NRGGOS Welcomes New General Manager John Abbott
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A.C.N 061 519 275 April 2014
NRGGOS Welcomes New General
Manager John Abbott
Greetings to all of the Gladstone Power Station After four years with Orica, I moved up the road to the
community, and thank you all for the warm welcome I challenge of the Shale Oil Project (I think that was
have received since starting here a few weeks ago. For when the grey hairs started!).
the folk that don’t know me, I thought I would give the
For the last eight years I was working for Fluor, one of
GladRag a brief Bio’.
the World’s largest Engineering, Construction and
In early 1979 I started work with the Queensland Maintenance companies. That role gave me the
Electricity Generating Board as a Graduate Mechanical opportunity to visit and work in plants and operations
Engineer. After stints in the Brisbane head office with around Australia and South East Asia, and bring a
the Generation Planning group and the Scientific huge range of experience to my new role at NRGGOS.
Services Group, I ventured north to the new Gladstone
I look forward to meeting all of you over the next few
Power station in 1980. Remember 1980? This was the
weeks. I also look forward to the challenges ahead in
year The Empire Strikes Back was released, and the
these difficult economic times, and an ever changing
Village People topped the charts. Thirty four years later
electricity market.
– here I am, back here again! You can’t imagine the
feeling of déjà vu, especially as I have been greeted by Be safe, and look after your mates!
so many who were also here in the early 80’s.
John A
I was with the Electricity Industry for a little over seven
years. After Gladstone Power Station, I spent
three years at Tarong Power Station during its early
days. I then went south, and spent three years based in
Sale working for Esso on the Bass Strait oil and Gas
Platforms. You have to be a special sort of person to
work off-shore, and combined with the “once a
Queenslander, always a Queenslander”. So after three
years, with the growing family in tow we headed back to
Gladstone, this time to work at Queensland Alumina.
I filled many different roles at QAL and after seven years
on site, I was seconded to Brisbane for the Comalco
Alumina Project, and was in the team that chose
Gladstone as the site for the new refinery. When that
project stalled for a while, the pull of Gladstone as my
adopted home once again lead me to return and take up John, his wife Ann-Maree and his two daughters Anja, 11 and Naija, 3.
the role as site manager for Orica at Yarwun.
Page 1
Clean Up Australia Day
Fifteen people donned gloves and swung a bag over their
shoulder to take part in this years Clean Up Australia Day. They
started out on Port Curtis Way and then travelled down Blain
Drive, Phillip Street, Breslin Street and finally Derby Street.
Superintendent of Health, Environment and Community Paul
Van der List said that the most common items of rubbish that the
team picked up were coffee cups, sandwich containers, cans
and plastic bottles. After a hard days work the team relaxed and
had a barbeque and a well deserved cold drink at Lions Park.
This was the twenty-third year that GPS has participated in this
event that aims to make people more aware of the environment,
the need to recycle and to reduce their amount of waste.
Ulysses Toy Run
A number of NRG employees were among a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who took to the streets in December 2013
for the Ulysses Motorcycle Club Gladstone Annual Toy Run.
The Toy Run is held in order to raise funds and donate good quality toys to the Salvation Army who distribute them to
Gladstone’s needy.
Departing from the Tondoon Botanic Gardens, the group made their way along Toolooa St, through the CBD, Hanson
Rd, Red Rover Rd and Kirkwood Rd before making their way back to the Botanic Gardens where the toys and
donations were collected by the Salvation Army.
NRG’s Training and Development Officer and member of the Gladstone Ulysses Club Alan O’Rourke, said that the
Gladstone Ulysses Club has organised the Toy Run for the past 20 years. ‘It is a privilege to be able to support the
Salvation Army and the great work they do in the Community,’ he said.
This is the first year that NRG has participated in the event, donating $200 towards the appeal.
In total, about $2900 was raised by Gladstone Ulysses and donated to the Salvation Army. The money raised included
donations, proceeds from a raffle and profits from a sausage sizzle.
Page 2
Farewell Lindsay Prizeman
Lindsay Prizeman left high school in grade 12 in 1972
with the ambition to start a career as an accountant. He
commenced work at Hungerford, Spooner & Kirkhope’s
Goondoon Street office. However, his stint as an
accountant only lasted for three months before Lindsay
decided this wasn’t for him. Although short, it is thought
that his time as an accountant was why ‘Linds’ was
always on time and on budget.
