The coal mining industry had 321,300 Australians employed as of May this year. And among those three hundred thousand plus are some of the most passionate people you’ll ever meet.
Loan Luu is a Risk & Internal Audit Manager with New Hope Group based in Brisbane. She has been with the business for the last seven years, after taking time off work to raise her beautiful family.
She said she was thrilled when New Hope gave her the opportunity to get back into the workforce.
“New Hope were willing to accept a part time accountant and I was thrilled. I was very ready to come back to work and make a contribution and it was New Hope who gave me that opportunity.
“I remember at the time the recruiters I spoke to told me I should look beyond the local heavy industry I was employed in previously and I’m glad I did!
“I haven’t been in the industry for very long and being exposed to different parts of the business over the last seven years has been quite a learning experience. Coal is an important part of our economy not just through the sales revenue that it generates but also through direct and indirect employment of people in regional communities.
“I love going to site and the interaction with people out there – the leaders I get to work with are working hard to support the communities around which they operate. Coal makes a huge contribution to our economy and our communities, especially the communities that have been built around mining.”
It’s those interactions with people out on mine sites that has shown Loan just how passionate they are.
“There are many types of people who work in the industry and passionate is a word I would use to describe them – they’re just a good bunch of people who are really good at what they do, and they’ve been doing it for a long time. They say it as it is.”
Loan added that it’s that passion that is reflected in Coal Australia’s message.
“I think Coal Australia’s message is a reflection of the people who work in the industry. In my experience a lot of good people work in this industry, they are honest, straight talking, they just talk plainly so I think in that respect it’s been reflected in the approach that Coal Australia has adopted.
“I think they are a needed voice to balance out the conversations that we’re having around our path to transition and the potential impacts to our communities. I think a lot of the things that I have heard in the past don’t paint a balanced view about what needs to be done and the realities that we live in. I think the group really advocates for industry and it reminds people of the significant contribution that it makes to the economy, and I think is an important part of our path to transition.”
| Loan’s story isn’t unusual, it’s a story that we hear from so many people living and working in coal mining communities right across Australia. Reach out if you want to share your story or join the coal community and help forge Australia’s future at www.coalaustralia.com |
