Community

Performance indicators

• Recorded complaints from the local community per location: 0.60
• Sites with a community/liaison group: 195
• Percentage of quarries with community/liaison groups: 43%
• Educational visits: 712; 1.58 per quarry

Current position

The QPA survey recorded 670 complaints received during 2004, based on 502 complaint incidents. This represents a rate of 0.60 complaints received by each QPA member location.

In addition, the operation of 195 community liaison groups and 424 liaison meetings has been recorded. Other statistics include 712 educational visits, involving not just schools and students but visits by local councillors and community groups, plus 33 public open days.

Aspirations

The industry would like to see quarrying and related operations become increasingly valued members of the community. There has been a long-standing relationship between mineral extraction and rural communities in particular. Operators must continue to work on both transparency and performance in order to build trust within communities and co-exist without friction. A reduction in the number of complaints per location would be a significant indicator of performance. As the coverage of the survey increases, the absolute number of complaints may increase, although this may be consistent with a reduction in the rate of complaints. We will also need to ensure that information on complaints is recorded in a consistent manner.