No doubt IT and mining cut into it, also the reluctance to chase those hours away from family and friends. Unless you are a cadet, and these days many parents are just keeping their heads above water, without having to get another mortgage for junior. The JQ flight from OOL/NTL is full of young miners, they work in the Hunter Valley five days, then home for three, and chatting to them they reckon they will have their mortgage paid in around three years time. Most are tradies who can no longer get work on the Goldie, and they are loving it, and they tell me they work along side some young professionals like Lawyers, a couple of young doctors, a dentist, and two vets, accountants and the like. Can you blame them?