FIFO: ‘Cancer of the bush’ or ‘backbone of the resources industry’?
PILBARA MLA Kevin Michael says “long-term and sustainable optimism” has returned to the Pilbara after years of neglect by the previous Liberal-National Government.
Mr Michael told Parliament on Wednesday since the Labor Government entered office the Pilbara’s population had stabilised, with the estimated residential population of Karratha and Port Hedland, and Shire of Ashburton including Onslow, having grown slightly in 2017 and 2018.
Mr Michael did not specify how many people lived and worked in Karratha where locals claim that without the FIFO (fly in, fly out) population, the population was well under the 20,000 people needed to call itself a city. The ‘powerhouse of the Pilbara’ achieved city status in 2015.
Mr Michael said the Liberal–National Government did not care about piling debts on taxpayers by building the controversial Pelago apartments and Osprey Village and pumping extra funding into the City of Karratha building, The Quarter. He said it had made sure all contracts went to mates in the Liberal and National parties, “jobs for the boys”.
Moore MLA Shane Love interjected, stating Mr Michael had impugned that the Liberal–National members of the house are corrupt. Mr Michael withdrew the remark.
Mr Michael said skyrocketing property prices and rents had forced mining companies to build camps for workers, “that bypassed the local housing markets”.
Though under 10 per cent of local contractors and local residents were employed on local projects, Mr Michael accused the previous government of ignoring local job opportunities because FIFO workers dominated projects.
He said the McGowan Government plans to create 30,000 jobs in the Pilbara by 2024, the recent budget delivering $182.4 million in statewide funding for a new employer incentive scheme and training delivery, including $45 million for regional WA.
The scheme will help WA employers engage local apprentices and trainees who will stay and work in the regions, “raising families and building stronger communities”.
Mr Michael said the Government was committed to getting the right balance between a residential workforce and a FIFO workforce so, “Pilbara residents get local jobs first before FIFO workers”.
Businesses StreetWise spoke to said this was not always possible in situations where companies, particularly those in remote locations, needed to access skilled labour outside the region. They said FIFO was the backbone of the resource industry.
Mr Michael’s comments echo those of National Party leader Mia Davies who last year told parliament, “Fly in, fly out is the cancer of the bush”.
She said there had been a “proliferation of fly in, fly out camps under this government”, adding, “Those people do not live or invest in regional WA. This goes to the heart of what this government has said about building a more prosperous regional Western Australia”.
The City of Karratha opposes the FIFO model, having raised its concerns over the proposed 700-bed Woodside camp in Karratha, which was expected to lead to a loss of at least 69 local jobs. The Karratha chamber of commerce has predicted WA’s FIFO workforce will decrease by 10,400 workers by 2020. But the proportion of the operational workforce doing FIFO will increase by 3 per cent to 63 per cent.
