……..  The only trouble is there is no one out there to take the Gain

Hassall’s auction yard in Somerset Road in the GIA is filled with the misfortunes of those closely linked with the mining resources sector.

Crane Truck Arriving to Help Disassembly of Drilling Rigs

A quick look at the yard in Rockhampton today revealed  6 massive Drilltech and Brandrill   water drills that have been lamenting in the back corner, now being disassembled by Ausdrill the former owners, transmissions and engines robbed out of them and the rest of the mighty beasts are being scrapped.  A tragedy – these drills new are in the vicinity of  4.5 million dollars each, no longer needed and no one else wants them.

Just some of the 4000 Fencing Panels at Hassalls Auction Centre

Spread in all corners of the yard are 4000 (that’s right, 4000)  fence panels from the gas fields.   Stationery gas-powered engines built by Roma  Diesel Services, are lined up with new owners buying engines that cost over $100,000 each,  for $1,500.  Some have never been used.   In 2011 the company from Roma  was bought out for  5.059 million dollars by Texan firm Compressco.  In September 2012, the Company decided to discontinue their manufacturing arm in Roma.    This  backs up what is being seen right across the resources sector as the big end business sector has no hesitation in shutting its doors overnight.

Gas Powered Engines Manufactured  Roma Diesel Services (now closed down)

At the last Hassall’s auction in the GIA, 200 galvanised steel shelving systems to hold core samples were auctioned and practically given away, complete with the core samples – an obvious indication that the company concerned had no intention of continuing their operation.

Just some of the Mining Equipment Looking for New Owners

Heavy Cat  machinery,trucks and dozers sit idle,  facing the setting sun – no one wants them.

Rental cars from mining towns where the rental car companies have faced the wall, wait for new owners by tender.   They are joined by rows of company vehicles, whose drivers no longer have a job

While Hassalls business of auctioning used and new equipment has a vastly higher stock listed for auction and tender than ever before, there are no cashed up buyers out there to take advantage of the enormous bargains available.

A drive through Paget reveals just how serious this resources decline is,  it is not a dip, it is a serious adjustment to a boom that no longer and probably in our worker’s lifetime won’t be seen again.    Major companies  you would never expect to close down, have abandoned Paget, not chased out by Council which earlier  welcomed them with open arms, but chased out by ‘no incoming work’ and the high costs of their initial set up of unstainable enormous show room like businesses.

Workshops larger than the  GIA’s Toll depot lie idle, empty, silent.

Streets formed and new empty sheds show the state of the resources sector.   They have no hope of finding tenants.

In the GIA, while new businesses have set up this year in Somerset Road,  Council needs to work  with small to medium sized businesses who are best prepared to cope in a downturn because they don’t have over the top show room like premises, their overheads are lower, their turnover is less but they can survive.    If expectations are raised for the GIA to have glitzy premises and specific site requirements, then there will be businesses leaving the GIA,  unable to meet the ridiculous regulations being asked of them.

Big Wheels Prior to Opening in Somerset Road in July 2014

The last thing in this very serious downturn is for small to medium sized businesses  to be driven out  of town, back to depots in towns that have made their operation sustainable and welcomed them.  Many returning from the resources sectors, not by choice need a thriving industrial area in which to find jobs.  We do not need  businesses shutting their doors and their staff  made redundant.   This has serious ramifications throughout the region.

Excesses  in all things are unsustainable in today’s economy.