[center]Twiggy to Rinehart: find jobs for locals[/center]
[www.theaustralian.com.au]
BY: PAIGE TAYLOR AND PATRICIA KARVELAS From: The Australian May 08, 2012 12:00AM
AUSTRALIA'S richest man, Andrew Forrest, has taken a swipe at the nation's richest woman, urging fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart and others to look for workers locally.
The Fortescue Metals Group chairman also accused the Gillard government of "stalling and procrastinating" after it agreed only to fund a study of the mining magnate's plan for new centres that train Aborigines for specific jobs.
Mr Forrest said his "heart bleeds" when he saw indigenous Australians overlooked for jobs being filled by overseas workers.
Ms Rinehart, who heads Hancock Prospecting, has pioneered the push to bring semi-skilled migrants to Australia to help fill impending massive shortfalls on mining projects. Her $7 billion Roy Hill Project in Western Australia's Pilbara will reportedly require up to 10,000 workers.
Mr Forrest -- who established the Australian Employment Covenant in 2008 with the aim of creating 50,000 indigenous jobs -- said there would always be a place for skilled migrant workers in certain sections of the Australian workplace.
But he believed some skilled vacancies could easily be filled by indigenous Australians if they were given the chance and a small amount of training.
Speaking at a breakfast in Perth yesterday, he said 10,501 Aboriginal Australians had been employed through the covenant. The number of workers coming to Australia annually on business long-stay or 457 visas had risen from almost 39,000 in 2001-02 to more than 90,000 last year.
Although not mentioning Ms Rinehart by name, Mr Forrest said he hoped his peers in the mining industry who preferred to employ migrants would change their minds.
"I would say to people who look to 457 (visas), first recognise that Australia has changed and you must change with it and look first to your indigenous brothers and sisters to fill those jobs," Mr Forrest told The Australian.
He said much depended on good training, and the federal government had a lot to do to make sure training was properly tailored.
He has called for the opening of 25 vocational training and employment centres across Australia, where training is delivered only for a guaranteed job, and accused the government of reneging on a promise to train thousands of indigenous people to fill jobs under his covenant.
The Australian understands a study of his proposal will not start until later this year, with potential funding for the new centres in the 2013-14 budget if it gets support.
Mr Forrest said the government was "stalling and procrastinating" and "every day it continues Aboriginal people are dying".
"Taxpayers have got every right to demand that training will only be funded by government if there is a guaranteed job at the end of the training, but that's not occurring and billions of taxpayer dollars continue to be wasted as a result," he told The Australian.
"Disparity exists where poverty exists and poverty exists where there is no employment. The government has the tools to end that cycle of disparity through employer-directed trading, but instead it wants to do a study some time in the future, and Aboriginal people will suffer.
"When it signed the Australian Employment Covenant, the federal government committed to providing job-specific training, not a study of it."
Indigenous Employment Minister Julie Collins said the government was giving substantial support to businesses committed to creating employment opportunities for indigenous Australians.
"I have asked for a proper evaluation of (Mr Forrest's) model against other initiatives designed to support employers to train, employ and retain indigenous employees and this review process is under way," Ms Collins said.
"The evaluation will consider outcomes for indigenous Australians and the value for money represented by the different models."
“THIS POSTING IS PROVIDED TO THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER FOR PURPOSES OF CRITICISM, COMMENT, SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH UNDER THE "FAIR USE" PROVISIONS OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS AND IT MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED FURTHER WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER, EXCEPT FOR "FAIR USE."
[www.theaustralian.com.au]
BY: PAIGE TAYLOR AND PATRICIA KARVELAS From: The Australian May 08, 2012 12:00AM
AUSTRALIA'S richest man, Andrew Forrest, has taken a swipe at the nation's richest woman, urging fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart and others to look for workers locally.
The Fortescue Metals Group chairman also accused the Gillard government of "stalling and procrastinating" after it agreed only to fund a study of the mining magnate's plan for new centres that train Aborigines for specific jobs.
Mr Forrest said his "heart bleeds" when he saw indigenous Australians overlooked for jobs being filled by overseas workers.
Ms Rinehart, who heads Hancock Prospecting, has pioneered the push to bring semi-skilled migrants to Australia to help fill impending massive shortfalls on mining projects. Her $7 billion Roy Hill Project in Western Australia's Pilbara will reportedly require up to 10,000 workers.
Mr Forrest -- who established the Australian Employment Covenant in 2008 with the aim of creating 50,000 indigenous jobs -- said there would always be a place for skilled migrant workers in certain sections of the Australian workplace.
But he believed some skilled vacancies could easily be filled by indigenous Australians if they were given the chance and a small amount of training.
Speaking at a breakfast in Perth yesterday, he said 10,501 Aboriginal Australians had been employed through the covenant. The number of workers coming to Australia annually on business long-stay or 457 visas had risen from almost 39,000 in 2001-02 to more than 90,000 last year.
Although not mentioning Ms Rinehart by name, Mr Forrest said he hoped his peers in the mining industry who preferred to employ migrants would change their minds.
"I would say to people who look to 457 (visas), first recognise that Australia has changed and you must change with it and look first to your indigenous brothers and sisters to fill those jobs," Mr Forrest told The Australian.
He said much depended on good training, and the federal government had a lot to do to make sure training was properly tailored.
He has called for the opening of 25 vocational training and employment centres across Australia, where training is delivered only for a guaranteed job, and accused the government of reneging on a promise to train thousands of indigenous people to fill jobs under his covenant.
The Australian understands a study of his proposal will not start until later this year, with potential funding for the new centres in the 2013-14 budget if it gets support.
Mr Forrest said the government was "stalling and procrastinating" and "every day it continues Aboriginal people are dying".
"Taxpayers have got every right to demand that training will only be funded by government if there is a guaranteed job at the end of the training, but that's not occurring and billions of taxpayer dollars continue to be wasted as a result," he told The Australian.
"Disparity exists where poverty exists and poverty exists where there is no employment. The government has the tools to end that cycle of disparity through employer-directed trading, but instead it wants to do a study some time in the future, and Aboriginal people will suffer.
"When it signed the Australian Employment Covenant, the federal government committed to providing job-specific training, not a study of it."
Indigenous Employment Minister Julie Collins said the government was giving substantial support to businesses committed to creating employment opportunities for indigenous Australians.
"I have asked for a proper evaluation of (Mr Forrest's) model against other initiatives designed to support employers to train, employ and retain indigenous employees and this review process is under way," Ms Collins said.
"The evaluation will consider outcomes for indigenous Australians and the value for money represented by the different models."
“THIS POSTING IS PROVIDED TO THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER FOR PURPOSES OF CRITICISM, COMMENT, SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH UNDER THE "FAIR USE" PROVISIONS OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS AND IT MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED FURTHER WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER, EXCEPT FOR "FAIR USE."