In 1972, Lindsay applied to QAL as an apprentice
electrician, where he stayed until the end of his
apprenticeship. His last couple of months at QAL were
spent on strike, which left him unable to leave during a
strike period.
Lindsay began two years work for James Watt Electrical Lindsay receiving a gift from Production Manager Tim Danby.
in 1976 as a contractor on the construction of the
Gladstone Power Station. Once again, he was just in time This was a big change for Lindsay, as he was now
for the Terry Menagrove strike, which saw him out of work looking after the Overhauls, Plant Service
for 3 months. That was a pretty lean year for Lindsay! Employees, Brad Maitland, Col Johnson, Fire
Systems, Production Training and Sciences, as well
During his time as a contractor at GPS he installed the as being involved in High Voltage Switching
light and power circuits on the boilers and helped build the operations and managing the integrity of the HV
Bauldercomb switch gear. systems.
At the end of 1977, Lindsay started work with the At the same time, Lindsay also took on the role as
Queensland Electricity Generator Board as an Electrical the Chairman of the Qld Generators PTW Committee
Fitter Mechanic in the main workshop, working for Claude for four years.
Powe. The draw card for taking this job was that work
started at 8.00am and finished at 4.00pm each day. In 2005 Lindsay, Ken Harris and a number of
Electricians were also responsible for looking after the operators implemented the new PAS system and
transmission switchyards in Gin Gin as well as in helped to develop the database.
Gladstone and maintaining the QEGB homes in the
Gladstone area. Lindsay was often surprised after taking over the
supervision of the Plant Service Employees by the
In late 1978, Lindsay applied to be an operator at GPS broad scope and coverage of their work and the
doing the old eight hour night, day and afternoon shifts extensive experiences they had. Lindsay remembers
each for seven days straight. He trained to be an when there was a boiler outage and the Plant
Auxiliary Plant Attendant and two years later trained to be Service Employees were required to clean the
a Unit Controller. Lindsay was then working as a Relief internals in the swinging boat to knock down the
Shift worker, only to find out this wasn’t always a walk in clinker build up. This was new and very capably
the park. Lindsay recalls coming in on an afternoon shift, done but these days this is all taken care of by
only to be told he wasn’t needed and to come back later contractors.
that night for night shift.
“I have enjoyed the variety that the role has offered
As an Auxiliary Plant Attendant, Lindsay worked on a and will miss the chocolate fridge”, joked Lindsay.
number of Overhauls, and was heavily involved with the We are sure chocolate sales will drop now.
Permit to Work System, which led to the new Outage Co-
Ordinator Role in 1995. The infamous ”F” troop was Lindsay has been a vital part of the Production Work
formed and the new Day Operations crew operated Group and will be missed. He and Jenny are going
mainly in the back outage room. to travel with their new caravan, and are heading off
to Tasmania in September. They plan to travel
In 2001, Mark Moran who was the Day Operations around Australia and overseas next year.
Superintendent at the time, changed roles to be the new
Production Manager and Lindsay applied and secured the NRGGOS wishes Lindsay and his family all the best
position as the new Superintendent of Day Ops. for the future.
Page 3
Rec Club Members Tee off for a Weekend at Coolwaters
The weekend of the 22nd-
23rd March saw 31 adults
and 10 kids have a great
time at Coolwaters Holiday
Village at Kinka Beach near
Yeppoon. Fine weather
ensured the new water
theme park and swimming
pool was enjoyed by
everyone who went along.
Eight golfers hit off for nine
holes for a laugh a minute
at Emu Park golf course on
Saturday afternoon.
Saturday night
entertainment was provided
by Bush Poet Bob Pacey,
after which Ged Carter
cranked up his ‘Simply
Ged’ Karaoke music that
got all the adults and kids
up and singing along.
Backing group the ‘3
Supremes’ helped the
karaoke singers. Rec club
member Rod Brown said
that he was surprised at the
talent that the karaoke
machine brought out.
