Next step in fight against forced FIFO

The Member for Capricornia and I have starting the ball rolling on the process of putting up a bill to ban geographical discrimination for workers.We are taking their fight to ban 100% Fly-In Fly-Out (FIFO) work practices at mines in the region to the floor of Parliament.Today we had a meeting with the office of the Minister for Employment Senator Eric Abetz to discuss amendments to the Fair Work Act, and next week we’ll be seeking a meeting with the Leader of the House Christopher Pyne.We intend to put up a Private Member’s Bill to make this amendment to the act:  An employer must not take adverse action against a person who is an employee, or prospective employee, of the employer because of where the person lives.We want to ensure that Central Queenslanders can apply for Central Queensland jobs in our coal mining sector.We want an end to advertisements for FIFO position jobs which state “applicants must live within 100km of Brisbane or Cairns Airports.This looks like discrimination, it sounds like discrimination, and if you’re one of the many unemployed but suitably skilled people living next to the worksite, it feels like discrimination.There are currently two BMA mines in the Bowen Basin region which have a 100% FIFO workforce.The Caval Ridge and Daunia mines were given approval for 100% FIFO workforces by the Bligh Labor Government.