Newman sits on his hands while more mining jobs go

Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt said despite the usual rhetoric from Campbell Newman and the LNP, mining jobs continue to be shed in Queensland while unemployment skyrockets.

“News that more jobs are being cut from Queensland’s mining industry, this time by Glencore, will be devastating for the workers involved, and our thoughts go out to those workers affected and their families,” Mr Pitt said.

“That’s now over 8,000 jobs gone in the mining sector alone, and still the Premier has no plan to create and protect jobs in this state.

“The Premier is simply sitting on his hands doing nothing while more and more workers are thrown on the unemployment scrapheap.

“There’s no doubt there’s challenges in the coal industry at the present time, but the Premier simply stands aside and does nothing to help those workers be redeployed or upskilled.

“And if Tony Abbott’s vicious and cruel budget is passed by the Federal Senate, the support for those workers and their families will simply disappear.

“With unemployment skyrocketing to 6.3% in Queensland under Campbell Newman, there has never been a more important time for the State government to work with industry to ensure those workers can find work elsewhere.

“Queenslanders should never forget that Campbell Newman inherited an unemployment rate of 5.5% and promised to drive it down to 4%. Unemployment on his watch has only climbed ever since.

“Campbell Newman is no different from Tony Abbott. They promise one thing before the election and deliver the complete opposite. In Queensland, it’ll be workers and their families that pay the price.”