Congratulations to Rec
Club committee members
Phil ‘Mung’ Hayne, Mick
Chadwick and Rod Brown
for putting on a top spread
at the camp kitchen. Also
thank you to everyone else
who helped out over the
weekend, much
appreciated. Lots of photos
were taken by Ron
Williams to remind us of
how good a time we had.
See you all next year,
Mick Chadwick.
Page 4
25 Years for Jeff Clifton
Mechanical Fitter Jeff Clifton celebrated joining the 25 Year Club
th
on the 10 of January. Jeff was born in Biloela but moved to
Gladstone when he was five and has lived here ever since. After
leaving school, he began his apprenticeship as a mechanical
fitter at GPS. Jeff remembers having to ride his push bike from
his house in Clinton to work when he first started his
apprenticeship as he didn’t have his license yet. He used to ride
through Callemondah, across the train tracks and past the coal
stockpiles. Jeff has had a number of bosses since starting at
GPS. He started work under the likes of Rick Thomason and
Peter Wendt, and has had around nine bosses over the years.
Jeff has worked in a number of areas at GPS. He has worked in
the fuel crew, pulverisers, machine shop pulverisers and coal
plant, but has recently started looking after fire systems. Jeff is
really enjoying his current project dealing with fire systems and
says it has been the best project he has worked on so far, but
says all the crews have been really good. Jeff has also done bits
and pieces of shift work over the years in the mills and the
machine shop.
The highlights of working at GPS for Jeff have been the Jeff has taken on various additional roles at GPS. He was in
barbeques and the old Rec Club happy hours down at the Young the fire team for a couple of years before it changed to fire and
Aus – especially the hamburgers they used to cook up. “All the rescue. He has also been a safety advisor and was involved in
people I’ve met over the years that have helped me out along the the making of the job check book. His latest role has been as a
way, there’s always somebody to give you a hand. That’s union delegate, which he took on about a year ago. He said
probably what I like the most – there’s always someone to give this position has been good but also a bit challenging. Jeff is
you a hand”, said Jeff when asked what he has enjoyed the most also a member of the Rec Club and tries to attend all of the
about working at GPS. “All the people that trained me up when I events held.
was an apprentice and when I was a young tradesman, all those
Outside of work Jeff likes to go for a fish and is currently fixing
people that helped me out – so big thanks to them”.
up his boat. “I’m getting a new floor done in it and I might take
Times haven’t changed too much for Jeff, he says there’s still the kids out to Yellow Patch to try, so yeah I’m doing a bit of
heaps of the tradies around at GPS that trained him as a young boating now, I did a bit of motor biking years ago’. Jeff also
apprentice such as Dave Hoffman and Mick Chadwick. “There’s tries to take his kids camping when he can in his recently
not as many as there used to be though, obviously”. purchased caravan. His only problem is time. “Just spending
too much time at work now, need more holidays – more
Jeff has been with GPS since beginning his working career holidays and more money, that’d be nice”. Dedicated dad, Jeff
twenty-five years ago. When asked why he has never left GPS, takes his ten year old girl and seven year old boy to play sport
Jeff said, ‘Because it’s a really good job and you know what you on weekends. He watches them and supports them, and of
have to do when you get to work and money isn’t always great course pays their fees. “Because the kids are still little they still
but you know, you can always go and get bigger money want to do things with mum and dad so that’s good, so most of
somewhere else but you don’t know how long it’ll be there for. my afternoons and weekends are just spent with the kids –
Whereas people always need power – people aren’t buying that’s why I need more time off. More money, more time off – I’ll
things that have less power. They’re buying air conditioners, and tell the boss that’, jokes Jeff.
more fridges and more computers. So yeah that’s probably why
I’ve stayed because it’s been good, really couldn’t complain. Since Jeff began work on the fire systems he has taken on the
Good people to work with, you know there’s the odd challenges, role as a mentor to second year apprentices. He usually has
the odd people challenges but you get through them, that’s going four apprentices under his wing throughout the year. Jeff
to be the same wherever you go”. mentors one apprentice at a time and they rotate every three
months. “They’re a laugh a minute, they’re prime, and they’re
As well as enjoying his job here at GPS, Jeff has stayed in the keeping me young. I think it’s good because it’s one on one
Gladstone region in order to be close to all his family that live in too, a lot different compared to when they’re in the crews and
the area. Jeff also loves the draw of a regional town, he says hopefully I can teach them something that the tradies taught
he’s no city person. “I couldn’t live in the city, couldn’t pay me to. me years ago when I was an apprentice – hopefully. They are
They’re nice to visit and go to, yes, but I couldn’t live there. really good, they’re tops”. Jeff says working by himself with just
There’s concrete everywhere – they’re just full of concrete one apprentice can however get a little bit quiet. “You miss out
buildings”. on all the goss, so you’ve gotta go and find the goss!”
