Kimberley winning investment war but battles liveability
The Kimberley’s diversity of investment pipelines demands quick responses to mounting shortcomings in housing, health facilities, child care and tourism facilities.
A wave of investments in resources, clean energy and agricultural projects across the Kimberley are pioneering new partnerships with traditional land owners, which could mobilise the previously under-utilised Indigenous labour force to help drive economic development across the region.
Kimberley Development Commission chief executive Chuck Berger said while labour supply for the resources, agriculture and tourism sectors continued to be a challenge, investors and Indigenous corporations were now building landmark partnerships that could provide future models for economic development.
“You have a workforce in the Kimberley that is very diverse and a bit under-utilised,” he said.
“A challenge for us is finding and sustaining Aboriginal employment opportunities. But those firms that have invested in that have found that the workforce is very sticky.
“The capacity and sophistication of Aboriginal organisations is really on the uptick. There is a workforce here hungry for employment and commercial partnerships. You have landowners who are willing to engage in that.”
In July, a number of traditional owner groups joined forces with one of Australia’s leading climate change companies to begin construction of a $3bn, 950-megawatt solar farm near Kununurra in the East Kimberley.
The Miriuwung and Gajerrong (MG) Corporation, the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, the Kimberley Land Council and climate change investment group Pollination formed the Aboriginal Clean Energy (ACE) Partnership to deliver the East Kimberley Clean Energy Project.
The foundation of ACE is a landmark equity partnership with traditional owners of the land where the plant will be built.
Chair of the Kimberley Land Council, Anthony Watson, said at the time that the structure of the project partnership was important for the self-determination of Indigenous people.
Mining group Sheffield Resources also confirmed last November that it would proceed with the first stage of its $484m sands mine known as Thunderbird, which is located between Broome and Derby.
The project, which hosts one of the world’s largest high-grade zircon reserves, has set an ambitious goal of having at least 40 per cent of the workforce comprising local Indigenous people.
The American-born and raised Berger, who relocated to Kununurra with his wife in 2016, said the fundamental ongoing economic challenge for the region was utilising the full employment capability of the long-term resident population. Especially given its distinct isolation relative to Australia’s major population centres.
In the East Kimberley, there are currently a dozen resource projects in various stages of development across minerals as diverse as vanadium, gold, nickel, platinum and rare earths.
“You have a whole corridor of stuff that will come online within the next five years and will probably accelerate over the next 10 years,” Berger said.
“Wyndham is already a significant port but I think it will become even more so as these projects come online.”
In May, the Kimberley Cotton Company announced plans to build the state’s first cotton processing plant, which is expected to begin operating in 2025.
According to the Kimberley Development Corporation, the $60m facility has the potential to produce up to 120,000 bales of cotton each year and add $268m to the gross value of agricultural production in the region.
The project sits in the heart of the decades-old Ord River Irrigation area outside Kununurra.
The state government is now investing $80m to expand the main irrigation channel of the Ord River scheme, which will grow the available farmland in the area to some 26,000 hectares.
“What we are seeing in recent years with the Ord is success with corn and now increasingly cotton,” Berger said.
“But not only do you have the cotton fibre for export, the leftover seed is an incredible input to the pastoral sector.”
Three rare earth projects south of the town of Halls Creek also have an overburden of phosphates, offering the potential for fertiliser production from these mining operations contributing to horticultural production around Kununurra.
“There is a rare opportunity to create some fairly sophisticated value chains, with disparate industries feeding into each other. That makes the region’s economy less subject to the tyranny of distance,” Berger said.
However, the Kimberley continues to have ongoing challenges relating to housing, infrastructure, tourism and childcare, especially in the wake of catastrophic flooding in January that inundated thousands of homes and businesses across the region.
The record flood levels saw mass evacuations, the destruction of the Fitzroy River bridge and damage to big sections of major roads such as the Great Northern Highway. It was a huge disruption for the community and the regional economy, which has had a direct flow-on effect into the vital tourism sector.
“The tourism sector this year has taken a bit of a hit. Bookings were down by one third in the first half of the year, but most trips have been deferred to later this year or next year, not cancelled. So we anticipate a big bounce-back,” Berger said.
From an investment perspective, the Kimberley has long enjoyed a world-class reputation for nature-based and cultural tourism and the outback experience.
However, there is still a dearth of four and five-star accommodation offerings in landmark tourism locations such as along the Gibb River Road between Broome and Derby and in the Purnululu National Park, home of the famous Bungle Bungle ranges.
To fill the void, pastoral operators are increasingly looking to diversify into tourism, which is also making its operations more resilient. There are 80 pastoral leases around the region and more operators are looking at so-called diversification leases which allow them to offer camp grounds and pastoral experiences.
Berger said the childcare, aged care and disability care sectors also continued to provide both challenges and opportunities for the region.
In its submission to a current Productivity Commission inquiry into the early childhood education and care sector, community leadership group Regional Development Australia Kimberley (RDAK) described long childcare waitlists and workforce shortages in the region as being “insurmountable”.
“One of the challenges we have here is it is really hard to find child care.” Berger said.
“The existing childcare centres are operating quite below capacity because of workforce challenges. But there is a great demand for health and education.
“They are absolutely critical to unlocking the other economic opportunities.
“Increasingly, governments are coming to the table on this. There is more funding being allocated to ensure we have the childcare and aged care we need. But more needs to be done.”