The Rural Australian Committee has handed down its report into fly-in-fly-out work practices, slamming it as a “cancer on the bush.”

The Rural Australia Committee handed down the Cancer for the bush or salvation for our cities? Fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out workforce practices in Regional Australia report, concluding that the influx of workers into regional areas is strangling the life out of other industries and areas in regional Australia.

Federal Independent MP Tony Windsor, who chaired the Committee, said practice was threatening to ‘hollow out’ regional towns.

The Committee has made 21 recommendations to the Government and 12 suggestions to industry.

Mr Windsor said that if the recommendations and suggestions are accepted, both Government and industry can contribute to building stronger inland regional communities alongside a robust resources industry.

Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Mitchell Hooke, said the report should be treated with a degree of scepticism.

“A demographic study by KPMG for the MCA released last week showed that incomes and educational attainment are higher, unemployment is lower and there are more families and working aged residents in Australia’s mining regions than in regional Australia more generally,” Mr Hooke said in a statement.