No support in budget for region with Victoria’s worst jobless rate
The latest Federal Budget has provided no infrastructure investment for the Greater South East Melbourne region, despite the region having the worst jobless rate in Victoria.
Greater South East Melbourne spokesperson Cr Steve Staikos, Mayor of Kingston, said:
“The Federal government has allocated $3.4 billion for road and rail projects in Victoria. None of these projects are in south east Melbourne.”
“No provision was made for the Greater South East Melbourne City Deal. This indicates that the Morrison Government is unlikely to deliver its commitment to the region’s 1.5 million residents at the last election for a GSEM City Deal.”
“The Greater South East Melbourne region has the highest unemployment rate in Victoria and fifth highest in Australia.”
“More than 34,000 people in the region are out of work and looking for work. The region has been hit particularly hard in recent times and there was no specific support provided in this Budget.”
“As a matter of urgency, we are calling on the next Federal Government to provide the support and resources that the people of Greater South East Melbourne need.”
“We seek commitments on job creation, skills, infrastructure, transport, water recycling, environment, energy and a range of other sectors.”
Notes
The GSEM region has serious challenges:
The most recent ABS labour force data shows that Melbourne’s south east has Victoria’s highest unemployment rate. It is 7%. It is higher than any other labour force area in Victoria and is Australia’s 5th highest rate.
There are currently 34,300 people looking for work in our region, an increase of 7,800 people over the previous month.
The hardest industry sectors hit by the decline are construction, admin and support services, agriculture, other services, wholesale trade and rental and accommodation services
The Mornington Peninsula Shire tourism industry worth $967 million per annum is still down 16 per cent of its pre-pandemic value.