2016 Annual Report
Moranbah 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.
Changes to Moranbah’s population
Moranbah was viewed as a tightly-knit town by those interviewed. However, during the peak of the resources boom, this sense of community was challenged due to population and social changes. The resource boom in Moranbah was due to coal mining rather than CSG development.
Reported social changes included local residents leaving town due to rises in the local cost of living, an influx of new workers, and the presence of a large number of non-resident workers (NRW), such as those employed on a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in/drive-out (DIDO) basis.
The tight-knit community was seen to change, becoming a place where people did not know their neighbours.
Housing in Moranbah
The increase in the number of mine workers in Moranbah put pressure on local accommodation. Median rents and house prices increased significantly, peaking in 2012.
Some local residents benefitted significantly by collecting high rents and by selling properties. However, some who invested later are reported to have been unable to maintain expensive mortgages.
Renters who were not employed on the high wages of the mining industry were said to be unable to stay in Moranbah as rents increased to unaffordable levels.
Business and skills in Moranbah
A high local cost of living meant that people without work did not stay in Moranbah, our interviewees stated. Their departure compounded difficulties for local businesses and services faced with recruiting and retaining staff.
Skilled workers left jobs with local businesses to work for the mines, due to the high wages on offer. Despite this trend, new small businesses opened during the ‘boom’, though many have since closed.
The slowing of the coal mining ‘boom' has led to fewer local job opportunities for young people as the mines reduced their hiring of school-leavers.
Local petrol prices were higher than elsewhere due to the distance from urban centres and a lack of local competition among petrol stations. When additional petrol stations opened, competition increased, and petrol prices declined.
Safety in Moranbah
Additional population in Moranbah during the ‘boom’ were associated with increasing traffic and traffic offences.
Local police were characterised in interviews as being under-resourced due to rapid growth in the mining industry. As a result, recorded rates of offences fluctuated, reflecting the enforcement capacity of the local police.
Traffic offences declined, which was attributed to mining companies’ use of buses for transporting non-resident workers.
Drug use increased as wages rose. However, attendant crime did not increase with the drug use. A spike in thefts was related to a crime racket targeting luxury car accessories purchased by those earning high wages from the mines.
Outcomes for Moranbah
Interviewees said Moranbah was, at the time of interviews, experiencing a baby boom. The cost of living has decreased, and housing is more affordable, an attraction for young parents. Low-income people are reported to be moving to town due to increased availability of public housing.
At the same time, there are conscious efforts to rebuild the town’s social fabric as those interviewed state that the community is seeking stability following the peak-boom.
See the Moranbah booklet for more information
The statistical data and more detailed perspectives from the Moranbah interviewees are available in the Moranbah booklet. The booklet includes 2015 data, and interpretations from UQ researchers.
We would like to thank members of the Moranbah 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