It’s always a very exciting time to be moving into August and looking forward to attending the annual Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
It’s not overstating things to say that the attention of the global mining and resources community turns to the WA Goldfields for Diggers. This year’s event will have a record of more than 2600 attendees, which is a testament to not only borders being reopened but the huge level of local, national and international interest in the WA mining and resources sector.
There is a diversity of commodities and operations represented across a variety of jurisdictions. But one of the things I’m particularly looking forward to is hearing from Dr Dambisa Moyo, who is a Zambian-economist and public policy thinker of global renown. Dr Moyo also happens to be Diggers & Dealers’ first ever female keynote speaker, which is a great pointer to the ever-growing focus on diversity and inclusion more broadly across our industry.
On a related note, as part of the work CME is doing in the safe and respectful behaviours space, we recently finished work on a set of Industry Expectations that is applicable to work-adjacent settings like major conferences and industry events. It reflects the best-practice work being undertaken by CME’s Safe and Respectful Behaviours Working Group and outlines both expectations for employers and the responsibilities of employees. CME appreciates the commitment by the organisers of Diggers & Dealers to make all events at the Goldfields Arts Centre inclusive and I’m very confident that attendees will set the right standard with their behaviour.
I know many of you will be aware that CME published this week an update on the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Sexual Harassment Against Women In the FIFO Mining Industry. While our response to all of the wide-ranging recommendations contained in the Enough is Enough report remains a work in progress and stands to be formally responded to by the WA Government in due course, we felt it was important to provide a public update on what industry has progressed to date.
Significantly, those achievements make it clear that our safe and respectful behaviours journey started before the Inquiry and will continue long after its completion.
In line with that, CME was grateful for the opportunity this week to host an event this week with Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins as the keynote speaker. We’re very appreciative of the time Commissioner Jenkins afforded us and the insights she provided into not just her ground-breaking Respect@Work report but also the challenges facing the WA mining and resources sector. I’d also like to thank our other discussion panel members, Parliamentary Inquiry Chair and Deputy Leader of the WA Liberal Party Libby Mettam MLA, and Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive Iron Ore Simon Trott.
With a diverse crowd of more than 450 people in attendance, I think the event reflected our sector’s commitment to eliminate unacceptable behaviour and provide safe and inclusive workplaces for all of its 156,000-plus employees.
