William Ross, Gerri Mark, Lee Arthur and Raana Peakman work in the mines in Australia. Photos / Supplied.
It has been another busy and interesting year in our region. We revisit some of our most popular premium stories from 2023. Originally published on May 27.
Mining revenues hit record levels in Australia last year - reaching A$461 billion ($496.8b) - which has been good news for Kiwis cashing in on lucrative job opportunities over the ditch. Carmen Hall talks to those already making big bucks with fly-in fly-out arrangements across the Tasman and a miner who is about to leave New Zealand after being offered $180,000 a year - double his current salary.
“Live the life you love, love the life you live” is the motto Gerri Mark swears by.
The preschool teacher left her hometown Whakatāne in 2017 after the break-up of her 25-year marriage.
She has since traded the classroom for driving dump trucks in the mines in Western Australia. The move was “the scariest thing” she had done in her life.
A friend told her about fly-in fly-out (FIFO) opportunities and over the past five years she had worked as a cleaner, a trade assistant, and a bus driver before changing to driving trucks.
“I’ve made enough money to live an amazing life as an independent, single woman. I brought my first house two years ago and now I’m looking at an investment property. I paid cash for my Holden ute, I own everything in my house, I don’t have a credit card and I pay cash for everything.”
She earned $140,000 with four bonuses a year, had company health insurance, and worked 15 days on and 13 days off.
“With my paid five weeks’ holidays, I work five months a year.”
Mark said people needed to be disciplined to work in the mines.
“A lot of people moan in the mines but for me, it’s all about lifestyle. At work (12.5 hours a day) I get up at 4am shower, make my crib (lunch) at the bus by 5am, prestart, driving. When I get back to my room I go straight to the gym have some dinner and I’m in bed by 8.30pm at the latest. I don’t drink on site.”
A Kiwi miner with more than 30 years’ experience, who asked not to be named, told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend he would move to Australia in the next month to take up a role.
In his view, the working conditions and pay were better across the Tasman. He estimated his wages would double to $180,000 a year, with the potential to increase further.
Not having to pay for accommodation, travel, or meals while working flying in and flying out on a two-week on and two-week off roster was a big attraction.
“I’ll come home on my two weeks off because there is more money to be made in Aussie and we are not keeping up.”
He said a lot of other New Zealand mine workers, including some of his colleagues, had already left.
Lee Arthur from Rotorua makes $155,000 working one week on, one week off driving trucks underground in the mines - a job she flies to from Perth.
The former bookkeeper initially started doing seven weeks on and one off doing overtime and shutdown maintenance. Arthur had been in her current job for the past five years after crossing the ditch in 2008.
“I’m an attitude of gratitude kind of person. The financial side of it is great but I get to work with a fantastic bunch of people so the money is a bonus. We just all gel and are kind of a bunch of clowns who really look out for each other.
“I’ve been given a lot of opportunities.”
The mother of four and grandmother of nine also operated an integrated tool carrier for the underground electricians and got to work alongside her son.
Arthur had her own home and investment property and was saving for another piece of land.
“My only downfall here is I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my Māori tikanga as I was fluent and now I’ve lost a lot of my language but it is still in my heart. I don’t forget my roots and I instill that in my kids.”
When William Ross, of Ōpōtiki, left New Zealand in 2018, he had to start over despite carving out a successful career in hospitality.
He had gone from a kitchen hand to a village manager at a mine in Pilbara and was earning six figures.
Now he looked after about 90 staff and 10 department heads reported to him directly.
“I manage all of the services so anything to do with accommodation, wellness areas like the gyms and the pool, catering, and the storeroom. It’s quite a huge responsibility... we’ve got 902 rooms at my village.”
Ross said he had come from humble beginnings and he remembered when his family couldn’t afford his school fees.
“I was bought up by my grandparents so it wasn’t all glamorous.”
He was earning $58,000 in New Zealand - and thought “I was really cracking it and I’m doing really well”.
His current job had changed his life.
“I already knew there was a big, bad world out there... I didn’t have the means to travel but I can do that now. I can plan little trips to Bali or say to my friends, on my next break, let’s go over to Singapore.
“The opportunities are over here and that is why people say I’m just going to go for a year and then they set up shop.”
Issac Zainey, from the Bay of Plenty, moved to Perth in 2014 with Rebecca, who is now his wife, because it was a “struggle to live a good lifestyle, pay rent and save”.
He spent a few years working in the mines which allowed them to buy a house, travel, and pay for their wedding but by his own admission, it was challenging.