Page 5
Apprentices Begin Their
Careers at NRG
On the 28th of January, seven new
apprentices kick started their
working careers at NRG.
The new apprentices are Sam
Powell, Ben Dingle, Luke
Freeman (Electrical), Zak Karran,
Jack Cameron, Jack Pashley
(Mechanical) and Jack Lingard
(Fabrication). This year 277
people applied for apprenticeships
with NRG, out of those 48 were
interviewed (22 Electrical, 20
Mechanical & 6 Fabrication) and 7
were employed.
The apprentices’ initial training will
focus on ensuring they have a
basic level of skills with a focus on
safe work practices. This provides
The new first year apprentices are (back L-R) Zak Karran, Jack Lingard, Jack Pashley,
a lead into further skills
Jack Cameron, (front L-R) Ben Dingle, Sam Powell and Luke Freeman.
development via on the job
training in NRG’s maintenance
workgroups. NRG Training and Development Specialist, Steve Ebenestelli said that
NRG remains committed to providing opportunities for the regions
Each apprentice will be assigned
youth by offering apprenticeship training in the Electrical,
to a responsible superintendent
Instrumentation, Mechanical Fitting and Fabrication fields. “This
who will oversee their
commitment to training our youth is an investment that has benefits for
development at NRG. Mentors in
both the power station and the community in general by helping to
each workgroup along with
provide a skilled workforce for the future”, said Steve.
assistance from the maintenance
workforce will provide the “NRG apprentices are provided with a fabulous opportunity to develop
technical skills to allow the their skills in a very supportive and diverse work environment. They are
apprentices to become successful encouraged to strive to be the best they can be and to adopt life-long
tradespeople. learning values. This is the start of their life journey into the workforce
and these apprenticeships provide solid foundations for this journey,
The apprentices are placed in a
irrespective of where their careers may take them”, added Steve.
rotational program, which sees
them placed in various The induction of the seven new apprentices brings the total number of
maintenance sections throughout apprentices on site at Gladstone Power Station to 34. This is the thirty-
their apprenticeships to gain a ninth year that GPS has taken on apprentices to provide the Gladstone
wide range of skills by completing region with highly skilled tradespersons. Since the power station
allocated work in each section. opened in 1976, 483 apprentices have completed their training at GPS.
Page 6
Meet Our New Apprentices
Sam Powell – Electrical Apprentice Luke Freeman – Electrical
Apprentice
Born in Bundaberg, Sam always wanted to
be a fire fighter when he grew up. He Luke was born in Bunbury, WA and
attended Kin Kora Primary School and as a child he wanted to be an
Toolooa High. He completed work electrician (he is living the dream!).
experience at NRG, Cement Australia, He attended Karratha Primary
Gladstone Port Authority and JTB Electech School and Biloela High School. He
Services. Sam worked at KFC during high has previous work experience at CS
school. The best things his parents taught Energy. Luke enjoys fishing,
him were how to drive and how to shoot. camping and hanging out with his
Sam enjoys camping, four wheel driving mates. His favourite way to spend
and shooting. His favourite holiday was to his hard earned dollars is by
America. If money were no object he would travelling. The best thing his parents
live in Texas. Sam spends his hard earned taught him was to work hard towards
dollars on his car. his goals. Luke worked at Teys
Brothers before starting at NRG. His
Ben Dingle – Electrical Apprentice favourite holiday was to Airlie Beach.
