News Mine jobs must go to locals: Katter Peter Michael 271 words 17 February 2012 The Courier-Mail COUMAI

1 - First with the news 9 English 2012 News Limited. All rights reserved. BOB Katter wants 95 per cent of workers in Australian mines to be locals. Mr Katter (pictured) told The Courier-Mail if his party wins power at the coming state election, they will mandate for an almost Australian-only workforce in Queensland's booming resource industry. His comments come after The Courier-Mail this week revealed several mining giants are in commercialin-confidence negotiations with the Federal Government to fly foreign workers direct from overseas to mining sites. ``This is what happens when you get into bed with big mining and take their political party donation funds,'' the Katter Australia Party (KAP) leader said yesterday. ``It's like climbing into a swag full of black mulga snakes. ``You get bitten.'' The federal MP for Kennedy, whose party has been likened to One Nation, said he was not being xenophobic or racist. ``If the wages go overseas, and the profits go overseas, what is left in Queensland? ``Nothing but a great big hole in the ground,'' he said. Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, Clive Palmer and his Chinese consortium, and Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and GVK Reddy are behind plans to access Enterprise Migration Agreements to bring in overseas workers. ``It is all about cheap wages, having us work for nothing, and don't worry about safety standards,'' Mr Katter said. He described LNP leader Campbell Newman's response to the push as ``misleading and devious''. ``Despite taking funds from Clive Palmer, he said he would not support it,'' he said. ``But did he say he would stop it? No.'' Document COUMAI0020120216e82h00037

Page 1 of 1

2012 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.