This month we will be looking at the recent media surrounding suicides in the Pilbara and the social impact property investment can have. Internationally, impact investing is a growing trend. Discover how your investment can make a difference as well as a superior return.
Don’t tell them about the suicides.
Take that out of your presentations and power points.
They don’t need to know about it; it’s off-putting ‘they’ say.
If you do not live in Australia or choose not to read the newspapers; you might be asking ‘what suicides’ and who are ‘they’?
Below are some extracts from what has been published in respect to the Pilbara region having one of the highest rates of suicide (relationship breakdown / divorce also) and recent, very sad incidents. ‘They’ are both some of the wonderful people who refer investors to MACRO and also people who are comfortable with burying their head in the sand, ignoring the big picture and urgency with building Pilbara Cities.
Sophisticated investors don’t just consider the monetary return on their investment dollar, they also consider a greater cause and ‘impact investing’ as having a core place for informing at least some of their investment allocation. Part and parcel of their philosophy for success, some investors consider the ultimate and total ROI (return on investment).
If you are only driven by immediate, short term investment returns then perhaps real estate investment is not the best vehicle for you; period. However if you understand that traditionally property values double every 7 to 10 years in Australia and that there are vital, emerging cities that give you a cash flow positive position from the day you invest; then you may also be open to interpreting the occurrence of suicides in this region as further evidence and symptoms of both need and opportunity.
Opportunity to gain a yield and capital growth rate above the market average (across an appropriate timeframe); while at the same time making a huge difference to the lives of some of hardest working Australians.
So, what is the cause of the suicides amongst fly-in-fly-out workers in this region – what are they depressed about?
The bullying that goes on in those camp-life environments; having to constantly leave their families and loved ones; or their loved ones leaving them upon their return as a result of the destabilisation? Living life as a sole parent family because you ‘need the money’ and there isn’t a real opportunity for you to live alongside where your partner works, is tough. And clearly it’s taking its toll.
Or maybe it’s the workers; lack of choice and amenities in comparison to what they’re used to ‘at home’.
Regardless, what can YOU do?
You can invest in making these cities liveable, and in helping us to do so; faster.
Rest assured the demand for the commodities and resources that come from the Pilbara (with the lowest cost producers and billions in new committed projects) is not going away. The reason for the establishment of the government’s plan for Pilbara Cities (established in 2009), and Royalties for Regions investment formula, in the first place.
The population growth is happening, and the need for investment towards real estate development in this region is very current.
Source: Veronica Macpherson (MACRO’s CEO)
The regimented lifestyle, working long 12-hour shifts, residing in donga camps and living in silence with mental health issues are all thought to be major factors contributing to the increase in suicides among fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers. According to the State Coroner, at least 24 FIFO workers committed suicide in WA between 2009 and 2013, with nine of those deaths coming within a 12-month period.
Source: Perth Now 26 October 2014
Pilbara MP, Brendon Grylls said some big miners like forcing employees into “barbwired, boom-gated donga camps” because it was cheaper and gave them more control. He said he stood by recent comments he made in Parliament that mining companies “like the idea of a worker getting into their uniform, getting to the airport, being delivered to the airport at the other end, getting on to a bus, getting out of the bus, going into the camp and then living that regimented life that follows from there”.
Source: Perth Now 24 August 2014
Philippa Vojnovic, an Edith Cowan University PhD candidate and author of a study into suicides among mine workers, said the “FIFO employment exposes workers to risk factors of reduced social support, occupational stress, challenges to wellbeing and long work hours which increase the vulnerability of suicide for employees with predisposing risk factors”.
Source: The West Australian 16 July 2014
Earlier this year on the anniversary of a young FIFO worker’s death in the Pilbara, his family released details of his suicide note that said West Australians don’t know what it is like to work FIFO and have depression, in a bid to raise awareness of the mental health problems plaguing FIFO workers.
They also released footage from a video interview conducted just days before Rhys Connor’s death as part of a yet-to-be-released government-funded project on miners. The 25-year-old father-of-one told the team from This FIFO Life that workers were struggling with depression, relationship breakdowns and boredom. “You’re in a room every night of the week,” he said. “You just think about things. You think about your family and what they’re doing (right) now and go from there.
Rhys’ parents, Peter and Anita Miller, want mining giants to do more to protect workers. Mr Miller said his once “larrikin” and “affectionate” son had been broken down by FIFO work, in particular the “torturous” roster of spending four weeks on-site for every one-week off.
Source: Perth Now 1 August 2014
In August 2014 a parliamentary inquiry into mental health issues among FIFO workers in Western Australia was launched to look at whether or not mining companies are doing enough to prevent suicides. Chairman of the inquiry and WA Liberal Party backbencher Dr Graham Jacobs says the number of suicides by FIFO workers over the past 12 months has brought the issue to a head.
“With isolation, family disconnect, high compression rosters, we should have a look at this,” he said in an interview.
Dr Jacobs says the inquiry will look at a number of issues such as: what services are available for FIFO workers, availability of mental health/first aid facilities, counselling, advice and other services on site.
Source: ABC News 22 August 2014
Despite the refusal by big miners to phase out FIFO camps, the government and private sector are continuing to invest heavily in Pilbara towns to turn them into thriving population centres, with the capacity to better cater for mine workers. Announced in 2009, Pilbara Cities seeks to build the population of Karratha and Port Hedland into modern cities of 50,000 people by 2035.
Mr Grylls said resources companies should consider housing employees in more “normal” accommodation. “Local community leadership would like to see us move into a more normalised environment,” he said. “You don’t see a camp for 2,500 people in the outer suburbs of Perth, you see normal suburban suburbs with kids going to school and those people work in jobs in and around those communities.”
Source: ABC News 30 July 2014
At MACRO we feel that by developing quality accommodation in the Pilbara as a priority, we will help with keeping families together and promote a normal lifestyle, with people enjoying their homes and the company they can keep within them.