Ben was born in Bundaberg and attended
Lowmead State Primary School and
Tannum Sands High. He has had previous Jack Pashley – Mechanical
work experience at Ergon Energy and Apprentice
QAL. The best thing his parents taught him
was how to shoot. When he was younger Jack was born on the Sunshine
he wanted to be a police officer. Ben Coast and attended Windaroo
played Rugby League for the Primary School, before moving to
Tannum/Boyne Seagulls and rides BMX. Benaraby Primary in grade two. He
His favourite holiday was to the Gold Coast then attended high school at Chanel
for schoolies. Ben enjoys camping and four Catholic College. He completed work
wheel driving. He spends his hard earned experience at QAL, Monadelphous,
dollars on his Landcruiser. Gladstone Port Authority and
Fluidrive. Jack is a member of the
Zak Karran – Mechanical Apprentice Gladstone Bow Hunters and enjoys
computer programming and hanging
Zak was born in Kingaroy and went to out with his friends. The best thing
school at Gladstone South Primary School his parents taught him was not to
and Tooloola High. He completed work give up easily. If money were no
experience at Phoenix Diesel object he would live in the Tin Can
Maintenance, J.J Richards and Drinnan's Bay area. When Jack was a child he
Diesel Parts & Service. Zak worked at wanted to be a draftsman or an
Hungry Jack’s during school. In his spare architect.
time Zak likes going fishing, camping, four
wheel driving and riding BMX. The best
thing his parents taught him was to respect
others and to try your hardest. Zak played Jack Lingard – Fabrication
Rugby League for the Gladstone Wallabys. Apprentice
When he was a child he wanted to be a
diesel fitter. His favourite holiday was to Jack was born in Brisbane and went
North Queensland. to Tannum Sands Primary and High
School. He completed work
Jack Cameron – Mechanical Apprentice experience with NRG, Walz
Construction and Mipec. Jack
Jack was born in Gladstone and attended worked at the Tannum Fish and Chip
Calliope State Primary School and Tannum Shop during school. When he was a
Sands State High School. He did work child he wanted to be a builder.
Jack’s interests include footy, fishing
experience at Equip Engineering Skills
and going to the beach. He played
Centre at NRG every Wednesday during Rugby League for the
his senior year of high school. Jack played Tannum/Boyne Seagulls, and played
Rugby League for the Calliope Roosters. soccer, AFL and cricket for BITS.
He likes to spend his spare time going pig The best thing his parents taught him
hunting. Jack spends his hard earned was to respect his elders. Jack’s
money on his car and paying rent to his favourite holiday was to the Gold
Coast for schoolies. If money were
mum. When he was a child he wanted to
no object he would live in Brazil.
fly jet planes and be in the Navy.
Page 7
Construction Underway on NRG Raft
NRG apprentices have started
construction on this years raft for the
Gladstone Harbour Festival NRG Great
Raft Race.
Fourth year apprentice boilermaker Joe
Richardson has been leading a team of
eight apprentices in helping to put
together this year’s entry, which will
feature a replica of the Emergency
Response Team’s new fire truck. As well
as Joe, the team includes Jayden Adams,
Hamish Nicholls, Mitchell Hallinan, Luke
Neill, Rhys Dahl, Hayden Caughey and
Dylan Stitt.
The team has already had to face some
challenges with their new base not able to
be delivered in time, which has left the
boys having to use the base from last
years raft.
Hayden Caughey, Joe Richardson, Luke Neill and Jayden Adams put the finishing touches on the raft.
Although Joe has not competed in the
race before, he believes based on With over $6000 in prize money up for grabs there’s sure to be some really creative entries
previous years that QAL and the this year.
Gladstone fireys will be good contenders
to take out some of the top prizes. The apprentices use the event as not only a way to improve their skills, but as a team
building exercise to improve morale and camaraderie within their workgroups.
There are some major prize categories at
this year’s race including the Pride of the This is the sixteenth year NRG has sponsored the Great Raft Race and up to 25 rafts are
expected to enter, making it one of the highlights of this year’s Harbour Festival.
NRG Raft Race (best creative raft), Best
Backyard (privateer) Raft, Best Dressed th
The race will kick off at 10.30am on Good Friday 18 April at the Goondoon Street boat
Team and Most Entertaining Team. ramp in front of the yacht club.
Area 6 Discharge Weir
The current weir and discharge pipe is being replaced as these structures are made of
steel and badly corroded. The corrosion has weakened them and they were in danger of
Replacement
collapsing and had they done so would have restricted the release of the seawater. It is
essential to power station operations that the removal of the seawater continues and ash
removal processes are not restricted.
th
On the 24 of February 2014 work commenced on
the replacement of the Area 6 Discharge weir and The weir and discharge pipe will be replaced by concrete structures and have built-in
discharge pipe. This followed the approval by the design features that will allow better control of the discharge water flow from the bund.
