Employers having staff called upon to complete Jury Duty is an all too familiar occurrence, often leaving businesses short staffed during this period of time.

Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter, wants the criteria for those called upon to complete Jury Duty to change.

“As it stands, only those on the electoral role are captured to complete these duties.

“The legal system relies on people giving up work to complete their duties as a juror”, said Mr Katter.

“Often these people are people playing a vital part in our communities, and a vital part in the business in which they work.

“In towns such as Mount Isa, with a heavy number of FIFO workers, you’ve got a large portion of people living and working in the town for half the time, not giving back.

“These people called upon are pulled from the electoral role in the area, you’re constantly targeting permanent residents.

“You’re disrupting the same workforces time and time again”, said Mr Katter

“These small town businesses cannot afford to have staff missing, while multimillion dollar industries, such as mining are left untouched.

“These large companies import labour, and the government accepts FIFO workers in the area.

“Something needs to be done to ensure these people are contributing to the town they spend so much of their time in.

“The current system is unfair, particularly for those towns such as Mount Isa and Cloncurry who a have high number of FIFO workers.

Mr Katter has called upon the Attorney General to change the eligibility criteria for people eligible to complete Jury Duty, so it can capture FIFO workers and alike, so they too can provide these duties for the regions they work in.

“I am understanding these duties need to be completed”, said Mr Katter, “but if you’re spending this much time in the community and are occupying local jobs, you should be giving back in ways such as this.”

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