Mine in central Queensland town of Moranbah to employ 1000 workers on FIFO roster THE central Queensland town of Moranbah is about to be hit by a jobs boom, but local residents are not welcome to apply. Under a deal struck with the Bligh government, BHP Billiton and its partner Mitsubishi, under the BMA Alliance, will be able to employ about 1000 workers on the controversial fly-in, fly-out rostering system. It will mean workers can live anywhere and fly into the site for periods often lasting two weeks. Under the deal the Caval Ridge and Daunia mines, near Moranbah, will be staffed with workers from Brisbane and Cairns where the company has bases for recruitment and logistics. About 30,000 people have applied for the 1000 jobs at the two mines. National president of mining union, the CFMEU, Tony Maher said BHP's 100 per cent FIFO policy was a disgrace. "FIFO should only be used where there is no other alternative, not as standard operating practice," he said. It is the communities of Central Queensland who bear the brunt of the region's mining boom with high cost of living, unaffordable housing and clogged and dangerous roads. They deserve the job and training opportunities that mining can deliver. Moranbah has felt serious repercussions from the mining boom and FIFO. Housing prices have escalated beyond the capacity of the locals to buy them, there are no workers for the lower paid but essential jobs like retail and banking, and residents claim they fear for their safety because of the huge number of strangers in their region. But BHP Billiton said the FIFO system shared the wealth by spreading jobs around the state. "The decision to source the workforce for the two new mines from the Cairns and Brisbane regions reflects our firm belief that the employment and economic benefits of mining, and specifically the benefits of our growth, should be shared with other regions of Queensland," the company said. BMA remains committed to the Bowen Basin and it is always the company's preference, where it can, to source the majority of its workforce locally. In fact, BMA has the largest residential workforce in the Bowen Basin region.