LNP Leader Deb Frecklington has condemned BHP Mitsubishi Alliance’s decision to automate 300 mining jobs at a Bowen Basin mine.
Ms Frecklington said approvals for the Goonyella Riverside mine near Moranbah should be reviewed in light of the company’s decision to slash its local workforce.
“The LNP will oppose any shift to automation that destroys existing jobs in Queensland’s resources industry,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Mines in Queensland are approved on the basis of the jobs they will create.
“If mines no longer offer those jobs, their approvals should be reviewed.
“Let’s be very clear, Queenslanders support mining because of the jobs and economic prosperity it creates in the regions and for the state as a whole.”
LNP Shadow Minister for Mines and Member for Burdekin Dale Last said that automation would be devastating for Bowen Basin mining communities in his electorate.
“BHP’s automation announcement is a hammerblow to my community and I won’t sit by and let multi-national corporations put profits ahead of workers,” said Mr Last.
“It doesn’t matter if the redundancies are voluntary or not.
“This decision will rip the guts out of the local economy and the LNP will fight it tooth and nail.
“This mine is not in the middle of nowhere. It is next to a thriving community and the people who live there need to have an economic future.
“If BHP move forward with their automation plans the Coordinator-General should call in the mine approvals and tell BHP to the deliver the jobs they promised when these mines were approved.”
LNP Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar also condemned the move, saying BHP’s automation policy would have an enormous impact on communities in his electorate that service the Blackwater Mine near Emerald.
“The LNP will always represent mining communities, not big miners, and this decision fails our mining communities,” Mr Millar said.
“The job-destroying automation of our existing mines has to stop.
“Regional communities are battling drought and we cannot afford to lose more jobs to boost the bottom line of international mining giants.”
