Australia approves migrant workers for mining projects

Australia will allow marble polishing machine manufacturers in pakistanmining companies to use foreign workers to help address chronic labour shortages, with mining magnate Gina Rinehart's A$9.5 billion ($9.2 billion) Roy Hill iron ore project winning approval on Friday to bring in 1,715 workers.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the government had approved Rinehart's plan to bring in the workers to help develop the iron ore mine in the booming and remote Pilbara region of northwestern Australia.

The approval is a major shift in immigration policy and clears the way for the resources sector to use more foreign labour to help develop major projects at a time when Australian companies are struggling to find skilled workers.

"There is no doubt that the Roy Hill Project is one of national significance," Bowen told the National Press Club as he announced the first Enterprise Migration Agreement with Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting.

Australia's economy avoided recession following the global financial crisis, with strong labour market growth and an unemployment rate currently at 4.9 percent, well below unemployment rates in the United states and Europe.