWA school students from Punmu recently enjoyed a close look at the operations of the Telfer Gold Mine. The visit, the first of its kind for students from Telfer’s closest neighbouring community, was arranged by the Community Relations team and is expected to become a regular event. Following an extensive tour of the mine site, during which the enthusiastic visitors asked many questions, refreshments were served in the canteen. Perhaps we’ll one day see many of them return to site in professional roles.