The Queensland Nurses Union will tell a federal inquiry in Mackay today that fly-in fly-out workers are responsible for a culture of alcohol-fuelled violence that is overwhelming medical staff in regional areas.
The union's submission says medical services are too understaffed to deal with problems caused by cashed-up workers' excessive drinking and gambling.
It says rural and remote mining towns are juggling the positive economic impacts of the fly-in fly-out workers with social consequences, including the alcohol abuse and violence.
The union says housing prices are often too high in mining communities to attract health professionals.
The submission will be made to a hearing of the federal parliamentary inquiry into fly-in fly-out workers in Mackay.