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
to install the new weir in the bund wall bordering the
Calliope River.
The weir is used to control the release of seawater
resulting from the pumping of bottom ash slurry to
the settling trenches on the ash placement area to
the north of the Gladstone Regional Council
Sewerage Treatment facility into the Calliope River.
The seawater is stored in a large bund behind this
weir to allow fine ash solids to settle before the water
is released to the Calliope River. The quality of the
water is monitored for suspended solids and other
parameters at the weir as it is a licensed discharge
point.
The old weir before its removal.
Page 8
Employees Celebrate Safety Milestone – 200 Days
Recordable Injury Free
NRG employees were congratulated for their safety
efforts by General Manager John Abbott after
achieving a new safety milestone of 200 consecutive
days Recordable Injury Free on site on 26th March.
This surpassed the previous safety record of 169
consecutive days back in 2012-2013.
‘The greatest pleasure for all of us is leaving our place
of work, and heading to our homes, or to spend time
with our families, or to partake in our leisure time
activities. We should be able to do this totally
unharmed from our day at work! We have an
obligation to ourselves, to our families, and to our
mates to ensure this happens every day’, said John.
John highlighted that as we head towards 400 days as
While celebrating the achievement of a great our next milestone, to remember to work safely and at
milestone, John stressed that although we should all all times have the courage to intervene and look after
be proud of this, we must recognise that it is only a your mates!
step along the way to achieving the long term goal of
To acknowledge their great effort, employees enjoyed
ZERO injuries.
a barbeque lunch that was held in the main workshop
due to wet weather conditions.
EcoFest 2014
EcoFest is the premier celebration event for world Environment Day in Gladstone and is held in the Tondoon Botanic Gardens.
This years theme is ‘Healthy Waterways’ and the event will kick off at 9am on 1st June, finishing up around 3pm. Interested
employees are invited to volunteer their services for part of the day. NRG will be actively participating in this event by providing
educational displays and interactive activities. More than 10,000 people attended the day in 2013, which provides an excellent
opportunity for organisations to promote their environmental activities and achievements. If you would like to help out please
see Jordan Diflo in the Health Centre.
Central Queensland University Students Tour GPS
On the 25th of March three Environmental students studying air emissions from Central Queensland University and their
lecturer travelled to the Gladstone Power Station to take part in a site tour. The tour began with Superintendent of
Health Environment & Community Paul Van der List, Production Engineer David Lahey and Environmental Graduate
Jordan Diflo leading the group to a training room where they were given an informative talk on the history of GPS, the
stations air emissions and the controls that have been put in place to reduce emissions. The group was very interested
by the information both Paul and David provided and they were happy to fire lots of good questions at them. The
students were then taken for a walk through to the Bag House to view the fabric filters and better understand the role
they play in reducing the stations particulate emissions. They were then walked down to the furnaces where David
explained the processes of coal combustion and how to maximize the efficiency of the combustion and produce the
most energy possible.
Page 9
Welcoming Graduate Environmental
Officer Jordan Diflo
Having lived most of her life in Tannum Sands, Jordan has
returned to the area after three years away at university to
begin her career here at the Gladstone Power Station.
Jordan comes to NRG to take up the role of Environmental
Graduate after having completed her Bachelor of
Environmental Science degree at the University of the
Sunshine Coast (USC). Jordan says that she chose to study
at USC because it is a relatively new university that offers a
variety of interesting environmental courses and due to its
small cohort size there is more support from lecturers and
tutors. When asked why she decided to move to the
Sunshine Coast, Jordan said, “I chose the Sunshine Coast
because I grew up living near the beach and I didn’t want to
move too far from the coastline. I love the Sunny Coast
because it’s a cruisey place to live and big cities don’t really
appeal to me. There’s also always something to do or new
restaurants and cafes to try.”
