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Catch up on the latest news and insights from Atlas.

Hancock integrates project plans

GINA Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has been quietly implementing changes this year that will reshape the way it operates. One key development was the acquisition of properties in West Perth so that staff at subsidiaries Roy Hill Holdings and Atlas Iron can be co-located with the parent company. Another key development was the creation of HanRoy, a new entity to coordinate the evaluation of all projects. Led by chief executive group projects Sanjiv Manchanda, HanRoy is currently working on more than half a dozen mining and infrastructure projects. At the same time, Gerhard Veldsman was put in charge of all mining operations, with both men reporting to Hancock chief executive Garry Korte.

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Gina Rinehart donates $16 million to boost healthcare for rural Australians

Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section) Chief Executive Officer Greg Sam said the $4 million boost for NSW comes at a “challenging” time in its history as the RFDS had played a critical role delivering essential healthcare and more than 32,000 Covid vaccinations to remote and vulnerable communities during the pandemic“. Since then, the RFDS has continued to deliver high quality care to rural and remote NSW communities, whilst navigating increasingly difficult economic conditions and rising costs,” Mr Sam said.The $4 million donation in Queensland will contribute to the fit-out of a new Beechcraft King Air 360 aircraft and operations at its Brisbane base which is about to be redeveloped. The Rinehart Medical Foundation also provided a critical $6 million donation to the RFDS at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The contribution follows Mrs Rinehart’s $5 million gift last week to the Sydney Childrens’ Hospitals Foundation.

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Rinehart digs in for charity

Healthcare for Australians living in rural and remote areas will be given a $16m lift thanks to donations to the Royal Flying Doctors from Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart. The Rinehart Medical Foundation and Hancock Prospecting will provide major cash injections to the NSW, Queensland and Western Australian sectors of the 95-year-old organisation which relies on donations to fund a third of the healthcare it provides. Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section) Chief Executive Officer Greg Sam said the $4m boost for NSW comes at a "challenging" time in its history as the RFDS had played a critical role delivering essential healthcare and more than 32,000 Covid vaccinations to remote and vulnerable communities during the pandemic.

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Rinehart in $16m boost to Flying Doctor

Health care for Australians living in rural and remote areas will be given a $16m lift thanks to donations to the Royal Flying Doctor from Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart. The Rinehart Medical Foundation and Hancock Prospecting will give major cash boosts to the Queensland, NSW and WA sectors of the 95-year-old organisation, which relies on donations to fund a third of the health care it provides. "The multimillion-dollar gift will help ensure that all Queenslanders - no matter where they live, work and play across the state - can feel safe in knowing that they are connected to the best medical care available." The RFDS said that Mrs Rinehart's family association with the organisation went back to the 1950s when her mother, Hope Hancock, used to host fundraisers at her home.

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Royal Flying Doctor Service in $8M partnership with Rinehart Medical and Roy Hill

Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart has donated $8 million to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to buy a state-of-the-art aircraft that will help save lives in the most isolated corners of the State. The Rinehart Medical Foundation and Roy Hill will contribute $4 million each to buy and fund an aeromedical fit-out of a PC12 NGX plane in what is one of the most significant donations to the RFDS. Last month, Ms Rinehart was crowned Western Australian on the Year not only for her contribution to WA’s mining and agricultural sectors but for her generosity to various medical and health organisations. RFDS Western Operations chief executive Judith Barker said the organisation had a $90 million program to replace 12 planes by 2030. Ms Barker said the RFDS had a long association with Ms Rinehart and her mother, Hope Hancock. “We’re really grateful for the support that we get from her, Roy Hill and the foundation who recognise that the RFDS is there to support them and their endeavours in rural or remote areas,” she said.

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BHP chief Mike Henry warns the Govt’s IR policy will make Australia less competitive

BHP boss Mike Henry has doubled down on criticism of the Federal Government’s crackdown on labour hire laws, arguing it is taking Australia in the “wrong direction” and will make the country less competitive. “An industrial relations system that delivers productivity, flexibility, and competitiveness to drive job creation and wage growth. Predictability and reduced risk. Under those conditions, the capital will flow,” Mr Henry told the World Mining Conference. “Worryingly, some policies are taking us in the wrong direction and are going to make Australia less competitive: this includes recent and proposed changes to industrial relations legislation, particularly the same job same pay legislation and multi-employer bargaining.”

