We contribute to a smart, sustainable and vibrant Newcastle
Port Waratah is committed to proactively engaging with our stakeholders. We strive to build strong relationships through open, timely and two-way communication and continually improving our engagement methods and activities.
Our engagement approach includes the six-monthly Local Voices Community Survey, quarterly community meetings, direct engagement with portside community groups, industry forums, a 24-hour enquiry line, social media, website enquiry form and tour programme. In 2023, we continued to grow our electronic newsletter subscription and sponsored the NBN News Rewind series.
In 2023, we spent $140.9 million in the Hunter, representing 79.5 per cent of our total spend.
Our Community Investment and Partnership Programme investment increased to $850,000 in 2023 and introduced a new priority area, Partnerships for Reconciliation. The programme supported 125 projects, initiatives and events focused on building capacity, skills and knowledge within local individuals and organisations.
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Role in regional advocacy
Being part of the community involves advocating for Newcastle and the Hunter Region, and we actively participate in regional forums.
Our CEO, Hennie du Plooy, continued his focus on regional development and has been re-elected as a Director of both Business Hunter and Committee for the Hunter, participating in ongoing regional conversations and civic leadership initiatives.
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Site tours return to pre-Covid numbers
Our site tours programme delivered 208 tours with 1380 visitors in 2023, returning visitation to pre-Covid-19 levels of 181 tours and 1461 visitors in 2019. We experienced three years of disruption to the tours programme due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however dedicated resources to promoting the programme has boosted tour numbers this year.
The programme provides a platform for us to engage with customers, industry delegations, social clubs, schools, educational groups and other interested members of the public.
This year, we also took our presentation offsite to engage with community groups, like University of the Third Age (U3A) about our operations, material topics and management systems and community support.
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Scaffconnect Australia – supporting local contractors
Port Waratah undertakes a continuous programme of refurbishing and maintaining our fixed and mobile assets.
To gain safe access to our large-scale infrastructure, specialist scaffolding is often installed prior to the commencement of any work. Scaffconnect is a respected local company who we engage to provide this service.
Based in Newcastle and locally owned and managed, they have a core team of 30 employees. Some of which have been working onsite at Port Waratah on maintenance tasks and projects for over 20 years. In 2023, they performed 177, 000 hours of work incident free.
Our ability to work safely high above the ground, over water and across rails lines is possible due the specialist access solutions Scaffconnect build for Port Waratah.
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Contractor forums
As part of our Contractor Management Framework, we host six-monthly open forums to engage with our contracting workforce and suppliers to discuss a broad range of safety and business-related topics, including legislative and system updates.
This approach is an invaluable way to build relationships and make connections across our contracting workforce and suppliers to discuss and share information.
We also recognise outstanding contractor contribution, safety performance and procurement excellence each year. The 2023 award recipients were Downer Projects Services Team, Tambak Electrical and Statewide Bearings.
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Technology boost for Seafarers
This year, a collaborative in-house technology project improved reliability and simplified access to free Wi-Fi for seafarers onboard vessels berthed at Port Waratah. The customised protective case for the new units enables reliable internet connectivity and extends the use of the asset. Connectivity to reach families and friends overseas supports visiting seafarer welfare.
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New programmes with Newcastle High School
Port Waratah was pleased to support two new programmes at Newcastle High School in 2023, under the Partnerships for Reconciliation priority area of the Community Investment and Partnership Programme.
Yamamalinko (to lead) was a 12-month bespoke cultural and support programme for First Nation girls in Year 7-12. It involves cultural activities designed to strengthen cultural connections and the students’ capacity to engage with schooling. The group sessions and mentoring supports social skills and establishes connections between students, and the teaching staff. More than 50 students were supported and mentored through the programme.
The Write It Right! Programme involved more than 20 Year 8 First Nations students. The successful programme aims to create strong relationships, provide On Country learning experiences and enhanced cultural knowledge, while also empowering students to focus on literacy and learning development. There were 10 cultural experiences throughout the year, and students were mentored to use these experiences as inspiration for literacy outcomes. Feedback from the students, families and teachers was extremely positive.
