FROM THE CMPA SECRETARIAT (Issue 48)

The Year In Reflection

Honorary CEO, RON KERR, reflects on the past twelve months of the CMPA.

WELCOME to 2010 and thank-you for taking the time to read our Sand & Stone.

The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to revisit the challenges faced by the association and its members during the past 12 months.

December 2008 saw the passing of the legislation to merge the Extractive and Mining Act into the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act. The CMPA raised concerns on this issue regarding community engagement and the additional rehabilitation bond obligations.

At the same time, the CMPA commissioned the report “An Unsustainable Future” to establish if the process of applying for a Work Authority has become more expensive or onerous over the past 10 years.

Together with industry suppliers, the CMPA organised a meeting regarding the replacement of welded lifting lugs with inbuilt lifting arrangements for crusher chamber wear components. The first successful trial was completed in November this year with a 48×42 fixed jaw face being fitted.

Throughout 2009, the CMPA reflected on its first 10 years of representing members’ voice to government.

In March 2009, the CMPA held an inaugural joint meeting with WorkSafe and industry regarding the development of guidance material for working at quarry faces.

Three new reference manuals were released in mid 2009, aligned to Certificate II and III levels. These were Conduct Crushing Operations, Conduct Screening Operations and Combined Crushing and Screening Operations.

June 2009 saw a changing of the guard in the CMPA Secretariat with the resignation of Sarah and Briony and the commencement of Roger and Gavin.

The VCEC inquiry into environmental regulation saw many of the issues raised in the CMPA’s submissions being identified in its findings.

The CMPA published its 10 year anniversary magazine “A Mosaic of Members Views” in which 15 member businesses were profiled. This was distributed to over 1000 people in August 2009.

Both the associate and management committees accepted new participants who were endorsed at the 2009 CMPA AGM held in Ballarat. This was followed by a great night at the Annual Dinner celebrating ten years of the CMPA.

Priority was given to the CMPA Secretariat to develop relationships with the relevant industries minister and opposition equivalent.

In October 2009, the CMPA received global recognition for its works regarding the lack of government resource stewardship with a letter being received from the British Aggregates Association.

The release of the report, “An Unsustainable Future” occurred in November with the Minister, the DPI, various departments and opposition receiving personal presentations.

On the commercial front, 2009 saw the collapse of the high demand for construction materials early in the year. This resulted in increased ‘on-ground’ stock levels and a tightening of cash flow.

At the same time, many processing members have undertaken major plant upgrades in preparation for demand expected when the economy recovers. As well as this, members’ associated with mobile plant and equipment have seen a reduction in their sales while associates specialising in the service and consultancy sector have experienced an increase in work load as a result of increased legislative obligations and applications for Work Authorities variations.

The common message from members over the past 12 months is that our industry is significant and of importance in ensuring growth and development of this state.

Furthermore, that Government must recognise the essential nature of our sector, ensure that raw material resources have some form of protection placed over them (in the form of a stewardship role) and that duplication of regulation is eliminated to assist in reducing red tape.

SAFETY FIRST

Employers must provide a safe workplace. This relies on a cooperative effort with management and employees working together to identify and report safety concerns and actively suggest on improvements. Such improvements then need to be implemented.

This is an ongoing process, not something that is addressed once an incident has occurred, but part of everybody’s every day work practices. The worsening trend in the Victorian extractive industry safety statistics reinforce that safety is an issue for all workers and employers.

The CMPA promotes continuous improvement in safety through education and training. Members should make use of CMPA safety material including:

• Members to have attended a Work Safely course,
• Members to read and have access to the Work Safely Reference Manual,
• Members to read and have access to the Reference Manuals on crushing & screening, and
• Members to attend Workshops to understand operator obligations and industry best practice.
• Management tools such as Issues Resolution Pad and Daily Operator Checklists.

Legislation requires management and employees to take responsibility for OH&S. Do your part to protect your legal liability.

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