Those men working all those shifts in rural areas could still be doing that work IF there was a town built nearby to which they could move their families.

Matter of fact, that's exactly what Bowen Basin councils want, instead of having to host camps of disgruntled men who add nothing to the local economy.

Not only that, but if they built bigger towns in metalliferrous mining areas, they could start doing some downstream processing (value-adding) before export ... in turn, this would mean making more export dollars per tonne of country blown up.

Once built, mines employ very few. Peripheral jobs such as service jobs can employ more.

Large mining companies are more likely to adhere to fatigue management policies than smaller companies (For example, a major mining company has a maximum work hour policy of 63 hrs per week, but I know of a small company in a nearby town where employees can work over 100 hrs per week).

What also has to be remembered is that a great many workers currently in the mines and on construction sites are foreign workers, and DIDO or FIFO does not affect their family life, because their family is in another country.

Overall, I don’t think FIFO or DIDO is a great problem, and the major problem for the country is the lunacy of the federal government’s immigration rate, which means more mines have to be built to supply jobs for more people.

John, a very accurate assessment of both the construction side, and mining side of things. One thing that I would expand on is the comment about the Gray men. Eventually your spot on with these blokes, I remember my first DIDO assignment 24 years ago, I hadn't long separated from the Dragon, about 24 months or more. We had a court order re child support, which was implemented prior to Child Support Agency taking the reins of enforcing child support from "Dead Beat Dads". Under CSA formula I would have had to pay more than the entire Sole Parent Pension, she would have had nothing from the government; she refused to allow me to see the Kid to the point where she even made a serious threat against my life. (She had stabbed and killed the next bloke after me, and only got 11 months inside) Number 3 bloke after me was a member of a notorious crime family in Victoria and she threatened me with these people. (I wonder why “the gray men” are bitter?)
When I started on Construction, CSA had just started up, the ex found out how much I was on and approached CSA about getting rid of the Court order and changing to the CSA model. Luckily for me this was not an option; over the years I have felt for a lot of blokes who have had to endure the inequities of the system.
A lot of blokes end up out in isolated construction or mining because their life has been torn apart, the Ex won't let them see kids despite court orders, etc; then on top of that they are hit with massive CSA payments. A lot of them earn the big money because they have nothing else in their life.
CSA payments should only be based on "Ordinary Hours" if a bloke works 84 hours a week, why should a bitch that refuses to allow access to the kids benefit from the deprivations that her ex goes through, because she has destroyed or taken everything he has worked for in the past? It is only right that blokes contribute towards their offspring, but that money should represent their previous life-style earnings.
I have seen blokes set up by what can only be described as “evil Ex’s”. Can’t see the kids but just come around and leave the Christmas presents at the Mailbox, They get home to be greeted by the cops for breaching the AVO. The story’s I have heard over the years makes me wonder how some blokes exercise such restraint.
For me, I have spent the last 20 odd years with my current wife, 2 years overseas where our only contact was letters and limited phone calls. I have worked in isolated areas and long times away from home the majority of our time together. This works for us, but I have had to council newbie’s in the game as to whether this lifestyle is suitable for them. Even though the money is good, it is not just them out there in the bush but the missus back home having to deal with the blown hot water system, the local creep that will try it on when hubby is away, (mine massages their nuts with her knee, no problems). Many who try to get out to the mines but are unsuccessful are jealous of what they think is a great life. When you try to explain that it isn’t all beer & skittles, they look at you like you don’t have a clue. All I suggest is be careful what you wish for.

FIFO and shift work were NOT developed as a replacement for less satisfactory systems... for the "worker"..at least, Sue. They were developed as a way of getting higher return on capital investment for the SHARE HOLDER. Sure, the worker who has the ability to work these hours without burning out themselves or their relationships, may welcome the extra cash, until the wheels ultimately fall off. As a friend of mine says ," it is all good until it's not ". You don't know it's broken until it is well and truly broken. I grew up in a household financially supported by a shift worker in essential services and I can assure the relationship between the bread winner and the family was less ideal than our neighbours where the bread winner worked Monday to Friday and the family enjoyed the weekends to recreate together. We have been through this work cycle "experiment" many times in the history of "civilisation ". Most "civilised" countries return to a working week of somewhere between 30 and 50 hours to allow a worker to have meaningful contact with their family and the quality of life that comes with adequate rest and recreation. If some one is working 70 odd hours with some type of extra ( penalty) rate for the extra hours, they are earning up to three times the "normal" wage paid by the employer, and are taking the opportunity for a job from up to two other people from an employer and not allowing them to feed their families. If one person is doing the hours of two or three , he is stealing the opportunity for another person to have a job. It is simply greed and lack of empathy for another person's need for employment to feed his family. But it is fully endorsed by the credit providers touting access to more credit and more interest to be repaid . This was the basis of the 40 hour working week campaign that most " normal " workers now enjoy. Workers in essential services e.g. hospitals, law enforcement, shipping, etc, are required to work shift work to keep essential services available. Their roster normally averages somewhere between 35 and 42 hours per week. A roster that has some one working over 60 hours leaves someone with very little time for their family, after sleep, travel, food gathering and preparation etc.. There are only 168 hours in a week, then the next one starts and away the cycle goes again. Try working 72 hours a week Sue and see how quickly you burn out . Try to fit in time to study to increase your skills and get yourself off the hamster wheel and see how hard it becomes. Throw in being a single parent and I doubt some one without super powers will survive. If a roster that has the person working 70 hours a week is a more "satisfactory system" , why aren't police officers and other essential services demanding the chance to work it. The police officer could work 72 hours a week for up to 6 weeks and have a week or more off. Would you really want him driving around armed when he is tired. The friends I have lost and their families would definitely choose unemployment , limited income or residential roles in a company mining town than never seeing their loved ones again. Most of my friends and family are shift workers, FIFO or DIDO and I can assure you they have definitely have more "stuff", but they all long for the day they can live on a "normal " wage or just see their family and friends on a common "weekend" together. " Even time " FIFO can work well for certain individuals who have the necessary monitoring and support in place . Shift work "works" well for very few and needs a lot more fatigue management than is being provided at present. The number of casualties from tired workers driving on our roads is staggering but isn't considered "news worthy" when the media are approached to report it. Police can RBT and drug test drivers but people driving "tired" is completely ignored. The technology exists but it's implementation hasn't been enforced.

Sue: Argyle Diamonds was one of the early leaders in FIFO. One of their major reasons for going this way was a desire to avoid the industrial chaos that was a feature of the Plibara at that time. The thinking was that a lot of the Pilbara problems came from workers sitting around after work complaining about the company they worked for.
Argyle has had very few industrial problems. At least some of this would be due to the very good accommodation and the high priority they gave to HR policy and its application.
FIFO also makes sense in terms of cost. When I lived in mining towns with my family the company was providing a good quality house and many community support services in return for one worker. Dongas would work out cheaper even if the price of air fares is taken into account.
FIFO can also be attractive for many workers:
1. Single men who value the company of women.
2. Workers who value what cities have to offer.
3. Families where one partner wants a city based career while the other wants a site based job.
4. Workers who want to accumulate money quickly so that they can get on with other things. (Such as serious study.)
Part of the problem at the moment is that few companies offer flexibility. In most cases the rosters are set up to attract the "make a lot of money quickly crowd.)