PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWS

Transcription

1 PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWS Edition Two 2015

2 WELCOME TO THE PORT WARATAH COAL SERVICES COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER Halfway through the 2015 year, it is my pleasure to once again share with you an update on our activities and efforts at Port Waratah. I welcome you to this newsletter and also remind you that we are keen to hear your views. Our contact details are provided elsewhere and we sincerely invite you to provide us with feedback on this newsletter and our operations and performance in general. Unlike much of the community, we were fortunate that our operations only suffered minor impacts from the gale force winds and driving rain of the April storms. Our shiploading operations were only interrupted for approximately 40 hours but overall the impact on throughput was more significant of the order of 3 million tonnes. As a concerned member of the Hunter Valley community we express our sincerest sympathy to those who suffered more significant damage and loss during this event. In early June Port Waratah welcomed a new director and Chair of the Board in Ms Penny Winn. Penny was nominated as a director and Chair by Port Waratah s largest shareholder, Rio Tinto owned, Coal and Allied Industries. Penny has held senior roles in large retail businesses such as Woolworths and Myer and, as a result, has significant supply chain and logistics experience. Despite low prices and much gloom, Hunter Valley coal chain throughput is holding up very well. In fact, coal chain throughput achieved a rate of almost 170 million tonnes per year in June; one of the best months on record. This is the key reason why Port Waratah continues to pursue the development approval of the Terminal 4 Project the Hunter coal industry must be positioned to take advantage of further growth in demand, once it exceeds the capacity of the current terminals. The assessment process for Terminal 4 is now in its final phase, with the project being referred to the Planning Assessment Commission for determination. Due to the level of interest in the Project, the PAC has decided to hold public meetings in July, which will be a final opportunity for interested parties to comment on the Department of Planning and Environment s assessment report and recommended conditions of approval, before a decision is made. Based on previous examples, we are expecting the meeting to run in a similar format to the hearing last year with a wide range of people and views participating, and no doubt generating discussion in the broader community and media. Port Waratah remains confident that we can deliver a project and terminal which, like our current terminals, demonstrate leading practice in environmental, social and operational performance. To conclude, I wish to thank and congratulate the many community partners who work with us to deliver the benefits of our Community Partnership and Investment programme. While we are proud of the difference we make, we could not do it without the efforts and contributions of these dedicated people. Until next time,, Hennie du Plooy, CEO

3 SD REPORT RELEASED Each year Port Waratah provides a report on our performance across key areas of Sustainable Development; governance, people, social, economic and environmental. Last year s report is now available our website. Key topics which are in the report include: Significant internal focus on reduction of costs in response to industry s economic climate. Despite efficiency improvements, we were able to maintain about 75 percent of our operational spend in the local region. Increased effort to improve employee engagement and leadership skills. Received National Safety Council s Health and Wellbeing award. Progressed the $14m Water Management Programme in order to improve our ability to manage water onsite, including construction of the new Kooragang Wharf ponds. Provided around $740,000 to over 75 different partners through the community investment and partnership programme. Saw a reduction in employee numbers from 404 in 2013 to 351 at the end of 2013 as part of an organisational review. Terminal 4 PAC hearings. Celebration of 30 years of Kooragang Coal Terminal. To read more visit our website THANKS FOR COMING TO OUR COMMUNITY OPEN DAY Thanks to everyone who attended the Community Open Day on Saturday 21st March, which was jointly hosted by Port Waratah and NCIG. About 140 people visited our operations during the day. During the visit they were able to enjoy a sausage sizzle and meet some of our team members. If you missed out and would still like to see our operations you can book a tour (available Monday to Friday) via our website or call for more details.

4 COMMUNITY UPDATE OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY Below: The DADEE Pilot Programme was off and running in the first quarter of this year, with local 115 local dads and their 153 daughters participating in the study at the University of Newcastle. The study aims to show how the fatherdaughter relationship can have unique, positive effects on young girls cognitive, emotional and physical development. Above: The Carrington Village Markets made their debut in March this year at Carrington Public school. The Markets are co-ordinated by the School and P&C Association as a way of providing funding for important school infrastructure and other projects. The markets are held quarterly with dates locked in for 22nd August and 21st November. Right: Since 2012, Port Waratah has provided sponsorship funding to the annual Italian Film Festival held in Newcastle during October. The proceeds from which are donated to a worthwhile cause. Laura Harkins-Small was on hand when Nick Moretti from Hand in Hand Arthouse (the festival organisers and other festival supporters) made a donation to the Motor Neurone Disease Association of NSW.

