Hedland councillors clash over workforce accommodation, slap down Campbell Transport’s use of detention centre

Traffic safety, social responsibility and the impact on the housing market were at the forefront of concerns as Town of Port Hedland councillors butted heads over a proposed workforce accommodation redevelopment at the old Hedland detention centre.

The proposal by haulage company Campbell Transport for the use of the historic Port Hedland detention centre as workforce accommodation was sent back to the drawing board after concerns were raised at the March 29 council meeting.

Paramount to those concerns was the impact the development could have on safety in the largely residential area, as well as a perceived lack of contribution to the local community from Campbell Transport.

Cr Jan Gillingham supported the proposal, saying the area had been left “derelict” for more than a decade and needed development.

“My father was a shift supervisor at the old single person’s quarters in 1975. It was a wonderful area of town and was an amazing way of getting workers into our town,” she said.

“Aside from making a derelict part of town beautiful again, this proposal will help us address accommodation shortages with the 40 rental properties that will go back to market — this is desperately needed, as many of you will know.”

Cr Tim Turner spoke against the proposal and called for a more detailed plan outlining how Campbell Transport would tackle safety and traffic issues, as well as a more significant contribution to the community from the company.

The company had proposed contributing $66,000 for community infrastructure.

“I think $66,000 is a really insignificant contribution, given the benefit the company would receive from approval,” Cr Turner said.

“We should be receiving a much more substantial contribution — one that isn’t just a one-off, but perhaps an annual contribution.”

Cr Elmar Zielke said while he would like to see local businesses supported, he was concerned about the growth of workforce accommodation in the town in recent years.

“A lot of camps keep saying that they’re going to integrate their people, but I don’t actually ever see that happening myself,” he said.

“It tends to be people coming in, going out to work and then going back to camp.”

The vote on the proposal was tied 4-4 before mayor Peter Carter used his deciding vote to send the application back to the drawing board.

“I think in general there has been a positive response to this project and Campbell’s have worked hard to ensure they are doing the right thing,” he said.

“But it’s not quite there. There are a few more things councillors would like to see put in place before we approve this project.”

The North West Telegraph understands a special council meeting could be held as early as the end of this week, with a revised proposal expected to be provided.

The site at 15 Dempster Street was originally built as workforce accommodation for Mt Newman Mining Company (now BHP) in the early 1970s before being taken over by the Australian Government in 1991 and converted into a detention centre for refugees escaping civil war in Cambodia.

It was Australia’s first immigration detention facility and was used until 2001 when the Australian Government signed the Pacific Solution, which allowed illegal immigrants to be detained in centres outside of Australia, including Christmas Island and Nauru.

It became a contentious site, with protests both peaceful and violent and escape attempts by detainees.

The site was decommissioned in 2007 and leased by now-collapsed Auzcorp — controlled by Pilbara entrepreneur Haniff Kassim — which refurbished it to open commercial accommodation facility Beachfront Village.

The site has been dormant since 2012.