NWQROC welcomes new North West resource industry workforce report

North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NWQROC) has welcomed the latest report from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office (QGSO) on part of the region’s resource industry workforce.

The first of its kind report published by the QGSO today provides information on workforce characteristics and place of residence of the North West region’s resource industry workforce covering the local government areas (LGAs) of Burke, Mount Isa, Cloncurry and McKinlay.

Greg Hoffman PSM, NWQROC Executive Officer, said the report provided valuable insight on Queensland’s powerhouse region and a strong foundation to grow this data to provide much-needed information on the non-resident population across the entire North West Queensland (NWQ) region.

“As we continue to work to support and grow our region, our council leaders have been seeking this kind of information for some time,” Mr Hoffman said.

“We know that region-shaping projects, such as Copperstring, and the Kennedy and Kidston Energy Parks, are set to bring in even more workers across NWQ. It is essential that we understand our existing and future workforce numbers so we can continue to support, plan for, and deliver successful projects.

“This new report is a welcome first step to truly understand the number of people in our region and therefore the demand made on our services and infrastructure,” he said.

“Following the release of the 2021 Census data, it was clear there is a significant gap in data that defines more accurately the number of people in our region.

“The Census counts place of residence (for those who complete the census) and therefore does not give a complete and up to date number of people in the North West at any given time. So, reports like this are essential to accurately measure the demand for all services particularly health and medical services.”

“According to the QGSO report, 57 per cent of resource workers live outside of the LGAs covered, representing more than 4000 people, with only two per cent of those from another LGA in the report’s North West region.

“Because of this large fly-in, fly-out / drive-in/drive-out (FIFO/DIDO) workforce across all of the 11 councils of NWQ region in the resources sector as well as the State Government, we have asked the Queensland Government Statistician to consider expanding this report to cover all local government areas and State Government employees.”

“The Queensland Government Statistician, Antony Skinner, joined our board meeting last week to provide an update to our members. This was a great opportunity to provide local feedback and data source insights and put forward our case to expand on this report. We look forward to continuing to work with the QGSO,” Mr Hoffman said.

The report is available on the QGSO website at: www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/13246/north-west-region-resource-industry-workforce-2023.pdf