Qantas may have wanted to boost profits by acquiring Network Aviation which focuses mainly in the 'fly in fly out' activity in the mining regions of Australia, but it has stirred up a hornet's nest.
Former MP and advocate of the mining communities Jim Pearce has said that the fact that Qantas as invested in the sector shows just how much mining companies are spending on ‘fly in and fly’ out operations.
The new acquisition by Qantas will allow it to get a market share of Western Australia’s fly in fly out mine work force. The move should come as a warning to the Queensland communities that are lobbying against the outsourced workers. There is a chance that the mining boom may by pass them if they do not fall in with the plan of the mining companies.
The local communities still hold the view that the mining projects should support the region that they are being conducted in. What happens with the ‘fly in fly out’ model is that all the investment and benefits seem to get skimmed off with the migratory workers to other states that they come in to work from.