QCoal won’t need to move workers into Glenden by end of March

The Queensland government has walked back a big demand to a major coal company in a bid to give a ‘long term’ future to a mining town.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said his party was giving workers, businesses, the mining industry, and the community a clear and achievable path.

A major coal company won’t need to immediately relocate its workers into a mining town and close down its camp, after the LNP gave it a crucial lifeline.

QCoal was legally obliged to move 10 per cent of its Byerwen Mine workforce into Glenden by the end of the month. Now it will have until 2026 after a successful multimillion-dollar campaign.

Billionaire owner Chris Wallin was accused of a “propaganda crusade” by then-resources minister Scott Stewart when the company fought tooth and nail against moving into Glenden, a mining town two hours west of Mackay with a population of less than 500, according to the 2021 ABS Census.

First built by Swiss company Glencore to host workers, Glenden was legislated to be demolished when it was no longer needed and saved after a campaign to keep it running while the state suffered through a housing crisis.

Aerial view of Glenden, Queensland, a small mining town that was at risk of being demolished.

To keep the town alive, QCoal, the operator of the nearby Byerwen Mine, was to move 100 cent of its workforce into Glenden by 2029.

The majority of its workers are hosted at the Suttor camp, just outside Byerwen, and QCoal would have had to have moved them into Glenden in permanent accommodation, or just outside the town.

That sparked a campaign from QCoal fighting the changes, which has now scored a key win.

It will now need 10 per cent of the workforce in or near Glenden by the end of the year, and 25 per cent of its workers by 2027, pushing both deadlines back by nine months.

It is unclear if the 100 per cent requirement has officially been scrapped yet.

The Crisafulli government has characterised it as a “practical” path for Glenden, including a housing and town infrastructure assessment for future planning, expected to be finished in the coming months.

Billionaire owner Chris Wallin was accused of a “propaganda crusade” by then-resources minister Scott Stewart when the company fought tooth and nail against moving into Glenden

That sparked a campaign from QCoal fighting the changes, which has now scored a key win.

It will now need 10 per cent of the workforce in or near Glenden by the end of the year, and 25 per cent of its workers by 2027, pushing both deadlines back by nine months.

It is unclear if the 100 per cent requirement has officially been scrapped yet.

The Crisafulli government has characterised it as a “practical” path for Glenden, including a housing and town infrastructure assessment for future planning, expected to be finished in the coming months.

QCoal Group Executive James Black said the company had been working with the new State Government on the future of the workers’ camp at the Byerwen mine, and would continue to.

He said he welcomed the announcement their workers and their families would no longer be forced to live in Glenden.

“We are delighted, on behalf of our workers, that the Minister has now publicly committed to permanently retaining the Byerwen mine workers’ camp for the term of the mining lease,” Mr Black said.

“For us it was always about choice, fairness and equity. Why were our workers singled out for this unfair treatment while other nearby mines were allowed to house their workforces in on site camps? Why was saving Glenden the entire responsibility of QCoal and its 800 Byerwen workers?”

Glenden campaign mobile billboard outside Mines Minister Scott Stewart's Townsville office. Picture: Supplied

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said his party was giving workers, businesses, the mining industry, and the community a clear and achievable path.

“Unlike Labor, we won’t play political games with regional Queenslanders’ livelihoods,” Mr Last said.

“Labor imposed conditions on Byerwen Mine without putting in place the critical infrastructure and support needed to make it work. The result? Chaos, uncertainty, and an entire community left in limbo.

“This revised transition timeline gives us time to work with all stakeholders and consider serious issues like housing quality and water security – problems Labor ignored.”

Isaac Regional Council currently supplies water to Glenden, which was voted Australia’s best tasting tap water of 2024.

Without the long-term guarantee of QCoal’s Byerwen workforce moving into Glenden, the state government may need to push other mining companies to take up homes in Glenden.

It is unclear how other coal miners would feel about moving.

Originally published as QCoal won’t need to move workers into Glenden by end of March