Faces of Fortescue - Meet Dean Habets

At Fortescue, family and safety are at the heart of our values and culture.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to make difficult decisions including a temporary change to our roster to contain the spread of the virus and ensure we provide our team members with secure employment.

To assist some of our interstate employees, we have offered to temporarily relocate their families to allow them to remain together and be supported during these uncertain times.  

South Australian Dean Habets is a Signals Supervisor and made the decision to relocate his family to Port Hedland.

Dean started his career as an electrician working in construction, before moving into rail construction and working on projects in Victoria, New South Wales and WA across the Nullarbor.

He has been a part of the Fortescue team since September 2017 and it has been quite a journey for his wife Belinda and three children – Baily, Sacha and Joshua – who had to get creative while they were in isolation in a hotel room for 14 days.

“It was my youngest son’s birthday while we were in isolation, so we did an online shop for some gifts for him and also held a little birthday party in our hotel room,” Dean said.

“Over the Easter weekend, we also organised an Easter hunt for the kids and the staff at the hotel helped to organise an Easter drawing competition for the kids.

“We finally flew to Port Hedland on April 14 and everyone has been so helpful in my family’s relocation.

So far, the weather has been a real eye-opener for my family, as they’ve discovered the hot and humid conditions of the Pilbara. But it has been a good experience for all to see what I do for work and the family are slowly adapting to the change.

“Working at Fortescue is like being part of a family, and I am so thankful that the company has allowed me to relocate my wife and children so that we can remain together through these challenging times.”