Food claims in FIFO justification
New plans have been submitted for a 500-person FIFO workers’ camp to service the Surat Basin gasfields.
Plans for construction of the camp near the Wellcamp Airport have been submitted to Toowoomba City Council by the prospective developer, MAS Accommodation.
Local media outlets say the camp would be built in two stages of 250 rooms each, if council approval is granted for the 40,000 square-metre project.
MAS Accommodation spokesperson James Donnelly has told the ABC that work on gas projects in the region will continue for another 20 years, despite a recent slow-down.
“The infrastructure in the upstream market, which is the Surat Basin, has 30,000 more holes in the ground approved... things like roads are opportunities for businesses in Toowoomba and Surat, they're endless,” he said.
The builder says 150 rooms at the proposed camp have been booked already by companies that do not want to use ordinary housing.
“Food being a major problem, they need to make sure from the point of view of the welfare of the men and women in the workforce not to be eating at pubs and clubs is a good thing,” he said.
A recent CFMEU forum heard broad distaste for 100 per cent FIFO camps at Queensland coal mines.