KIC Committees
Executive
Public Affairs
Public Safety Group
Environment & Planning
Infrastructure Planning
Executive
The KIC Executive provides advice and recommendations to the KIC Board and consists of the President, three Vice-Presidents and the KIC Director.
The Executive meets every two months, alternate to the Board meetings.
COMMITTEES
The majority of the work carried out by KIC transpires in its specialist committees: Infrastructure and Planning; Environment; Kwinana Industries Public Safety; Public Affairs and Communications Advisory Group.
Committee representatives are Full Member company employees with appropriate experience, technical expertise and authority. Members work voluntarily to improve industry operating practices.
KIC would not function without the voluntary involvement of the scores of member company delegates over the years.
KIC STAFF
KIC is staffed by a dedicated team: Director, Chris Oughton; Executive Assistant, Yvonne Noack; and Education Development Officer, Debbie Hoey.
KIC would not function without the voluntary involvement of the scores of member company delegates over the years.
The Executive Committee
Albert Romano
President
Dr Grant Lukey
Vice President
Julie Watson
Vice President
Colin Powers
Vice President
Michael-Glenny
Casual Director
David-Feast
Treasurer
KIC Staff
Chris Oughton
Director
Yvonne Noack
Executive Assistant
Debbie Hoey
Education Development Officer
Kristy Clark
Engagement Officer
PUBLIC AFFAIRS & COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY GROUP
The purpose of the Public Affairs & Communications Advisory Group (PACAG) is to provide strategic advice to the KIC and act as a conduit to member expertise in the areas of public affairs, communications and stakeholder engagement. The group reviews and communicates research findings and assists other KIC committees to inform the broader community on industry initiatives around environmental sustainability, education and training, community health and lifestyle in a collaborative way.
The PACAG has specific functions in:
- Understanding stakeholder perceptions, including media analysis and response;
- Developing and implementing strategic plans;
- Providing advice and direction to KIC on communitybased initiatives, including requests for community investment;
- Identifying value-add opportunities.
Over the years, PACAG has conducted a number of independent community surveys. Findings from these surveys include:
- The community mostly values the coastal lifestyle;
- The benefits the industry brings to the area are mainly employment related.
- Most believe that industry in and around Kwinana has had a positive effect on the community’s well-being.
While the community acknowledged industry’s progress to improve well-being, a clear focus on environmental protection remained the top priority for the future, as it should.
Through formal position papers, the committee continues to raise concerns about issues including the Federal Government’s carbon pricing scheme and the Kwinana Industrial Buffer. In newspaper advertorials the committee maintains a proactive information-sharing campaign, with topics including water conservation, air quality buffer, and public safety initiatives.
Kwinana Industries Public Safety
In 2002, the Kwinana Industries Public Safety Liaison Group (KIPSLG) was established, with the aim of providing a similar cooperative approach on issues relating to community and employee safety, and the environment.
The KIPS objective is to address strategic public safety issues by:
- facilitation of communication between members, neighbours, and the local community on any perceived or real threats to public safety
- ensuring that KIC member companies are managed at the safest practicable level
- maintaining a high level of preparedness to cater for an emergency event having the potential to threaten the safety and health of employees and adjacent industries
- ensuring that neighbours are aware of the appropriate responses and know how to respond to hazards from major hazard facility sites
- reviewing drafts or proclaimed legislation, regulations, and similar codes, which could impact on major hazard facility sites and to give appropriate advice to management; and commenting to original source on regulatory impacts
- shared learnings and information to continuously improve the members’ process safety and operations.
About nine years ago, KIC conceived of a system called PC Cops that would alert the community of a major incident via an automatic telephone alert. Development proved difficult in WA, but has now been achieved interstate, with the system now called State Alert and under the control of the WA Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA). However, KIA members were denied direct access to State Alert. Since an early warning system could prove useful to KIA companies with a serious current issue, the committee successfully lobbied for the decision to deny access to be overturned.
