Editor's Blog

Labor senator Kim Carr told The Australian yesterday that he intends to proceed today with a disallowance motion of the Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Regulation of 2015 which, if successful, could prevent the employment of highly skilled 457 or 400 visa workers on offshore oil and gas rigs.

The Labor plan if approved, could shut down critical parts of the sector, cost hundreds of millions of dollars and inflict substantial “reputational damage” on the country, notes the report.

Hundreds of foreign workers employed in Australia’s $200 billion offshore oil and gas sector would lose their work rights under Senator Carr’s plan which so far has provided no alternative to as to how these specialised skills will be replaced.

Analysts have long argued that foreign workers are critical in running oil rigs globally. They say each one is different, and requires dedicated senior crew to operate no matter where it is in the world. These workers are high in demand internationally and will find work elsewhere but leave a void in Australia.

According to The Australian, the head of the Australian Mines and Metals Association, Steve Knott, has written to opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles to warn him that the disallowance motion would trigger an “imminent crisis” if it gained the support of the Senate.

“The cost of running each rig is in the realm of $1 million a day” wrote Mr Knott, “If those senior personnel are not able to work because the regulation has been disallowed, the junior Australian drill crew cannot work either and they would have to be stood down. It would be impossible to get an Australian worker to work those rigs and the rigs would have to leave Australia.” Head of the Australian Mines and Metals Association, Steve Knott.

Industry analyst say that Australia not only needs foreign workers with specific specialized skills to help train Australians in the oil and gas industry, but once trained our Australian's can export their talent to our neighbours as they grow their developing industries.

Editor's note: This will be my last regular daily post, until further notice.