Mining camp operator tight-lipped as lease rumours swirl

The co-owner of a large mining camp in Boulder is remaining tight-lipped on the management of the facility as rumours swirl it has been leased out in a multi-year multimillion-dollar deal. MLG Oz founder and managing director Murray Leahy declined to comment when asked by the Kalgoorlie Miner if the 302-person Vivian Street camp had been leased to Northern Star Resources. However, he confirmed the camp — for which he recently asked council to extend the tenure to 10 years — is used by employees of MLG, Topdrill and Rangecon, as well as “our customers”. His comments come as hotelier Ashok Parekh — who recently blasted the companies for moving their staff from local hotels into camps — called for Mr Leahy and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder to “be honest” about the purpose of the camps. This follows a speech by Mr Leahy to councillors at Monday night’s council meeting before they considered the motion to extend the tenure at Vivian Street, as well as his other 152-person camp on Hopkins Street. During his speech, Mr Leahy said he feared the businesses would have no choice but to “jam” 400 fly-in, fly-out workers back into residential homes in four years’ time if the council did not extend the tenures. Mr Parekh said if this was the case, he would think the companies would like to keep the camp lease to themselves, and not lease it out to others as the rumour suggested. “I’m not questioning the integrity or anything like that, I’m just saying if they need an extension for these rooms — who is it for?” he said. “All these big players are here with all their money, but what about Kalgoorlie? “No person ... or business should be able to dictate the operations in Kalgoorlie, it’s got to be about what is best for the town. “Just because they have money doesn’t mean they can destroy the town. “And this, quite clearly to me, is not good for Kal, the Goldfields, the people who live here, the people who have infrastructure set up here, businesses and is not good for mental health.” Mr Leahy told the Kalgoorlie Miner with no transparency over what land would become available or when new houses would be constructed, it would be “suicide” for the businesses to commit to ongoing long-term projects without accommodation guaranteed. “The argument coming out of the hotels in the Goldfields is out of pure self-interest and nothing else,” he said. “The reality of our situation is we are trying to service the needs of our businesses and clients’ businesses to ensure we maintain balance and not further drive up the cost of living for everyday mums and dads in the Goldfields. “It is actually far cheaper for us to put people in houses, it is the most economic solution for our business. “But the best long-term benefit comes from having a balance residential workforce with a combination of capacity that comes from both residential and fly-in fly-out. “However, when the occupancy rate of residential housing is zero and rents are rising 15 and 16 per cent a year, it creates a situation of being very hard to maintain that balance. “The ideal outcome for us is to not have FIFO accommodation in town and have everything being delivered by residential workforce, but the practicalities of doing that are impossible.” Mr Parekh urged the local council to be honest about why it was allowing a large amount of dongas to be built for one purpose and leased out to someone else. “The situation of letting them build camps and then leasing it out or giving it to someone else to make commercial money is against the principles of what is good for the businesses in Kal,” he said. “It defeats the purpose of reducing FIFO — they can increase their FIFO staff by having another 500 rooms, or whatever it is. “So who is getting the commercial benefit? “I think the council have got to come clean and everybody has to come clean — not about who owns it, but if it has been leased out.” Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor Glenn Wilson said planning and development regulations specifically advised commercial competition could not be considered in decision-making. He said the city’s workforce accommodation policy which guided council decision-making on the issue stated any proposal must demonstrate the need to house workers associated with a particular industry or project. Council this week voted to defer debate from this week’s council meeting to receive further information, which would be considered at next month’s meeting. Mr Parekh said his concern was not for accommodation in the city, but for the future of the town as a whole. “We are going to end up with a street full of shops being boarded up and a town full of camps,” he said. “I predict within the next 12 months at least 10 businesses in Hannan Street closing down. “Council, you need to sort yourselves out. You will turn this place into a ghost town.” Northern Star Resources was contacted for comment.