Claims that WA’s big resources companies didn’t know their contracts were being sent offshore are completely unbelievable, according to the AMWU.
Speaking to more than 5,000 of WA’s steel fabrication business owners, metal tradespeople, engineers and concerned members of the community at Parliament on Wednesday, Premier Colin Barnett said Chevron, Woodside and other major project proponents were “shocked” to learn that contracts they had awarded to local firms were being sent off shore.
AMWU State Secretary Steve McCartney said it was simply not believable that the Premier and project proponents didn’t know that their work was going offshore.
“Colin Barnett is an experienced politician and it is simply not believable that he and some of the highest paid mining executives in the world didn’t know these contracts were being sent offshore,” he said.
Mr McCartney said Mr Barnett’s claims were even more ridiculous, given media reports following the awarding of many of Gorgon’s contracts.
“Over the last two years, Chevron awarded a number of contracts for Gorgon which it described as ‘local content’, however media reports at the time clearly identified that a lot of the work would be done offshore.
“In September 2009, Gorgon awarded its $2.7 billion downstream engineering, procurement and construction management contract – a contract Chevron includes in the project’s list of $20 billion of local content. However, media reports at the time confirmed a lot of the work would be done in London, the USA, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.
“In January 2011, Gorgon awarded its $520 million construction village contract – another contract Chevron includes in the project’s list of $20 billion of local content. However, media reports at the time confirmed a lot of the work would be done in Qatar and Thailand.
“And, most recently, Gorgon awarded a $1 billion contract for pipeline installation – a contract Chevron includes in the project’s list of $20 billion of local content. However, media reports have confirmed the pipes would be manufactured in Japan and Malaysia.”
Mr McCartney said the State Government shouldn’t blame the contractors for its policy failings.
“The reason most of our skilled work is going offshore is because Mr Barnett has been asleep at the wheel over the last two years,” he said.
“We need new laws that deliver a systemic change that puts pressure on the State Government to secure a better deal for the use of our natural resources.”