Wasn't FIFO a 'by-product' of Keating's "Fringe Benefits Tax"?
I seem to recall that the cheaper rents offerred by the companies for on site houses for families, was seen as a 'Fringe Benefit' - i.e. some form of income over and above...and was then to be taxed accordingly....
Sort of negated the reason for going there - to a remote location for a time -say two years or so - to work hard and save for the home in Perth, or wherever.
So was born the FIFO idea. You go 'up there', work for the two weeks or so, live in a donga, and come home to the family - no 'Fringe Benefit' taxes.
Prior to the taxes, 'Mum, Dad, and the Kids(?) would all go to live in the 'towns' established by the larger mines - 'Dad' worked at the mine, 'Mum' worked in the town or at the Mine's admin. and the kids went to the local school which the mine was obliged to establish.
Or, have I mixed that up in my 'old age'...??
