Unemployment figures inexcusable says Mayor Latrobe Valley’s steep rise in unemployment has been condemned by Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Brendan Jenkins, as inexcusable. By Latrobe City Council - 19th June 2001 - Back to News Latrobe Valley’s steep rise in unemployment in the latest figures released by the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business has been condemned by Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Brendan Jenkins, as inexcusable.
"The Federal Government claimed when it released the December Quarter figures that they had turned the unemployment situation around, and that their policies were on track in delivering jobs. We now know that was all huff and puff from the Minister, and in fact the figures were quite clearly wrong. We said so at the time and these latest figures unfortunately prove our point," Cr Jenkins said.
"According to the latest figures, unemployment has risen in Moe, Morwell and Traralgon back beyond where the region was twelve months ago and more than twice that of the average for Victoria and Australia. This is a tremendous disappointment, and places more pressure on the Taskforce to deliver solutions that will address real job creation in Latrobe.
"When the December figures were released, Latrobe challenged the accuracy of the Department’s estimates, convinced there was no evidence that unemployment was easing. The Minister at the time was quick to herald figures as a sign of employer confidence even though local government and industry leaders and social welfare spokespeople were highly doubtful of the Federal Government’s claims, indicating the GST was even exacerbating the situation, adding to employment woes. Unfortunately it seems, we were right," Cr Jenkins said.
"However, unemployment is not just of the Commonwealth’s making. These figures reflect the continued downsizing in the electricity industry. Even now there are more threats to jobs with fears there will be a further increase in the wake of Yallourn Energy’s attempted third wave of redundancies. We have to ask ourselves when is it all going to end.
It must be remembered that unemployment in Latrobe began in the early nineties and has remained since then. It is almost entirely the result of successive State Government decisions, and was not accompanied by a strategic plan to deal with the effects, unlike in the Hunter Valley, where the potential for economic and social devastation was addressed.
"There is now an even greater need for the State Government to deliver real employment initiatives in its Taskforce announcement and a way forward for the region. It is equally if not more important, for the Commonwealth Government to build upon the Taskforce announcement and deliver policies and programs that recognise the dire needs of this region," Cr Jenkins concluded.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: latrobecity@gippslander.com
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