Peak industry group Australian Resources and Energy Group (AMMA) has Labor in its sights in lobbying for six-year workplace deals for greenfields projects.

Allowing employers and unions to negotiate longer workplace deals for major resources and energy projects would create thousands of high-paid jobs in Australia the AMMA said.

Department of Industry figures showed there were more than 350 major resources and energy projects, in various stages of feasibility and commitment, in Australia’s investment pipeline, said AMMA CEO Steve Knott.

“If all could be secured, the five-year employment projections would easily exceed 100,000 new jobs,” Mr Knott said.
 
“These jobs would range from trades and construction through to production roles – all paying salaries well in excess of $100,000 and for most, much more.
 
“But in order to secure job-creating major project capital in Australia, and not see it lost to competing nations, we need to sharpen our game.
 
“It makes no sense that the maximum term for major project greenfields agreements is currently four years, when the construction of large-scale resources and energy projects can often exceed that.
 
“Even a small increase to six years would make a huge difference to the international investment community that determines which nations they will allocate billions of dollars of major project capital.”

Pitching to the left
 
The six-year terms for major projects ‘should be uncontroversial’ said Mr Knott who encouraged the federal opposition, the trade union movement and other stakeholders to be considered in their response.
 
“Such agreements could have an inbuilt mechanism to ensure appropriate pay increases throughout the life of the project,” he said.

“It was extremely disappointing that Labor and the ACTU worked in tandem to have six-year terms removed from the Fair Work amendments that passed through Parliament last year,” Mr Knott said.

“Given greenfields agreements must be negotiated with trade unions, the political rhetoric and faux outrage surrounding six-year terms for major projects was utterly absurd.

“Under Anthony Albanese the ALP has promised to be more supportive of business than the Opposition led by Mr Shorten in 2019. Mr Albanese now has an opportunity to demonstrate that.

“We encourage the Opposition Leader to make six-year terms for major project greenfields agreements a bipartisan commitment taken to the 2022 Federal Election.”