Gippsland › Latest news › Russel Northe MLA

Unemployment continues to skyrocket under Labor

Latrobe region has one of the highest unemployment rates of all Victorian municipalities, figures from the December 2016 quarter have revealed.

By Portal Admin - 20th March 2017 - Back to News

Member for Morwell Russell Northe said the latest unemployment figures show that Daniel Andrews and his Government have failed workers in the Latrobe Valley.

Mr Northe said it is incomprehensible that in the short space of two years under the Andrews Government, unemployment has risen in Latrobe City from 7.3% to 11.2% an increase of more than 50%.

"1,352 more local people have joined the unemployment queue since December 2014, verifying that the Andrews Government is more focused on its own issues than supporting Latrobe Valley residents," Mr Northe said.

"This is a Government that after being elected immediately abolished a number of specific Latrobe Valley economic development and community programs."

Mr Northe said despite the rhetoric of Daniel Andrews that he would fight for every Victorian job; this is clearly not the case for Latrobe Valley workers.

"We now have the diabolical situation that this same Government said it would fight for every job is now decimating the energy and timber industries that will see the loss of thousands more jobs in the region," Mr Northe said.

"We will never forget that it is Labor’s policy to close Hazelwood without a plan, and it was the current State Government that just last year imposed an extra $252 million of taxes on Latrobe Valley generators.

"With Hazelwood Power Station about to close and a number of timber related businesses under significant threat, the unemployment rate is expected to spiral further out of control," he said.

"It appears Daniel Andrews is more worried about ideology and his own job than that of Latrobe Valley workers."

For more information about the unemployment figures you can visit https://docs.employment.gov.au/node/34693.

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Source: www.gippsland.com

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