You might be able to entice people to coastal towns but I would suggest you would be hard pressed to find 10 000+ people who want to live in Newman/Paraburdoo/Telfer etc permanently. 45+ Degree summers make it none the more inviting. Power bills, Housing etc would all have to be subsidised, and you would have to pay people alot of money to get them there in the first instance. It's not like you can knock off work and head to the beach when you're living in Newman.
FIFO, whilst not ideal is probably the best of a bad choice really.
Not quite sure what the logic behind Tony Burke's thinking is here.