Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for bringing this motion on fly-in fly-out workers before the House. The towns in my electorate of Flynn that are directly affected by fly-in fly-out and drive-in drive-out workers include Mount Perry, Cracow, Moura, Biloela, Gladstone, Emerald, Blackwater, Bluff, Theodore, Capella, Springsure, Rolleston and Teri, and Alpha on the Galilee Basin, just to the west of my electorate. Currently I believe this is a local and state government issue and each town deserve to be addressed on an individual basis. At the end of the day, there needs to be a compromise between mining companies, employees, local government and the state and federal governments to strike a balance that would seem to satisfy most stakeholders—although you will never satisfy everyone in this debate.

The make-up of each of these towns in Flynn is different in respect of the number of business houses in the town, the accommodation available—whether it be private, public or company owned; camps or motels and hotels—and the general liveability of the town. All these things have to be addressed—are there chemist shops and hairdressers and other businesses that look after the residents? Health services—rural doctors, allied health facilities et cetera—are big issues in these regional towns and they contribute to an area's liveability. Some towns have very good facilities but other towns will certainly be lacking some services. Education facilities are high on the agenda, and that can affect whether or not a person lives in a town. It is well known that older students are often forced to leave the family home, and it is a costly thing when you have to move from the country to the city. Airport facilities and airfares are another factor.

The township of Alpha in the Galilee Basin has said no to mine workers coming to town—they insist on 100 per cent fly-in fly-out. That is their preference, and it is their right to say so. The ratio of gas workers in Gladstone is about fifty-fifty locals to fly-in fly-out workers. The 11,500 workforce there will be reduced at the end of this year when construction finishes and production begins. There will be a drop-off to about 600 workers employed on the gas plants on Curtis Island. All these people will be housed in Gladstone on a permanent basis. Blackwater and Moura townships would like to see the demise of workers camps in close proximity to their towns, with workers taking up the available empty houses caused by the downturn in the residential sector.

Fly-in fly-out arrangements place a lot of pressure on families and increase stress when the main breadwinner is away from his or her family for long periods. Marriage break-up increases in these situations. How often do you hear the cry, 'I am not taking my children out of their school to go to some isolated mine out in the sticks'? But it is no surprise that some who take the big step and move to a mining town on a permanent basis fall in love with their new abode and never leave. There are many people in my town who say, 'We love the place, we want to stop here and we want to work here so we want our jobs to continue.' It does seem strange that some coalminers from Collinsville have to relocate to Cairns or the Gold Coast before they can be employed back in Collinsville. Maybe there are other reasons for this policy being introduced.

As I said at the start, every town needs to be judged on its own merits because every town in my electorate is different from all the other towns. There are 14 or 15 affected towns in my electorate and they all have different aspects that must be considered. For instance, Cracow, a goldmining town, has no businesses other than the pub, run by the famous boxer Fred Brophy. So that is a different sort of town again. (Time expired)

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