ZARA MARGOLIS, HOST: If you thought Mount Isa was quieter compared to years ago, turns out you’d be right. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed the city’s population has actually fallen by around 2,000 people since 2001, and Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres reckons one of the big reasons for this is fly-in, fly-out mining. He spoke more with [Abbey Halter] on what needs to change to give workers more reason to stay. 

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Well, I saw some reporting of that data, and I guess what’s disappointing about the reporting in the big city newspapers about these figures is, of course, they never talk to anybody in Mount Isa or any regional centre, for that matter. And it underscores why the Albanese Government’s intervention into the copper smelter in Mount Isa was just so important. 

This is about sustaining critical capabilities for Australia – copper manufacturing, the operations at Phosphate Hill, the broader industrial system which employs thousands and thousands of people in North Queensland. This is a very important intervention for Australia from a strategic perspective, but it’s also delivered security and investment and good opportunities for people in a country town that needs Australia to back it. 

ABBEY HALTER, JOURNALIST: You’re saying that it’s delivering security and optimism for this country town of Mount Isa, but the population is still declining. So, how do you rectify that as a government? 

AYRES: Well, we’ve just got to keep working together. I suppose it’s obvious to say, imagine if the facility had closed. Imagine what the outcome would be for this really important outback Queensland town. It’s a first step, building security around the smelter, around all of the industrial facilities that are connected into the smelter, working with the council and the Queensland Government. You know, the Albanese Government’s stepped in here and demanded a transformation process that gets all of us involved – Local Government, the Queensland Government, junior miners, industry, transport, infrastructure – all working together to chart the course over the next few years for how we build a stronger economic and industrial future for northern Queensland, for Mount Isa in particular, and this giant industrial ecosystem and its potential. 

JOURNALIST: A lot of the mining industry in Mount Isa has moved to fly-in, fly-out workers rather than being permanent residents, which is anecdotally part of why the population has dropped. What is the Government going to do to counter exactly this? 

AYRES: Well, it is part of the problem. It is part of the problem. And a resort to fly-in, fly-out is the easy way through for companies that are investing in the regions. What I want to see is more investment in schools, more engagement with kids in schools about why these jobs are good jobs for their future and their community’s future and good jobs for Australia to have in country towns. We’ve got to fight for that. 

The Community Benefit Principles that are part of the Future Made in Australia framework will go to some of these issues. Local jobs first, that’s what I want to see. I want to see young people from Mount Isa and surrounding communities at the front of the queue for apprenticeships and good production job opportunities. 

JOURNALIST: Glencore does say and have recently defended their actions and defended their work engaging in local schools in Mount Isa to bring more apprenticeships and local people into the mining industry here. But many people say that the pay is not enough to get them to stay in town. What do you think the Government should do to rectify this? If people aren’t getting paid enough, they’re not wanting to stay. 

AYRES: Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, isn’t it? I mean, the smelter is a very big employer of locals. But we could all do better. The smelter could do better. We’re urging them, particularly through this transformation process, to take a broader approach. They are making efforts here. More people employed in permanent jobs because of the Government’s – the Albanese Government and the Crisafulli Government’s – intervention here. That is a good outcome. But I want to see wages for locals lift. I want to see good local jobs, and I want to see locals in front of the queue for jobs. 

Fly-in, fly-out workers make an important contribution, but I want to tip the scales towards local employment, and not just in the big facilities, but building the confidence in the smaller engineering companies that they can invest in jobs, in plant and equipment and in apprenticeships. 

JOURNALIST: The Centre for Population Data shows a significant drop in internal migration to Mount Isa but a rise in overseas migration. What will the Government do to make working and living in Mount Isa and other regions in the Northwest more attractive for Australian residents? 

AYRES: What we don’t want to do is end up in a negative spiral of talking these jobs down. These are good jobs. The unions have got an important role to play here as they work with their members to lift wages and to collectively bargain. The firms, including the copper smelter, have got a role here, not just in their own facility but more broadly in the supply chain. Like, Local Government has got a job to do here, building confidence in the local community. 

I just say this because we’ve all got a responsibility, not to duck responsibility but to grab hold of it and to work together in regional industrial communities like this. We’ve got a once‑in-a-lifetime opportunity in Mount Isa to grab hold of this $600 million intervention from the Albanese Government and the Crisafulli Government to turn it into future investment opportunities in junior miners, in critical minerals processing, in metals production, in all of the infrastructure that’s going to be required for that. But you don’t turn a switch on or off. The only way we make our way through this as Australians is to work together. 

HOST: That’s federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres speaking with Abbey Halter about the rise in fly-in, fly-out mining workers in Mount Isa as part of the reason for the city’s declining population. Recent ABS data revealed that urban areas with key industries like mining, including Mount Isa, are all experiencing declining populations, but for Mount Isa specifically, between 2001 and 2025, the population apparently went down by around 2,000 people. Minister Tim Ayres saying increased industry engagement is essential to keep local workers in town.