An Australian mining company claims its new, state-of-the-art "resort" will help drive change in WA’s under-fire FIFO mining sector, but locals say the enormous facility has been sprung on them.
Mineral Resources believes the 500-person workers' village in the Pilbara with expanded support services will ensure the physical and mental safety of its staff, and encourage more women and couples to live on site.
But the facility came as a surprise to many Onslow residents, who are concerned about the increased traffic and its proximity to town.
Felicity Brennan has lived in Onslow, 1300km north of Perth, for nearly 30 years, and did not believe this mining camp would be any different to others she had worked at.
"There's always those one per cent of idiots that have no respect for anything or anyone," Ms Brennan said.
"They're going to be working 12 hour days, shifts, swings … they're plonking this thing in the middle of town, but we can't see any way that it's going to contribute."
The Shire of Ashburton knocked backed MinRes' proposal in December 2021, citing traffic, but it was overruled by the state's Joint Development Assessment Panel.
The location of the camp, just 300 metres from Onslow's town centre, was unpopular with some residents including Clarrie Sweeting, who said he was disappointed the resort was "right on the beach, on prime land".
Mr Sweeting's quiet residential street was proposed as the main thoroughfare to the resort — where an estimated 100 vehicle trips per day would include 16 buses taking workers to and from the mine site.
Gerard Carroll, who owns Posties General Store in Onslow, said plans for the resort came as a shock.
"We were all a bit bewildered by it and didn't even know it was happening and then there were other people that were totally against it," he said.
But Onslow General Store and Hardware manager Rachel Easton said although it had been divisive, there was no denying it would be good for business.
"I can only see it as being a benefit to most businesses in town," she said.
The resort will eventually become property of local traditional owners, through a partnership with the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation that will also see the miner working with Indigenous-owned businesses and enterprises.
'Home away from home' for workers
Mineral Resources said the facility would include significantly larger rooms, as well as restaurants, bars, a gym, golf simulator, Olympic-sized swimming pool and wellness centre.
MinRes' chief people and shared services officer Bronwyn Grieve said it was an "exciting test case".
"We want to be a part of the town we don't want to be away from it," Ms Grieve said.
"We're working very closely both with the Onslow community and the Shire of Ashburton to determine the best approach for creating public access to our facilities.
"What we want to try and do is set a new standard for our FIFO workers, a new standard that gives them a community and a home away from their existing home."
FIFO industry under fire
The culture of WA's FIFO mining industry has been in the spotlight after a parliamentary inquiry tabled earlier this year found women were being subject to an "abhorrent and systemic pattern" of workplace behaviour.
Ms Grieve acknowledged a cultural shift was needed.
"When you change the composition of a camp, when you introduce more communal activities, and when you introduce an environment that feels like home, we expect that the culture will make certain shifts," she said.
Curtin University researcher Sharon Parker said accommodation improvements were just one aspect of achieving cultural change in mining.
"Activities like barbecues and quiz nights and things like that actually had a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing and interestingly, things like having a gym or a pool didn't have that same positive impact," Professor Parker said.
"Leadership is probably one of the most important contributors to culture."
She urged MinRes to assess the resort's overarching impact.
