Media Release

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has been unable to confirm reports from workers at Cloncurry’s Ernest Henry mine fearful over widespread job losses.

After being contacted late last night by Ernest Henry workers regarding concerns their jobs were to be terminated – some immediately and some at a later date – Mr Katter immediately contacted an official spokesperson for the company who could neither confirm nor deny the reports.

“But it was stated that the open cut pits as well as the underground mining project are all under review by the company,” said Mr Katter. “If these reports are correct, with flow-on effects it might be nearly 1000 jobs which will vanish from North Queensland. But 100-200 jobs would certainly vanish from Cloncurry/Mount Isa – if these reports are correct.”

It follows recent reports that the Glecore-Xstrata company could cease copper mining in Mount Isa in 2019.

Mr Katter said he believed local decision makers at Xstrata had tried extremely hard to protect the jobs – but the Glencore company, which merged with Xstrata in May, did not have a culture of developing a community.

“In fact their culture is the opposite of the old Kruttschnitt-Fisher Mount Isa Mines community: building a great inland city.”

Mr Katter, who is due to land in Mt Isa this afternoon to work the polling booths on election day, said he would be seeking discussions at the highest level with Glencore in spite of election commitments.

Mr Katter said he would be putting before Glencore-Xstrata that it was clear the Reserve Bank was committing to a lowering of interest rates and the Australian dollar.

Mr Katter said during discussions with Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens, who had been “kind enough to take our calls”, he had had “made perfectly clear” the very serious nature and effects on our mining, cattle, sugar and grain industries if the high dollar policy was maintained.

“And while we have played a very small but significant role in the events leading up to the actions by the RBA some months ago to lower the $AUD, which consequently fell some 21 cents, this must continue,” said Mr Katter.

“At this late stage, with our mines closing and cattle industry in dire straits, our interest rates are still around 2 per cent whilst world rates were around 0.2 per cent – so our rates are 1000 per cent higher than our competitor nations,” said Mr Katter. “With a proper priced dollar, Mount Isa Mines would be getting 100 per cent more for their copper and these reported cut backs would not be occurring.”

Meanwhile, Mr Katter warned that both our mineral processing and energy requirements were hooked to gas – “the price of which is rising from around $2-$3 up to $9 a gigajoule”.

“The CopperString line is desperately needed to give us alternative, reasonably-priced energy,” said Mr Katter, who has been “tenaciously opposed the decision to put all of North West energy eggs into a single basket – gas”.

Mr Katter said he will be seeking discussions with union officials in Mount Isa later today.