Illawarra Region Unemployment
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: My question is directed to the Minister for Roads on behalf of the Minister for the Illawarra. Is the Minister aware that the Illawarra region consistently suffers an unemployment rate that is significantly higher than most other regions not only in New South Wales but also throughout the nation? In particular, is the Minister aware that youth unemployment is one of the most significant economic and social issues facing the Illawarra region and recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that “While the overall unemployment rate in the Wollongong Statistical Region was 6.8 percent, the youth unemployment rate was 21.6 percent? Moreover, the Illawarra consistently has a youth unemployment rate amongst the highest of any region in the State”. Can the Minister inform the House what policy and program initiatives will be established to reduce the high levels of both adult and youth unemployment to avoid a cycle of poverty and welfare dependency in the Illawarra region?
The Hon. Eric Roozendaal: I thank the member for his question. I will refer it to the appropriate Minister for a response.
Deferred answer
On 24 June 2008 Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes asked the Minister for Roads, representing the Minister for the Illawarra, a question without notice regarding the Illawarra region unemployment. The Minister for the Illawarra provided the following response:
I thank the Honourable Member for his question and his interest in the lIIawarra region. As Minister for the Illawarra and a local resident I am well aware that the Illawarra region has a higher than state average youth unemployment rate. This is of course a concern to all local residents and elected representatives like myself. Public awareness of this issue has grown in recent weeks with the publication of the “Youth Unemployment in the lIIawarra” report by the lIIawarra Regional Information Service on 11 June, which I’m sure the Hon Gordon Moyes has read.
The NSW Government recognises that the issue of youth unemployment is complex and stems from a range of factors both within and outside the government’s control.
It is well proven that there is a direct link between education, training and employment. It is a key priority of the NSW Government’s State Plan “A new direction for NSW’, to increase the proportion of students completing Year 12 or recognised vocational training from 82.7% in 2005 to 90% in 2016.
For this reason, the NSW Government has focused on expanding options for young people to assist their retention at school and to increase their employability when they do leave school. There are a range of government programs, primarily run by the NSW Department of Education and Training, which aim to achieve these goals. These include:
· School-based apprenticeships. New Trade Schools
· A Taste of TAFE program
· School to Work program
· Links to Learning program
· Vocational Education and Training in Schools and other specific programs. TAFE and Community Education—special initiatives for youth
· Youth Training under the Strategic Skills Program
· Apprenticeship and Traineeship Training Program Funding for Youth
· lIIawarra Industry Apprenticeship Project
· lIIawarra State Training Services for unemployed youth.
The NSW Government is also committed to assisting businesses to take on young apprentices and trainees. The Growing Our Skills program allows employers to not pay workers compensation premiums on the wages of apprentices. Employers also receive payroll tax exemption for apprentices and new entrant trainees. The NSW government provides small business owners with a rebate on the cost of registration of a vehicle for each apprentice employed.
Research shows that students who stay longer at school have higher wages, less unemployment throughout their lives and are likely to do further study. On 30 January 2008 the Premier announced a proposal to raise the NSW school leaving age to either 16, 17 or 18. On 30 June I was fortunate enough to represent the Minister for Education at one of the many forums across the state to discuss this issue with lIIawarra teachers, parents and youth workers.
The NSW Government is also committed to assisting youth, particularly disadvantaged youth, through a range of support programs in the lIIawarra including:
· Better Futures Program
· Community Services Grants Program
· Getting It Together Scheme
· Youth Mental Health Model
· Drug and Alcohol Community Youth Team (DACYT) . Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS)
· Youth Outreach Worker Projects
· Youth and Family Counselling services
· Youth Adult Resource Information Project
· Youth Refuges and Housing
· Alcohol and Other Drugs Program
· Child and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS) . Adolescent Day Program
· Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative
Beyond this support, the NSW Government realises that the key provider of jobs for youth is the private sector. For this reason we continue to work with industry to encourage jobs growth in the region.
The lemma Government has a three-pronged approach to economic growth for the Illawarra region:
· Investment in infrastructure such as ports growth,
· Investment in research and innovation such as the Innovation Campus,
· Detailed planning such as the City Centre Plan and the Illawarra Regional strategy.
The NSW Government is committed to economic growth in the lIIawarra Region and has supported a wide range of investments in the lIIawarra region including:
· $167 million to transform Port Kembla into Australia’s leading car import centre, creating over 1000 jobs,
· $24 million for the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus project which continues to provide jobs in its construction phase and will generate up to 5000 knowledge-based jobs upon completion.
The NSW Government’s lIIawarra Advantage Fund has continued to attract new investment and create new jobs in the Illawarra region. More than 91 projects have now been supported, creating 2,300 full time jobs and representing over $178 million in capital investment in the region.
The NSW Government has also committed in the 2008/09 Budget to progressively cutting payroll tax in NSW from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent by 2011. This will provide $1.9 billion in cuts to payroll tax over the next four years and will help lure businesses to shift their investment to the Illawarra region.
The Illawarra Regional Strategy and the recently announced Illawarra Regional Business Growth Plan also outline a great deal of work the NSW Government is committed to doing in our region. More information about these strategies is available from the Department of Planning and the Department of State and Regional Development respectively.
