Its easy to target the right people and angle your questions to...

Its easy to target the right people and angle your questions to get the desired response in pretty much any survey. The findings are even less meaningfull when the data is analysed by people with limited knowledge of the real world. What is really interesting though is that this comes from a group that is govt funded at a time the govt is losing its political push for new mining and carbon taxes. Coincidence ? Exactly how does a survey relating to FIFO workers and their social impact justified under the funding we taxpayers provide to the University of Technology ? Shouldn't they be studying technology with the money we provide them ?

When you live your entire life in the little world of accedemia where money doesn't have to be earned from clients who either want or need your product, then its easy to reach conclusions about big bad business and what terrible impact such activities have. Not once do such people consider a balanced analysis and ask "but what would happen to these communities if the mine wasn't there ?"

"QUT researcher Professor Kerry Carrington says concerns have been raised about the pressure non-resident workers place on housing affordability". Since fly-in fly-out workers don't buy houses and often live in the mining village surely they don't push the prices of houses up and thus don't cause a problem with housing affordability. In fact if the mines scrap FIFO workers and insisted all their staff lived locally then surely there would be a huge problem wityh housing affordability in these areas.

Bizzaar logic but then the term fuzzy logic did come accedemics studying artificial intelligence. The reality doesn't support their interpretation whatsoever so maybe they are actually complaining that the FIFO workers aren't pushing up the prices of their houses and they aren't getting the opportunity to cash in on a big capital gain.

"Because if it's fly-in, fly-out, then the businesses will just disappear out of the town". Wow, so all the locals are flocking to the mining village to buy their groceries, hardware, petrol, grog and entertainment. From this comment one must assume so as the business is going out of the town. This must be good news guys and we should factor in some profit from the mining village grocery store and viewing deck which will add to our dividends.

Seriously, I can understand why a balance is required but there is no point having stupid politically driven surveys touting complete and utter rubbish and trying to turn the communities against our biggest exporters just so that you can peddle a socialist agenda before you lose your job.

I've got a new idea. Why don't we treat our government like a company. They have to pay for their stupid ideas and show a profit or at least break even while in office. If they make a loss then the political party has to underwrite that loss when they leave office. That will keep the labour party busy for the next 200 years.