Adani FIFO announcement paves way for bigger and better Rockhampton
Published on 05 October 2017
Rockhampton Regional Council’s vision for a bigger and better Rockhampton has been realised today with Adani Australia announcing 1,700 new jobs will be created here with Council striking a deal for both construction and FIFO jobs on the Carmichael Mine project.
An ecstatic Mayor Margaret Strelow joined Adani Australia executives at Rockhampton Airport for the announcement, labelling it a watershed moment in the Region’s history.
“On behalf of Council and the community, I would like to thank Adani Australia for their decision to select Rockhampton as both a FIFO Hub and recruitment centre for construction jobs as part of the Carmichael Mine project,” Mayor Strelow said.
“This has been a long, hard-fought process and we wouldn’t be here today without the community’s support as well as that of other levels of Government who granted the approvals for this project.
“Today’s deal has been driven by Council and Adani and I’d like to thank the gutsy Councillors who were willing to back a big call as well as the staff who made it happen – in particular CEO Evan Pardon, General Manager of Aviation and Regional Development Scott Waters, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ross Cheesman and our Chief Financial Officer Alicia Cutler, as well as our Economic Development Team.
“From facilitating the delivery of the airport on site at the project to the competitive deal we put on the table, Rockhampton was chosen for purely commercial decisions – not political ones.
“This deal will deliver a third of the construction workforce – more than 1,100 jobs - as well as at least 625 ongoing jobs once the mine is operational. I want to be absolutely clear that our deal with Adani has these jobs being sourced from the Rockhampton Local Government area.
“This is about standing by the community who have stood by us. It’s about creating a bigger and better Rockhampton to make sure those FIFO workers settle here and with Adani breaking ground in a matter of weeks, those construction jobs will come online quickly and the FIFO ones won’t be far behind once the project gets moving.
“Make no mistake, these jobs will change the face of our Region. It gives our residents the best possible chance of securing work while also getting more people to call Rockhampton home,” Mayor Strelow said.
“The more people who move here the more it benefits our entire community. It’s more money being spent at our shops, more kids in our schools and more homes being sold.
“Council will be working closely with our real estate professionals to ensure that we are ready for the influx of workers. We have a competitive market which has capacity in it but given the sheer number of workers expected to come to our region, we know we need to do more.
“Our developers and our builders are about to go into overdrive to ensure there is adequate supply and Council is there to have that conversation to ensure we have the homes available when those workers arrive.
“As a Region, we need to open our arms and embrace this opportunity which lays the foundation for the future success of Rockhampton – it is up to us as a community to build on it and make the most of this hard-won opportunity,” Mayor Strelow said.