Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In July this year, within three days of each other, announcements were made that 200 jobs were to go immediately at the Mt Lyell copper mine in Queenstown and 150 were to go at the Henty gold mine by June next year. The closures have caused further job losses for local businesses and contractors, and it is vital that all levels of government work together to assist the region diversify and rebuild.

The Mt Lyell mine has been the lifeblood of Queenstown on Tasmania's isolated west coast since the 19th century. The Henty gold mine, some 20 kilometres north of Queenstown, will have been operational for roughly 20 years when it closes next year. The west coast has been and will continue to be a vital part of the Tasmanian economy. Mineral wealth from the region has funded much of Tasmania's development. The richness of the ore body and the ingenuity of Tasmanians will see mining continue to play a key role in the economy of the region and the state in coming years.

I recently hosted the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, in Burnie and Queenstown. The visit gave Bill the opportunity to listen to locals about the impacts of these closures and canvass ideas for rebuilding and reinvigorating the region. In Burnie, we visited the University of Tasmania Cradle Coast Campus and met with staff and students. Staff said that the university's preparation program was attracting the first person in a family to take on higher education. However, cuts to the university, which modelling says will cut $113 million, will impact on the prep program and the university's strong scientific research focus. Logically, this impacts on employment and business confidence in the region. Students were concerned that the government's proposed higher education reforms could see the Cradle Coast Campus close or reduce study options, and that people from the north-west and west coasts of Tasmania would not be able to afford to take on the huge level of debt that this government are so keen to burden them with.

On the west coast, we met with Mayor Robyn Gerrity as well as representatives from the seafood industry, unions, small business operators and community members. We were advised that the state government and the West Coast Council brought forward funding for works and maintenance immediately after the closure, which provided some immediate employment assistance for affected workers. Further, the state government is supposedly planning to bring forward election commitments into the 2014-15 financial year. However, community leaders reported that there has been little effective consultation on the details of and delivery of this package and there is uncertainty if it will fill the employment gap.

It was good to hear that projects committed to by the former Labor federal government in this region and continued by this government were progressing well. These include: $6 million for emergency track work to keep the West Coast Wilderness Railway in operation, over $7 million for a greenfield aquaculture hub at Macquarie Harbour and $3.5 million to construct a value-added aquaculture processing facility at Parramatta Creek.

I was pleased to host a community forum in Queenstown at the West Coast Council with Bill and Labor's shadow minister for regional development and employment services, Julie Collins. Over 40 people from every town on the West Coast turned out to share their ideas about how to rebuild and reinvigorate their community and their economy. It is clear is that the people of the West Coast require bipartisan commitment and assistance from all levels of government, and that federal government assistance is required to assist the region to revitalise its economy. I am pleased to report that the Leader of the Opposition has written to the Prime Minister, urging the government to consider six measures.

The first is to reinstate the local employment coordinator for the north-west and northern Tasmania. On 30 June 2014, the Abbott government did not renew the contract for the Local Employment Coordinator for North West/Northern Tasmania, causing the cessation of the program. Given the fresh challenges facing the region, increases in the unemployment rate and vulnerability of the local economy, the government must reinstate the Local Employment Coordinator for North West/Northern Tasmania. The former local employment coordinator had developed a regional employment plan in partnership with local employers to increase the capacity, effectiveness and flexibility of the local workforce through a range of strategies aimed at increasing labour market participation and improving skills. These strategies were assisting local workers to adapt to the challenging skill needs of employers and to better meet new employment opportunities arising in key local industries such as a dairy, mining, aquaculture, aged care, advanced and niche manufacturing and renewable energy. Other local employment coordinator contracts have been renewed in places like Geelong, where the unemployment rate is less than it is in the north-west region of Tasmania. The Labor opposition has been vocal about the importance of the local employment coordinator to working with business to create jobs in Tasmania for months now. It is time for the government to accept that it was a good program with much more to give, and to immediately reinstate the position.

The second measure is to provide immediate training opportunities for the people of the West Coast. The government should develop a training and skills package for the region that would provide immediate assistance to retrain workers in areas where there are skill shortages, as well as work experience opportunities. I heard from locals that there are both qualified trainers and former mine workers waiting for training places to be funded. When the mine closed, workers were informed that training opportunities would be made available. Months on, barely anything has eventuated. Financial support services and counselling during periods of unemployment and retraining for displaced workers should also be priority. Education levels in the area are significantly lower than the national average. Less than 50 per cent of adults aged 24 to 35 in the region completed year 12, compared with 75 per cent of the same age group nationally. Training programs exist to upskill and retrain people regardless of their formal education experience, and the government must get to work in this space.

The third proposal is to provide certainty for the renewable energy target. In Burnie, we met with the proponents of the Granville Harbour Wind Farm. They called themselves the farmer and his mate. Not only could they see the benefits of expanding wind power in Tasmania, for both the environment and jobs, but so could many of the people we met in both Burnie and Queenstown. Businesses and the community alike are deeply concerned about the impact of the recommendations of the Warburton review into the scheme and the potential impact on emerging wind farm projects—projects that have the potential to offer a sustainable future and 200 or more jobs for this fragile local economy. The government must restore certainty to the RET and maintain bipartisan support for renewable energy which is creating opportunities for regional Australia.

The fourth proposal was to develop a tourism and industry promotion plan for the region. Community leaders believe more could be done to promote the West Coast region as a whole and to encourage self-drive tourism and longer stays. Tourism Research Australia figures show trip expenditure is down eight per cent in Tasmania in the last financial year. The government should work to ensure Tasmania best capitalises on the Tourism Demand-Driver Infrastructure Program to develop key tourism infrastructure which is vital for expanding and promoting the Tasmanian and West Coast tourism industry.

The fifth proposal is to overhaul the failing Tasmanian Jobs Program. The Tasmanian Jobs Program provides a one-off incentive payment of $3,250 to an employer at the end of six months for each eligible job seeker continuously employed full time over that period. When announced last year it was effectively a cut of the former government's Wage Connect program that provided double the subsidy and was working well to create jobs. However, the Tasmanian Jobs Program is an absolute failure. When figures were released late last week, only 89 jobs had been created since 1 January this year. Minister Abetz set a target, or 'arbitrary ceiling' as he now calls it, of 2,000 positions over two years for this program. The government must urgently review the effectiveness of the program so that more North-West Tasmanian businesses consider taking advantage of this subsidy to employ job seekers.

The sixth measure was that the federal government should provide seed funding for job creating projects on the West Coast in partnership with the local community. The federal government has a role to play in providing bridging confidence for displaced workers and contractors while the agreements to establish and reopen mines are progressed, and while other industries develop. The government should work in partnership with RDA Tasmania, which brings together all sectors including education, industry, health and local government, to develop solutions that stack up and build a sustainable future for the region. Labor developed and resourced the RDA network to give a voice to local communities in Canberra. It is vital that the community is given every opportunity to build confidence and that budget cuts to community programs do not adversely impact on community resilience.

I urge the government to consider the proposals—a clear message from the community, the industry and the unions on the West Coast. They look forward to their region growing again in the future, and I look forward to working with the West Coast and Tasmanian communities to reinvigorate and rebuild the region's economy. (Time expired)