Unions’ foreign worker battle costly

The mining lobby says unions are risking billions of dollars of investment in resources projects by demonising overseas workers and pressuring the federal government to make it harder to use foreign labour, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The government has toughened the rules governing the 457 visa program in the past week to appease Labor’s union base in an election year. Employers must demonstrate genuine skills shortages, English language requirements have been strengthened and foreign workers must be paid the same as local workers.

Unions are pushing for an end to enterprise migration agreements, which allow large companies to employ foreign workers on one-off projects. Some in the sector believe the agreements are “dead”

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke said changes to skilled foreign worker visas created uncertainty.

Miners on red alert as cyclone nears Pilbara

Iron ore miners are bracing for the impact of tropical cyclone Rusty, which is forecast to make a direct hit on Port Hedland as a Category 4 this afternoon, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The town, home to a port that handles a fifth of the world’s iron ore trade, was placed on red alert last night. Residents were told to stay indoors and evacuations were ordered in some low-lying coastal areas.

Wind gusts reached 120km/h yesterday and the Bureau of Meteorology warned that “very destructive” winds with gusts in excess of 165km/h an hour could develop today.

Rinehart and Wright Prospecting in court showdown

The Western Australian Court of Appeal is today set to hand down the reasons for its decision in the long-running case between Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and the rival iron ore heirs behind Wright Prospecting, according to The Australian.

The court yesterday handed down reasons for the decision behind the latest judgment, which found in favour of Wright Prospecting, but they were quickly withdrawn and a request was made for the reasons not to be reported.

Amended reasons will be published today.

Hancock and Wright had been fighting over the huge but undeveloped Rhodes Ridge deposit in the Pilbara, with the parties in dispute over how the assets amassed by the late Lang Hancock and the late Peter Wright were divided up.