ARROGANT SEENEY INCREASINGLY ISOLATED ON DAMAGING 100% FIFO

Media Release

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney could be the only politician in Queensland who thinks it is OK for companies to practice postcode apartheid against workers says Deputy Opposition Leader, Tim Mulherin.
“Once again, the Deputy Premier has defended BMA’s 100% Fly-in Fly-out policy for two of its mines near Moranbah, even though it is now opposed by his Federal colleagues and even though it is breaking a pre-election promise by the LNP,” said Mr Mulherin.
“In its ‘Resources and Energy Strategy’ the LNP pledged to Queenslanders it would not support 100% FIFO mining operations. In government, however, it is doing precisely the opposite."
“Mr Seeney’s position is increasingly untenable, but with typical arrogance he is refusing to listen to pleas for common sense, even when they come from his own side.”
Mr Mulherin said widely reported statements by Federal Coalition MPs Michelle Landry (Capricornia) and George Christensen (Dawson) illustrate Mr Seeney’s political isolation.

“According to reports, Ms Landry and Mr Christensen have asked the Deputy Premier to intervene. But the Deputy Premier can see nothing wrong in local workers being told they must move to Brisbane or Cairns if they want to work for BMA near Moranbah."
“Unless Mr Seeney and the Newman Government changes tack, Central Queenslanders will continue to be discriminated against based on where they live. Mr Christensen has gone as far as to say he believes that allowing companies to recruit only from certain areas should be illegal."
“Mr Christensen and Ms Landry can see that this issue is harming communities in the Bowen Basin and elsewhere, but Mr Seeney is either too stubborn or too dim to acknowledge it."
“For the LNP to say its hands are tied and that the previous State Labor Government opened the door to 100% FIFO is false and a pathetic attempt at buck-passing."
“Labor’s original approval to BMA for the Caval Ridge Mine was for 70% Fly-in Fly-out.
“When BMA appealed against that condition in 2011, at the height of the mining boom and at a time when unemployment was very low and it was impossible for the company to recruit sufficient workers locally, the Co-ordinator General imposed onerous conditions on BMA."
“Labor insisted that BMA must have 80% of its workforce across all its operations residing in the Bowen Basin and required BMA to build 400 new dwellings in the region, 160 of them in Moranbah."

“Since then, the labour market conditions in Central Queensland have altered considerably, with mining companies shedding thousands of jobs in the coalfield."
“If he so chooses the Deputy Premier and Co-ordinator-General can vary conditions or impose new ones at the stroke of a pen as he did by changing Buffel Park temporary accommodation to permanent."
“This accommodation was only ever intended for the construction workforce at Caval Ridge, not for a 100% FIFO operational workforce."
“Sadly the LNP’s local members in the Bowen Basin have been silent, but they should be prepared to stand up for their electorates and local communities."
“They must know that, in the current conditions, 100 Fly-in Fly-out for BMA in Moranbah is unjustifiable and is likely to lead to a spiral of decline in the town." “It is time for the Deputy Premier to stop hiding behind flimsy excuses and do what it right for Moranbah.”