KIMA Members
- Alcoa of Australia, Kwinana
- Avertas Energy
- BHP Kwinana Nickel Refinery
- bp Kwinana
- Cockburn Cement
- Coogee
- Covalent Lithium
- CSBP
- Fremantle Ports
- Kleenheat, KPF
-
Synergy
-
Tianqi Lithium
-
Tronox
-
Water Corporation
Environment & Planning
The Kwinana Industrial Area is Western Australia’s pre-eminent industrial complex with many of its industries recognised as industry leaders in environmental management and environmental performance.
The KIC Environment Committee focuses on facilitating continual improvement in industry performance in the area of environmental management, and engages Government and the community to achieve cooperative outcome based approaches to environment and planning regulation to the benefit of industry and its key stakeholders.
Committee Objectives
The committee’s objective is to provide technical information and advice, based on rigorous scientific research, in support of KIC’s objectives to proactively influence the community and government agencies on environmental and planning matters.
ACHIEVEMENTS & CHALLENGES:
Air Quality
The Committee oversaw KIC’s involvement in the Phase 4 DEC Kwinana Airshed Study through its participation on the Study Advisory Group (KASAG). An interim report was published and the findings presented at the Communities & Industries Forum in April 2012. Further test work is planned to complete the study. Equipment previously located in Midland will be relocated to the Kwinana area and used to monitor ammonia and volatile organic compounds (of particular relevance to KIC members).
The State Department of Health published its final report into the respiratory health of local primary school children. The Committee oversaw KIC’s involvement in this study. The outcomes of the study were presented at the Communities and Industries Forum and communication leaflets were provided to parents of the children who participated in the study. The study indicates no significant difference between children in the Kwinana area, with areas elsewhere in Perth and interstate. A follow up study was recommended to investigate a slightly higher incidence of wheeze in children who lived in Kwinana in their early years. If this study is implemented, the committee will again oversee the KIC involvement.
Noise Management
No further studies were conducted into noise from the KIA.
The long awaited amendments to the Noise Regulations have been delayed again due to insufficient consultation with some stakeholders. The proposed amendments incorporate the request from KIC to declare a special zone for industry-to-industry noise limits. A request for exemption from the existing regulations was put on hold pending the imminent release of the revised regulations.
Water Quality
The release of the Cockburn Sound Management Council annual “State of the Sound” report was delayed (due to internal review). The report again shows that the Sound is in good health and that industry is not causing any detriment to the water body.
Infrastructure Planning
The Infrastructure Planning Committee (IPC) is the most recent addition to KIC’s committee structure. Its purpose is to identify constraints to industry’s competitiveness that can be traced back to inadequate or sub-optimal infrastructure capacity or availability.
The commencement of the IPC coincided with the establishment of the Westport project (evaluation of freight port options (locations and configurations), and so the work of the Committee was put on hold while the Westport project concluded its work. It was considered better to provide the Westport project team with details of industry’s infrastructure needs, and for them to then incorporate these into their planning process.
The reason for this decision was that most of the existing infrastructure constraints are likely to be resolved as an outcome of Westport’s recommended Kwinana port option, and a government decision to proceed with the project, at some point.
Strategic infrastructure projects the IPC was considering included:
- increasing the rail capacity in and around the industrial area
- increasing Outer Harbour port handling and berthage capacity
- finalising the boundary of the industrial buffer zone via a Special Control Area level of protection
- simplifying access to pipeline corridors
- continued opening up of the internal road network for road-train access
- establishing a designated strategic freight highway from the coast eastwards to the Tonkin Highway
- ensure the creation of a multi-agency strategic plan for the development of the Western Trade Coast
From these identified points, it is clear to see that most, if not all, are addressed in the planning for the new freight port in Kwinana.
Contact Us
PO Box 649
Kwinana WA 6966
Tel: (08) 9419 1855
Email: admin@kic.org.au
Contact Us
PO Box 649
Kwinana WA 6966
Tel: (08) 9419 1855
Email: admin@kic.org.au
Acknowledgement of Country
Kwinana Industries Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country, the Nyoongar people and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.