A community’s guide to best practice local content solutions
Shane CharlesToowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE), 137 Herries Street, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia. Email: shane@tsbe.com.au
The APPEA Journal 57(2) 410-412 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16056
Accepted: 17 March 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
One single coal seam gas (CSG) project can have a big effect on a region. When multiple projects are developed simultaneously, the hurdles for regional businesses to jump are many and varied, and each proponent of a CSG project has their own safety standards, pre-qualification requirements, unique systems and timeframes. This paper will look at the Surat Basin as a target area and provide a synopsis of how CSG projects in the region affected local communities. It will explore how a region with an in-depth knowledge of its own business community can work with proponents and contractors to deliver a better product, at a lower cost, with an arguably better safety record and less community interruption. Collected examples will show how a coordinated approach to local content can provide win–win outcomes for communities and industry.
Keywords: contractors, contracts and procurement, local content, pre-qualification, risk, social licence, Surat Basin.
After a successful career in private practice as a lawyer, Shane Charles is currently the Executive Chairman of Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise Pty Ltd (TSBE), a regional economic development organisation. In addition, he holds a number of other positions, including: Director of Energy Resources Australia Limited; President of the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland; Chairman of Sunrise Way Ltd, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre; Director of AusAsia Exports Pty Ltd. Previous positions held by Shane include Commissioner of the GasFields Commission of Queensland, Chairman of Stanwell Corporation Limited and Chairman of the Endeavour Foundation. |