Community leaders fire back at Bill Shorten after Adani ‘fake jobs’ claim

COMMUNITY leaders from north and central Queensland have hit back at Bill Shorten for putting real jobs – already supporting 800 local families – at risk to win votes in leafy Melbourne.

• Shorten digging himself into a hole
• Labor facing Batman battle over Adani
• Shorten: ‘people being led on about Adani’
• Shorten ‘should face the people’ over Adani

COMMUNITY leaders from north and central Queensland have hit back at Bill Shorten for putting real jobs – already supporting 800 local families – at risk to win votes in leafy Melbourne.

The Labor leader yesterday accused mining giant Adani of offering “fake jobs” as the party campaigns to win a by-election in the inner-Melbourne electorate of Batman.

But Mr Shorten, a supposed champion of workers, has been accused of threatening further investment and the livelihoods of thousands of Queenslanders, as the north’s mayors and business leaders lined up to condemn his remarks.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said she is disappointed by Mr Shorten’s suggestion that Adani was promising “fake jobs”.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill, a Labor member, said she was disappointed by Mr Shorten’s comments.

“We’re seeing real jobs here, we’re seeing real dollars being spent in the economy,” she said. “There are people living in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne earning fantastic money who don’t understand we’re doing it tough and need these jobs.”

Adani, contractors as well as the Townsville and Rockhampton mayors said the jobs were real and already starting to put money into the economy.

Adani hit back saying that it had already created 800 jobs and was already paying $7.2 million in salaries each month.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has been accused of forgetting the people of central Queensland. Picture: AAP

Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow said the jobs were real, but activists were “a powerful force expertly using social media to create an agenda and influence policy”.

Bowen Chamber of Commerce chairman Bruce Hedditch said Mr Shorten had forgotten central Queensland.

“What Bill Shorten is doing has just sabotaged an opportunity for a new industry. It’s a kick in the face for union workers wanting to get work in the mines,” he said.

One Clermont-based contractor, who did not want to be named fearing being targeted by activists, said he had already employed 40 workers thanks to Adani contracts and had more ready to go.

“For a federal leader to talk down a company that has spent $3 billion in Queensland, I can’t reconcile that,” he said.

“These are the people Bill Shorten is supposed to look after.”

Mr Shorten yesterday ­accused the Indian company of missing its own deadlines for when it would start ­construction.

“I’m beginning to wonder if the people of North Queensland are being led on with this promise of fake jobs and they’re never going to materialise,” he said.

An Adani spokeswoman said it had 800 people directly employed or through contracts working on operations across Australia, and had been paying $7.2 million in salaries each month on average over the past six months.

“The Carmichael Project has been rigorously and exhaustively assessed by both the State and Federal governments and has all necessary approvals including indigenous land use agreements required for it to go ahead,” the spokeswoman said.

Businessman John Wagner slammed Labor’s changing of position ahead of the Batman by-election. Picture: Stephen Cooper

Prominent Queensland businessman John Wagner, of Wagners, said the changing position was “an absolute disgrace”.

He said as his company was already employing 15 people and would employ another 100 more when they were given the green light to build the Carmichael airport and roads servicing it.

“What Bill Shorten is saying is absolutely incorrect and unfair. He’s not doing the right thing by the country in my view,” Mr Wagner said.

Townsville Enterprise boss Patricia O’Callaghan said the jobs were already real, while Mr Shorten’s comments risked further investment for other international comments by casting doubt on commitment to a project that had passed all the benchmarks.

Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen said: “Nobody believes in jobs in North Queensland more than Bill Shorten and I.”