A call to action on jobs in resource industry

AS the Member for Dawson, and Chairman of the Coalition’s Backbench Policy Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources, I wish to state in the strongest of terms that it’s not just Townsville and the 237 Queensland Nickel workers who are in need of assistance right now; it’s just about every resource community around the nation, and particularly the Bowen Basin.While I am as angry as the next person about the fate of the workers at Yabulu, and they are deserving of every bit of assistance offered, it’s a crying shame that State and Federal Governments of all political persuasions have not done enough to stabilise, stimulate and transition economies in resource communities.In the Bowen Basin we have seen job losses in the thousands at mine sites, at mining service companies and in mining town businesses whose trade has dried up in the downturn.