AUSTRALIA’S resource industry employer group, AREEA, is calling on the government to urgently fix the uncertainty bestowed upon the offshore resources sector by a Federal Court ruling that today effectively rendered the working visas for non-Australian nationals in the sector unlawful.
Last July, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Michaelia Cash, implemented new visa arrangements for offshore maritime activities in the resource industry, necessary due to legislation passed by the former Labor government but left to the Coalition to make work.
Two of Australia’s maritime unions, the MUA and AMOU, were today successful in their Federal Court appeal of the Minister’s sensible solution to the visa mess it was left with by the former government.
“The practical effect of this decision jeopardises thousands of jobs in the offshore resource sector, both the small number undertaken by overseas specialists and the wider number of jobs occupied by Australians,” says AREEA executive director Scott Barklamb.
“Due to the maritime unions’ crusade against any non-Australian person working in our offshore resources sector, the industry is again thrown into uncertainty and the government is again forced to find a quick fix to a legislative mess unnecessarily created by Labor and the unions.”
While this outcome affects the entire offshore resource sector, employing about 70,000 people and worth around $200bn to the economy, the original target of the MUA’s campaign were specialist sub-sea pipe laying vessels that, before Labor extraordinarily extended our migration zone, never even entered Australian waters.
A small number of permanent crew members travel on these specialist ships from country to country. Ironically, when in Australia the vessels pick up upwards of 120 Australian workers – or about 85% of the entire crew – to perform the majority of work on Australian projects.
Similarly, it is estimated that only 2-3% of the entire offshore resource industry workforce is comprised of non-Australian nationals – and those skilled workers are often critical to a great number of flow-on jobs held by Australians.
“The maritime unions are essentially imposing great uncertainty and risk onto the entire offshore sector when their main issue is with a couple of specialist ships that employ hundreds of Australians anyway,” Mr Barklamb says.
“The offshore resources maritime support sector has a range of complex arrangements in place. Many vessels employ all Australians, others may employ a small number of 457 visa holders on Australian conditions, and some international vessels doing short contracts retain their predominantly European crews permanently, and use Australians for the bulk of other work.
“All this work supports Australian jobs and a globally competitive Australian maritime industry.”
With a range of competitive pressures greatly impacting investment and jobs in the sector, AREEA notes that such self-interested, misguided union campaigns against all non-Australian workers can hardly have come at a worse time for Australia’s resource industry.
KPMG research published this month, Workplace Relations and the Competitiveness of the Australian Resources Sector, reported that ‘Australia’s LNG producers are among the highest cost producers in the world’, with new project development being 26-30% more expensive than in Canada.
“Today’s outcome shows the maritime unions will pursue their own interests and agenda without any regard to the competitive and cost impact on the maritime sector, the offshore resources industry, and Australia more broadly,” Mr Barklamb says.
For a PDF of this release including relevant media contact, click here.