5 TERMINAL 4 Terminal 4 reached another milestone in June, with the Department of Planning and Environment recommending the Project for approval and referring the application to the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) for determination. Port Waratah were broadly supportive of the outcomes of the PAC review and subsequently agreed with a number of the PAC s recommendations. As part of the Terminal 4 engineering and environmental studies we extensively examined the different engineering and construction options to reach an outcome that best balances the environmental, social, economic and engineering factors. We also sought to continue to achieve this balance when responding to the PAC s recommendations. Port Waratah Coal Services understands that PAC will now review the Department of Planning and Environment s report before proceeding to make a determination. Terminal 4 will also require approval under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999). For more information on the Planning Assessment Commission go to: DID YOU KNOW? The trigger to construct Terminal 4 is part of the Long Term Commercial Framework. Only when Port Waratah receives contracts from the industry demanding the capacity will Terminal 4 begin construction. There is also the option to build in stages to ensure that the investment in new infrastructure is reflective of the demand of the industry. The Terminal 4 Project will be funded through private investment and paid for by our customers through the coal handling charge over the life of the asset. Due to the long lead times involved in environmental assessment processes we believe it is important to have a ten year approval window rather than five. In practice if we wanted to hypothetically start building Terminal 4 in 2021, but only had a 5 year approval, we would need to start the new approval process this year.

6 Above: Representatives of Port Waratah and Merewether SLSC got together in May to celebrate the installation of new flooring in the clubhouse. This project aims to improve the quality of the clubhouse function facilities so that the Club can gain sustainable and independent revenue to support lifesaving activities in the long term. Right: Representatives of the Carrington Sponsorship & Donations Committee were pleased to meet members of Simbas FC in June. The Simbas are based in Tighes Hill and aim to compete at the highest level of competition possible while giving local young people, particularly from African heritage, an opportunity to enjoy meaningful integration and participation in mainstream sport.

7 Above: Each year Port Waratah employees participate in the Variety Bash, which raises funds for projects for local kids with special needs. This year they collectively raised over $720,000. Congratulations to all involved. WILD WEATHER Just like other parts of the community, the wild weather which hit our region on 21st April this year created issues across our operations at Kooragang and Carrington Terminals. Operations were suspended for 40 hours, with only a skeleton workforce onsite for safety reasons. It took over a week for coal chain operations to return to near-normal conditions, although some areas of the coal chain were affected more than others. Most of the damage to our operation was due to downed trees, excess water and some wind damage to infrastructure.

8 2014 SUSTAINABILITY SNAPSHOT OVERSEAS $1. 37 M (1%) AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA $ M (13%) NSW NSW $9. 41 M (10%) COMMUNITY ENQUIRIES During 2014 we received 22 community enquiries in relation to our operations. Seven were in relation to dust, six to general noise, three about train noise, and six enquiries about other matters. Train Noise Other RECYCLE RATE 2013: 78% 2014: 79% SUMMARY OF SPEND (% OF SPEND) HUNTER & CENTRAL COAST $ M (75%) Dust General Noise MATERIALS PURCHASES $ M 227 TOURS CONTRACTORS $ M PROFESSIONAL SERVICES $ M 2229 VISITORS LIVING & WORKING LOCALLY WHERE OUR EMPLOYEES LIVE Newcastle 36 % Lake Macquarie 40 % Port Stephens 11 % Maitland 8.5 % Cessnock 2.5 % Other 2 % Produced on 100% recycled paper Cover Page: Laura Harkins-Small, Specialist Community Relations, with Andrew Maher, Shift Supervisor, at the Community Open Day. If you would like to comment on Port Waratah News, please libby.delgatto@pwcs.com.au