FIFO workers exposing Aboriginal youth to the drug ice, says community organisation

'Meth' use and stabbings are on the increase in Port Hedland, and a local Aboriginal services organisation is blaming the influence of cashed-up fly-in, fly-out mine workers.

Methylamphetamine drugs seized by police.

Port Hedland in Western Australia is home to one of the biggest fly-in fly-out (FIFO) populations in the country.

This influx of outside workers with high incomes is starkly contrasted with growing unemployment for local Indigenous youth.

Bob Neville is CEO of the Bloodwood Tree Association in South Hedland, an organisation dedicated to working with homeless and alcohol affected Aboriginal people in the area.

Mr Neville says drug use in the community is rife, particularly the use of methamphetamines which is also known as 'ice'. He says the popularity of the drug among the young FIFO workers has increased its use by locals and this has led to greater instances of violence.

"One of the noticeable thing from the Drug and Alcohol council is the increase in the 'Meth' use. It's creating quite a lot of issues out there. The number of stabbings has increased, unfortunately that can be a result of drug use," says Mr Neville.

"The information I get through my drug and alcohol centre is there is a lot more 'Ice' up here and drugs coming into this town we need to get it sorted out get our town cleaned up and get them into more economic development," he says.

Mr Neville says he doesn't believe the balance is right with what benefits largescale mining companies bring to an area and the detrimental impact on the local community.

"I don't think we got it right as far as Aboriginal people are concerned in this community it's still a mining town and we have this new cancer on our shoulder called 457 visas and when you've got close to a thousand unemployed Aboriginal people in a town whose and most of those are youths under 30 and that gives us a huge unemployment rate," he says.

Employment and training programs for Indigenous residents are usually prerequisite before mining commences, but Mr Neville says it hasn't manifested into jobs.

"The issue being that the momentum has not been carried on not just from the mining companies but from all the other business areas and that's created this huge plume of unemployment we have now," says Mr Neville.