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WA supercharges the surplus to $19 billion

Strong commodity prices and WA’s powerhouse resources sector have played an “outsized” role in boosting the Federal Government’s coffers, with the Budget surplus ballooning to $19 billion at the end of May. New figures from the Department of Finance show a surge in company and personal tax payments underwriting a stronger than expected result. Receipts from the resources sector was one of the biggest contributors. Mr Albanese argued strong export links would be paramount to ensure unemployment levels remained low. “One in four Australian jobs depend on international trade and that ratio is only going to increase as the economic transformation under way in our region, the fastest growing region of the world in human history, gathers pace,” he told the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

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Heritage laws need careful study: Rinehart

Gina Rinehart says adding a granny flat to a large backyard could be held up by contentious Indigenous heritage laws set to come into effect in Western Australia next month. Mrs Rinehart joins critics of the proposal who have described it as "shambolic" and said it would probably hold up new mines and food production. Australia's richest person also hit out at the federal government's plan to boost immigration, saying it had no mandate for the policy and should instead ease restrictions on the hours worked by pensioners and students.

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How one family helped to shape WA | The untold history of Western Australia

The modern history of the Hancocks is well known but earlier generations also had a big impact on our State’s development It is quite a picture. The striking white horses kick up dust as they work in unison to pull the coach through the WA outback. Five men sit atop the coach and a lone rider keeps pace alongside. The photo presents a fascinating reminder of how once supplies, mail and people were carried across vast stretches of WA.

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Atlas delighted again to support the Lake Karrinyup Country Club (Inc) Women’s Charity Day

The charity day raises funds for various charities which this year included Parkerville Children and Youth Care, Ngala and Spectrum Space. An amazing $55,000 was raised making it Lake Karrinyup Country Club’s most successful charity day! Congratulation to all those who organised and participated in the event.

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Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (2023) causing angst for farmers and miners

WA LEGAL firms and mining companies have reacted to the imminent introduction of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (2023) by staging their own information sessions and creating online resources to inform farmers, pastoralists and mining interests about the impact of the new legislation on their activities. The act comes into effect on July 1 and has far-reaching implications for farmers and pastoralists, including the likelihood of higher penalties for breaches. The Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association of WA and WAFarmers oppose the new act and say it will be costly and time-consuming for farmers.

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New laws likely to ‘bring agriculture to a halt’ in State

A respected WA pastoralist says her family will have to scrap years of planned works under the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, claiming the legislation will “bring agriculture to a halt”. The 2022 WA Rural Woman of the Year finalist said she was also concerned the legislation, while giving Aboriginal people more say in managing their cultural heritage, disregarded the multi-generational knowledge and connection to country many pastoralists have inherited. “We’ve had the place for five generations, so we are well aware of any cultural heritage on the property,” Ms Dowden told Countryman. “We would never disturb something of significance; we hold it as precious to our hearts as any Indigenous person would, and we never underestimate the value of that.

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Farmers fear costly red tape could hamper tasks

Farmers fear their ability to do basic tasks like fencing or deep ripping will become tangled in costly red tape when important new legislation designed to protect WA’s Aboriginal cultural heritage takes effect next month. The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 was passed through State Parliament in late December in the wake of Rio Tinto’s infamous blasting of Juukan Gorge more than two years earlier.

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Building a better Australia together.

We are dedicated to building a better Australia alongside our skilled veterans. Join us in creating a stronger future for our country through rewarding mining or agriculture careers. Contact James Hepworth Principal Veteran Employment Program veterans@royhill.com.au Or visit: Veterans4Jobs website: https://www.veterans4jobs.com.au/

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Health concern sees Gina Rinehart cover her face during awards speech after she was crowned Western Australian of the year

Billionaire Gina Rinehart has issued a life-saving reminder to Australians about the need to protect themselves from the sun.Mrs Rinehart, 69, had left hospital just hours before after undergoing a minor surgery recently to remove a melanoma from her face and partially covered her bruised face behind a large white fan. 'I should probably remind you all, please do the sun cream, do the hats and do the check-ups, please, which I didn't do,' she said.Mrs Rinehart accepted her award from the outgoing WA premier Mark McGowan in what was his last engagement as the state's leader after last week announcing he was stepping down because he was 'exhausted'.

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MEDIA RELEASE | MCA Congratulates Mrs Gina Rinehart AO

The MCA congratulates Mrs Gina Rinehart AO who was named Western Australian of the Year in Perth last night in recognition of her generous philanthropy and unrivalled corporate success. Mrs Rinehart has made an extraordinary contribution to Western Australia and the rest of the nation via her extensive and very successful business ventures in mining and agriculture, and her significant financial contribution to various causes supporting medical, educational, sporting, health and community organisations. It is a well-deserved honour for Mrs Rinehart who is a passionate advocate of the resources industry and its contribution to Australia.

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Gina Rinehart reaches significant milestone

Gina Rinehart has been announced as this year’s Western Australian of the Year. Rinehart was also awarded the 2023 Business Award. As reported by WA Today, Rinehart used her acceptance speech to reflect on what the company has achieved. “It’s actually a very long way from where my family company was 30 years ago and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved in this time for our company and what we’ve been able to contribute to West Australia and our country and our future,” Rinehart said. “We must ensure that our country is not left behind by short-sighted decisions and encourage policies that welcome investment in our wonderful state,” Rinehart said.

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