Coronavirus: Mining giants left in the dark over Palaszczuk’s NSW border closure

The Minerals Council of Australia has warned the Queensland government’s border closure will put hundreds of jobs at risk.

A dump truck pulls in to be loaded up at Meandu mine. Picture: Tessa Mapstone

The Minerals Council of Australia — representing the country’s biggest mining companies — says the Queensland government’s border closure will ban hundreds of workers and undermine the resources sector’s ability to support the national economy through the COVID-19 pandem­ic.

After a meeting with mining companies on Wednesday, MCA chief executive Tania Constable said the closure, implemented without consultation with the sector, would ban up to 400 workers from doing their jobs.

Maritime and tourism sector chiefs also slammed Premier Anna­stacia Palaszczuk’s decision to close the Queensland border to NSW and the ACT and said the national cabinet’s July deadline for interstate travel to resume had “definitely failed”.

Ms Constable said the border restrictions “undermine the indust­ry’s ability to support all Australians and sustain vital jobs and businesses”.

“Given this ban was announced without consulting the mining industry, the MCA will now work urgently with its state counterparts to find a solution which keeps workers and the community safe and the industry operating,” she said.

The resources lobby chief, representing mining giants including BHP, Rio Tinto and Glencore, said Queensland’s “shock decis­ion” would effectively ban hundreds of essential mining workers living in NSW from working in the state from Saturday.

“(The decision) ignores the mining industry’s strong track record­ of keeping its workers and communities safe from COVID-­19, including the implementation of strict and effective industry protocols for the last six months,” Ms Constable said.

“The decision is also at odds with the Queensland government’s claim to support the resources sector and threatens the universal support from state and federal governments to date for mining as an essential industry.

“This ban will threaten vital safety shutdowns at many sites, with up to 400 workers now banned from doing their jobs in regional Queensland.”

Under the three-step COVID Safe roadmap endorsed by Scott Morrison and premiers, all states were supposed to resume interstate travel last month.

Australian Chamber of Tourism chairman John Hart told The Australian new border restrictions outside Victoria “make no sense” and called for more transparency. “It has definitely failed on the timeline for interstate travel and it’s failing on a number of fronts because some states are rolling back other restrictions (like gatherings),” Mr Hart said.

“We need to revisit stage three and we need to have clarity over what steps four and five would mean. Tourism needs certainty and some state jurisdictions are not being transparent enough … we have no idea what conditions have to be met for each step of ­reopening.’’

Ports Australia chief executive Mike Gallacher said the national cabinet’s timeline for interstate travel must be revisited. “Ports Australia encourages government to consider and revise step three … We encourage governments around the nation to work with each other and industry to establish best practice for efficient movement of key personnel across borders,” he said.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said his sector relied heavily on workers travelling interstate and many were suffering from the clos­ures.

“With Queensland now ­closing its borders, this situation may worsen, given it also has significant­ maritime and resource industries that employ large numbers of interstate workers,” Mr Crumlin said.

“The MUA already has 400 Australian seafarers on our unemploymen­t database, with this number expected to rise as increasing numbers are unable to travel interstate to join vessels.”