A program designed to fill skill shortages in the Northern Territory with migrant workers will continue, despite the loss of 1,400 jobs at the Ichthys gas project.
The designated area migration agreement (Dama) for the Northern Territory region sought to address a shortage of workers in Darwin as people chased higher wages and better conditions at the $42bn gas project of the Inpex group.
The agreement allows 500 employers to apply to fill positions in 19 areas identified as suffering a skills shortage. The Inpex project was specifically cited as a cause of the skill shortage.
But this month the oil company began letting go of 1,400 workers on the Ichthys construction site at Blaydin point, raising questions about the need for the Dama.
A spokesman for the assistant minister for immigration and border protection, Michaelia Cash, said the reports of redundancies were disappointing, but that it was “somewhat simplistic to conclude that this undermines the need for the proposed Dama”.
“The employment situation in Darwin remains very unique and as such it is expected that there will continue to be demand for certain skilled positions that cannot be sourced locally,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Importantly, under the [Dama] any proposal to utilise foreign workers would need to be underpinned by a strong business case, demonstrating genuine need and protections to ensure that local workers cannot be displaced or undercut.”
The scheme was criticised by Labor and the Greens who said it would lead to foreign workers undercutting local wage rates, but Cash told Guardian Australia in August that it was “a capped program within a capped program” and employers would not be able to pay a foreign worker less than the award wage.
The speed and timing of the lay-offs at the Inpex site have also been strongly criticised by unions.
Inpex said redundant workers were given “at least a week” of notice but employees said many were tapped on the shoulder during breaks and told to leave, the NT News reported.
In January the company also faced criticism when Guardian Australia revealed an Indigenous training program had allegedly issued falsified certificates to operate dangerous machinery.
As a result the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet launched an inquiry, which found no grounds to launch a fraud investigation but uncovered other unspecified compliance matters which needed addressing.
