August 9, 2013
Anger at Tarong Power Station job cuts and the cancellation of Stanwell Corporation’s 2014 apprenticeship intake boiled over at a public meeting held at Nanango RSL last night.
The “Save Our Town” meeting was organised by the Not4Sale campaign, the ETU, the Services Union, CFMEU Mining, the AMWU and APESMA and attracted more than 100 people.
Representatives from the ALP, Katter’s Australian Party and the Palmer United Party were in attendance, along with current and former Stanwell workers and interested members of the general public.
LNP Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington – who told the media earlier in the day she’d be unable to attend because Parliament was in session – was criticised by speakers for failing to turn up.
Electrical Trades Union State Organiser Jason Young said he took Mrs Frecklington’s media statement that “my door is always open to anyone who wants to share their concerns” to mean she would welcome a public debate with him about Stanwell.
He said he was happy to do so at any time and place she’d care to nominate.
Mr Young said the meeting had been called because of growing anger in the community over more than 200 job losses which have occurred at the Tarong Power Stations and Meandu Mine since last October, and to allow people in the local community to have their say.
He said that while 200 job losses might seem small in a place like Brisbane with a population of more than one million, they were very significant in an area like the South Burnett.
The loss of skilled positions forced workers to sell up and move out of the area with their families because of a lack of alternative local employment opportunities, he said.
He said job losses of this scale meant there were also widespread, negative flow-on effects to schools, hospitals, local businesses and community groups.
Mr Terry Bradley, from the AMWU, said Stanwell’s decision to axe its 2014 apprenticeship intake would have similar adverse flow-on effects, particularly among the region’s young people.
He accused both the State and Federal Governments of shirking their responsibility to train apprentices.
The floor was then thrown open for comments from members of the audience.
“How many apprentices would the 42 per cent pay rise that our State pollies are giving themselves pay for?” one speaker asked. “A 42 per cent pay rise is absolutely disgusting.”
Another claimed Stanwell’s biggest cost centre wasn’t its power stations or its mines, but the company’s head office in Brisbane.
“The amount of rent they’re paying for their head office is breathtaking,” he said.
“And while they’ve been busy laying off workers here, they’ve been adding new employees there.”
Another said he believed that because the State Government had such an enormous majority it was happily prepared to “burn the bush” and lose rural and regional seats at the next State election because it could afford to lose 20 or more seats yet still retain power.
“Campbell Newman would be happy to throw Deb Frecklington on the fire for the sake of ideological purity,” he said.
Another speaker raised concerns about operational safety at the power stations, saying he thought staffing levels have now been reduced to the point where safety was questionable.
“Stanwell management are playing with people’s lives in their quest to turn a profit at all costs,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, an action committee was formed with the aim of continuing to pressure Stanwell, the State Government and the Member for Nanango to reverse or revise recent decisions about the operations and staffing of the Tarong power stations.
- Related article: Stanwell Decisions Not Made By Government