“It’s not for everyone here and it’s very easy to get into the party lifestyle especially when you’re making thousands of dollars a week. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go to chase the dream and run home with their tails between their legs.
“It’s a good life but not an easy one and you are miles away from friends and family. There is a common misconception that you can just walk off the plane and walk into a big-paying job.”
However, the opportunities were there if people were willing to do the hard graft.
“I reckon I worked 10 times harder to get to where we are compared to when I lived in New Zealand”.
Issac was working as a scaffolder on a major project in Perth while Rebecca was an early childhood teacher and their combined income was about $200,000 to $220,000 depending on how much overtime he did.
“A lot of my friends and family back home see all the nice cars and toys etc and think it’s all easy breezy but it’s far from it. But [it’s] worth it and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Raana Peakman, of Auckland, finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Sport at Unitec four years ago and went straight to Perth.
He works as a fly-in fly-out crane operator helping build a new lithium mine about an hour south of Kalgoorlie. The move into mining was inspired by his father, who had been in the industry for 10 years.
“He was constantly telling us all, ‘You guys need to come over you will love it here’. I went over for a holiday to check it out and I managed to get into the mines and never looked back. I was living paycheck-to-paycheck in New Zealand.”
Earning $150,000 a year for three weeks on and one week off had “changed my life in terms of not having to not really worry about money”.
He worked 10.5 hours a day “but it’s not like we’re down the coal mine on a pickaxe. You do get downtime to have a yarn”.
The 36-year-old would use his savings to buy a house in Perth later this year. A Kiwi cousin, Jesse Rameka, also worked in the mines.
“I think the goal is to definitely make your money out of working away. Long term, it’s not really the best, especially if you’ve got a young family as it really takes a toll. I am looking at getting a teacher’s degree but that’s after I’ve made my money.”
Perenti mining brand and communications senior manager Adrian Firth said the global company had a large number of opportunities across its businesses including mine site operations roles, maintenance, and apprenticeships, through to managers truck drivers, accountants, electricians, heavy-duty mechanics, and engineers.
It had opportunities to work fly-in fly-out to its mine sites or be office based. Globally, it had more than 9000 staff including 3000 direct contract mining employees.
He said benefits included on-the-job training, clear pathways for career advancement, international opportunities and secondments, cross-divisional opportunities, retail, travel, and hotel discounts, salary packaging options, competitive rates, health insurance discounts, paid parental leave, and referral bonuses.
“Regarding culture, our focus is keeping our people and the people we work with, safe while building a strong, diverse, inclusive, and vibrant workforce. We believe that diversity and inclusion drive innovation and strengthen our business and we value the contribution our employees make.”
“We have a large number of New Zealanders working for the group in Australia and they are an important and valued part of our workforce.”
OceanaGold senior communications advisor Kit Wilson acknowledged it had staff members who left to work in the mines overseas but people from overseas were also coming to work at its New Zealand operations.
“Often staff who leave for overseas come back after a number of years, bringing with them a wealth of experience. While we may not be able to compete on salary with some of the overseas operations, the New Zealand lifestyle has proved to be a significant attraction.
“There are very few mines in the world like Waihī where you get to go home to your family after your shift, or where you can be surfing half an hour after leaving work.”
It had about 1000 staff and 250 contractors between the Waihī mine and Macraes in East Otago.
OceanaGold was facing the same labour market challenges as other employers.
“We are always on the lookout for skilled staff, we compete in a global market.”
Wilson said Macraes and Waihī had projects planned and were actively working to extend the life of each operation which had both been going for over 35 years.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows in its December 2022 quarter about 216,400 people were working in the mining industry compared to 212, 500 in September 2022.
According to the Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, 2022, Australia was the leading mining jurisdiction in the world with three states - Western Australia ranked second, Northern Territory sixth and South Australia eighth.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said in a statement in February mining continued to support jobs, the economy, and government spending on essential services.
“With a record high of A$461 billion [$496.8b] in 2022, up 31 per cent from the previous record set in 2021, global demand for Australia’s resources continues to underpin economic activity.”
According to Seek Australia, the number of job vacancies in mining, resources, and energy had increased by 4.4 per cent in the year to February. On Friday on its website there were 5,635 mining-related jobs advertised on its site.
Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said there was a greater scope of opportunity in Australia. In times of economic uncertainty, with high costs of living, and wage increases generally lagging inflation, many Kiwis were looking at ways to better their circumstances.
Applications per job ad were also picking up but had not returned to the same degree as they had in New Zealand.
“So the market remains tight, but with healthy signs of candidate activity increasing.”
The victim was backing away when he was hit with a blindside punch.