Transcript: Interview with Nikki Macqueen, president, Millmerran Commerce and Progress Association
Annie Gaffney (Presenter): The small western Queensland town of Millmerran’s population is set to increase by 50 per cent when a work camp is established nearby to house hundreds of workers set to come to town to build a new large-scale solar farm near Millmerran. I’m wondering how businesses are set to take advantage of the temporary boost and how they view the development in their patch. Genex Power has been given the green light by the Toowoomba Regional Council to build the new temporary workers accommodation on a 27 hectare parcel, which is along the Milmerran-Cessel Plains Road. It’s about two ks outside the main town and this facility essentially means that construction can start then on the 775 megawatt Bulli Creek solar farm which was approved 10 years ago. Nikki Macqueen is the president of the Millmerran Commerce and Progress Association. Nikki, good afternoon. Tell us about the town of Millmerran and your connection to it. I understand you had a very strong connection.
Nikki Macqueen: Yes, good afternoon. Thank you for having me on. I do have a very strong connection. My husband was one of the last born in the Millmerran Hospital a number of years ago. And so we are currently, my children are fourth generation on our farm. And yeah, we’re certainly connected and we love living here.
Annie Gaffney: What kind of farm do you have?
Nikki Macqueen: We do cattle. We have breeders and we grow cattle out to about 400 kilos where we sell them to feedlots.
Annie Gaffney: Now, this solar farm was approved 10 years ago. So the idea has been kicking around, I imagine, in the community for all of that time. What’s the general vibe about the project in your view, Nikki?
Nikki Macqueen: Well, that’s the thing. It’s been going for quite some time. People thought that it had run its course. It wasn’t actually going to go ahead. And just in the last year or so it’s really made a comeback. We’ve had community meetings. Genex has had a couple of community meetings. They’ve got another one scheduled for July where they’ve asked, you know, people to come together and they’ll answer any questions that they have. So people sort of are a bit surprised by it, I suppose, but it has been around for a while.
Annie Gaffney: What are the main kind of questions do you think that people want to ask about the project?
Nikki Macqueen: Well, how it’s going to affect them, I think. You know, we’re a small country town of about 2,000 people. So this is going to, with this influx of 800 for the workers’ camp, is going to change things dramatically. Currently, we are, well, we were only a one policeman town. We’ve now got two. We’re lobbying for a third. You know, our medical facilities only cater for, you know, the population that we have at the moment. So that’s, and, you know, the ambulance, there’s a lot of things to consider when you bring extra people into the town. And we’re working, well, commerce is working very hard and being proactive in this space to try and rectify that.
Annie Gaffney: How do you think the town could take advantage of that big boost to the population? I can understand what you’re saying, there’s a lot to consider about the kind of resources that the town has and its ability to actually service workers in that kind of number, 800 additional workers coming to the town if they want to see a doctor, et cetera, as you said. But how do you think the town could also take advantage of their presence?
Nikki Macqueen: Well, I’m hoping that we’re going to be able to get that extra police presence in town and also to, well, Genex has committed to employing another GP for the duration of the camp in town um so that’s going to add a lot there and they’ve also there’s community benefit schemes that you know they’re going to put forward so there will be some infrastructure built and some things in Millmerran. People will be able to make projects that they had only dreamed about before. Yeah, the community will come together in that space, I think.
Annie Gaffney: Are there jobs in this project for locals too?
Nikki Macqueen: Well, they’re saying there is. They’re saying that locals will be employed. But, you know, currently we have a workforce shortage. There’s people, some of our businesses in town are crying out for staff. So it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens here, how many people will be employed and who’s going to put their hand up.
Annie Gaffney: What kind of jobs might be going? Have you heard any advice from Genex about that?
Nikki Macqueen: Yeah, well, there’s going to be people who are going to be, you know, putting the solar panels together out at the project. And also there’ll be domestics and cooks and all sorts of people in the camp. They do have a contractor in to build it. They’ve already decided who’s going to do that. And they’ll be coming in and out from Toowoomba. But there’ll certainly be jobs once the camp is built to keep it running.
Annie Gaffney: Some of the things that have been promised, I understand, for the town through Genex, like the redevelopment of a civic green space, Domville Place, a new solar system out at the Millmerran Golf Club, and I think it was $400,000 towards Millmerran State School and pledges to maximise local spending. None of that couldn’t really be conditioned by council as part of its approval for the workers’ camp. So how hopeful are you that whatever Genex promised the town, that they will actually deliver on that?
Nikki Macqueen: Well, we are speaking with Genex very closely. Like, we’ve been so proactive in this space to make sure that Millmerran is going to be looked after. There needs to be some legacies left behind, you know, with all this happening. It’s going to change our town so much. So there needs to be something there that we’re going to be able to say, well, you know, this is from when the solar project was built. And they’re saying that it will happen. And what you’re talking about is stage one. So there’s four stages to this project. So there will be, you know, further funding and further resources available. So Genex comes to our commerce meetings. We have a meeting once a month and they are present at those meetings to answer any questions and to give us updates on where the project is at the moment.
Annie Gaffney: What’s your understanding, Nikki, of the overall timeframe of the construction of the camp and the completion of the solar farm itself?
Nikki Macqueen: They’re talking a 10-year… There’s going to be… The camp will be operational for 10 years. So then they’re talking 15 years of the, I think this is right, like you’re going to have to ask Genex, but I think it’s 15 years of the actual project, the lifespan of the project, and then, yeah, so with the capacity to go longer.
Annie Gaffney: And there could be, I understand, some kind of energy rebates out of this project for households. What do you know about that?
Nikki Macqueen: Yeah, so this is something that Genex has devised themselves. So they listened, this is what I’ve been told, they’ve listened to what the community has come back to them saying. You say that you’re going to generate all this power right on our doorstep and what do we get out of it. We all pay a lot of money for our electricity so they’ve gone away and come back with let me get this right so it’s $300 per stage for the life of the project so it’s it’ll be for per year and that’s with a 4357 postcode so you’ll have to apply for it and so that $300 is designed to go towards your electricity costs. So by the end of the project when the four stages are up and running there’ll be a $1,200 rebate available.
Annie Gaffney: When is the next community meeting over the project, Nicky?
Nikki Macqueen: Well they say that’s it in July. We have a meeting, a commerce meeting in 18th, I think it’s the 18th of July, the third Wednesday of June, sorry, the third Wednesday of the month. And I know that there’s going to be representatives of Genex at that meeting to give us an update. And then the community meeting is in July sometime. I don’t think they’ve got a date yet, but when they do, we’ll certainly be advertising it. And we encourage everyone to come along to those meetings because that’s how you find out the information. There’s no point in reading about it on Facebook or having a chat online about it because that’s just hearsay. Actually if you want to know something you’re going to have to go and source the information.
Annie Gaffney: Well it certainly sounds like a game changer for Millmerran on a number of fronts. Thanks so much for telling me about it, Nicky. Appreciate it.
Nikki Macqueen: You’re very welcome. Thanks for having me.
Annie Gaffney: Nikki Macqueen, the president of the Millmerran Commerce and Progress Association there. And if you live in Millmerran, you want to let me know what you think about the big boost coming to your population, 1300 903 222 or 0487 993 222 to send me a text. What do you reckon you’d like to see come out of that big solar project and the added boost to your population over several months? It’s going to be years, really, isn’t it? While that project is under construction, let me know. 1300 903 222 and 0487 993 222 to text.