Media Release

Dear Editor,

I suggest to those who claim that a meatworks couldn't operate in Cloncurry without foreign workers: go and get some advice from WA miner Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, who managed to resource 1700 highly-complex jobs by employing First Australians.

There are very few Australians advocating the employment of foreign fly-in workers - two who spring to mind of late are the Mayor of Cloncurry and Gina Rinehart. So when our pay and conditions are undermined by cheap labour from Third World countries, we will know who to thank.

Of course we mustn’t forget to also thank the major parties. Last year the ALP flew in 125,000-odd 457 visa holders to take our jobs from us, and it's sheer lunacy to think the Liberals will be any different - except with them, the number will be closer to 400,000.

For those who claim they "can’t find local workers”, look at Pentland, where we managed to get people to travel to a town with a population of 400 "in the middle of nowhere", 250km from the nearest city.

I applaud the owners of the copper mine in Cloncurry, just down the road from Pentland, for their "100 per cent locals" employment initiative. Perhaps the local Mayor should take a leaf out of their book, because it appears to be working for them.

The Cloncurry meatworks does not require foreign workers in order to operate. What we are hearing has nothing to do with being unable to get people trained or to get them to relocate, but has everything to do with operating as cheaply as possible.

I do not want to criticise individual businesses for resorting to 457 visa foreign workers – they are a cheap and easy short-term solution. But this issue is about the long-term greater good for the Australian nation. It’s about longevity and ensuring a fair and sustainable future for our working class.

Sincerely yours,

Hon Bob Katter MP,
KAP Federal Leader & Federal Member for Kennedy