2016 Annual Report
Dysart details
Analysis of changes during 2016 will be presented here in June 2017. A recap of our 2015 analysis is presented here. The town data booklets - downloadable via the links shown at the left - are also being updated. They will be available here in June 2017.
About Dysart
Dysart is seen by those interviewed to be a safe and secure town. It was purpose built for the local mining industry. CSG development was not portrayed by those interviewed as having had a significant impact.
The community, police, and local companies are said to cooperate to keep the town safe.
Shift work and quality of life in Dysart
From 1999/2000, Dysart’s community was challenged when the mines instituted 12-hour shifts, interviewees stated.
This change from 8-hour shifts was viewed as a cause for a range of direct and flow-on issues that undermined the quality of life in the town. These issues included the promotion of drive-in/drive-out arrangements (DIDO) for workers. DIDO arrangements were seen to increase local speeding and other traffic issues.
Workers on 12-hour shifts were seen to become detached from their families. Interviewees felt that that caused increases in stress and fatigue. In some cases, these factors were considered to lead to drug and alcohol use as well as domestic violence.
Housing in Dysart
The influx of workers to Dysart affected local housing availability. Availability was particularly affected by the accommodation practices of the companies, who subsidised rent for workers. This combined with high demand lead to a significant increase in rent.
The companies also bought and sold houses, causing peaks and troughs in sales and house prices. High rents are said to have encouraged investors to buy in Dysart, further increasing house prices and rent.
Since its peak in 2012 at a median of $1,200 per week, rent in Dysart has declined to a median of $200 per week in 2015.
As demand for accommodation has declined, interviewees said that some mining companies have sold houses to government agencies for social housing.
Unemployment in Dysart
The decline in rent and increase in social housing were described by interviewees as factors contributing to low-income and unemployed people moving (or being moved to) Dysart.
A high cost of living and poor provision of services (e.g., healthcare, public transport) in Dysart has limited opportunities for these new residents. Poor opportunities and high stress for the new residents in Dysart’s social housing are seen to contribute to an increase in alcohol and drug use. Some interviewees expect an increase in rates of domestic violence.
Business in Dysart
During times of low housing availability, it became standard for prospective employees to be offered accommodation and other benefits (e.g., vehicles and subsidised bills) along with high wages.
These benefits caused difficulties for local businesses outside the mining sector, which were unable to compete with what was offered to employees by the mines. This staffing challenge saw some businesses leaving Dysart, downsizing, or changing their core business.
Overall, however, statistical data show growth in the income and number of small businesses in Dysart as mining activity increased.
Non-resident workers in Dysart
Under-resourced services, facilities, and infrastructure have been linked by those interviewed to the tendency for the mines to employ non-resident workers.
Interviewees said that non-resident workers placed demands on local services (e.g., health services, may contribute to local offences). However, the income that they earned in Dysart was not spent in the town, it was reported.
Additionally, interviewees said that non-resident workers were not included in official population counts. That meant that the numbers of non-resident workers did not contribute to the accounting for services, such as staffing of local police.
See the Dysart booklet for more information
The statistical data and more detailed perspectives from the Dysart interviewees are available in the Dysart booklet. The booklet includes 2015 data, and interpretations from UQ researchers.
We would like to thank members of the Dysart community for their cooperation, and the gift of their time. We hope that we have done justice to their contributions to this investigation.
The UQ ‘Cumulative Impacts’ Research Team