During her studies, Jordan was given the opportunity to take
part in a number of different research projects both
Born in Ipswich, Jordan moved to the Gladstone region after
internationally in Ecuador and within Australia in Cloncurry.
her father secured a job transfer with Queensland Rail from
Jordan won a scholarship to travel to Ecuador and
the Ipswich workshops to the Callemondah workshops.
participate in projects that involved field trips into the
Jordan attended Tannum Sands Primary School before
Amazon Rainforest to conduct water quality testing and the
completing her secondary school at Tannum Sands High
collection of samples of freshwater insects. “The results of
School.
this study would serve as an indicator of the health of the
Amazon water ways and provide an insight into the impacts Jordan’s mum has worked for Queensland Parks and Wildlife
of climate change on the area“, Jordan said. Service for many years and as a result Jordan has enjoyed
getting to visit many of the islands and national parks in the
Another study Jordan worked on in Ecuador included
region. The family conversations and her mother’s
collecting frog specimens and using genetic testing to
involvement with environmental management was one of the
determine if any new species had been discovered.
reasons that aroused the interest for Jordan to begin a
Jordan said one of the highlights of this trip was the work career in the environment sector.
she did on Pygmy Marmosets, which is a pocket sized
Since beginning work at NRG, Jordan has been surprised by
species of monkey that inhabits the Amazon Rainforest.
how many people she knows who work here or knows
Jordan would visit the family of Pygmy Marmosets and
another member of her family through connections such as
observe and record their day to day behaviors of playing,
Touch Football. “People here at the Power Station have been
grooming and feeding.
really friendly and welcoming, and I am impressed by the
Jordan’s study experience to Cloncurry required her to willingness of people from all different areas across site to
assist in a research project that was conducted on a small help and support me in my role”, Jordan said.
species of threatened mammal that lives in rocky habitats in
Outside of work Jordan likes to spend time at the beach,
the Gulf of Carpentaria. As the mammal’s habitat is
going out with mates and travelling. She also plays mixed
threatened by mining activities, the aim of Jordan’s study
and ladies Touch Football at Briffney Creek and ladies AFL
was to determine the most effective trapping method to
for the BITS Saints. At home she likes to kick back on the
detect the animal. After determining the most effective
couch with her dogs and watch the footy – preferably a
trapping method, studies were carried out to better
winning Broncos game.
understand the population size of the species and its
distribution within the area. We welcome Jordan to her new role.
Page 10Service Register January, February, March and April 2014
The NRG Service Register recognises employees who have completed 10 years service or more in the Queensland
electricity industry and who have been employed at GPS since the Sale of the Station (31/03/94). This register is for
employees whose anniversary falls during the months of January, February, March and between 1st-11th April.
38 years Bob Dennien, Don Shambrook, Wayne Watson
36 years Russell Hunt, John Norris, Greg Jamieson
33 years Ron Williams, Tony Padget, Nev Beckman, Paul Cupitt
32 years John Hall, Robert Pirie, Mick Chadwick, Ken Harris, Mark Sandland, Ian Dodd, Andrew Austin
31 years Ray Sumner, Keith Brown, John McGarrow, Garry Coleborn
30 years John Cook, John Leinster
29 years Kelvin Bebendorf, Graham Lester
28 years Greg McDiarmid, Mark Bearham, Rod Brown
27 years John Dickfos, Kevin Ryan, Russell Beard, John Lynch, Trevor Williams, Alan O'Rourke
26 years John Gibson
25 years Jeff Clifton
24 years Kelvin Newman, David Allen
22 years Rob Sweeney
21 years Sandy Hunt
20 years Robert Button
19 years Ruth Searston, Alfie Little
18 years Steven Heard
16 years Graham Murray, Kym Donald
11 years Craig McGuinness, Tony Tankard, Sharyn Larson
10 years Joshua Shewan, Katherine Kuppen
Easter Road Safety Message
The Easter holidays are fast approaching. This can be a time when we get distracted both at work and on the
roads.
Without a doubt the most important driver safety advice for holiday driving is LOOK UP STAY BACK. This is
about scanning well ahead to identify hazards so that you can adjust your driving to avoid them and maintaining a
minimum 2 second following distance from the vehicle in front. More if loaded or towing.
These two behaviours, if practised at all times, will reduce your crash risk by half. Easter is a time to enjoy with
friends and family. Make sure you LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND YOUR MATE and have a happy Easter.
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