RESIDENTS in growth areas account for more than 30,000 of Melbourne’s unemployed workers, new research reveals.
The National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA), a group of 25 growth area councils around Australia, has released a report into employment and skills gaps in outer suburbs like Wyndham.
The report is part of the alliance’s federal budget submission. It outlines an “emerging liveability gap” in capital cities caused by unequal access to jobs and education in fringe suburbs.
In the west, Melton and Wyndham account for 9840 of Melbourne’s unemployed workers, while the northern areas of Hume and Whittlesea have 12,220 residents without jobs. The report states that the unemployment rate in Melbourne’s west at March 2012 was 8.2 per cent. The national rate was 5.1 per cent.
Speaking in Melbourne last week, NGAA executive director Ruth Spielman said the federal government must extend its suburban jobs program with employment hubs and flexible learning spaces to create 20,000 jobs in two years. She said projects such as creation of a government and professional services precinct in Broadmeadows or the Werribee Employment Precinct would bring jobs closer to home for growth areas residents.
As part of its submission, the NGAA considered five hypothetical jobs projects including relocation of government offices to Wyndham. It found the projects benefited growth areas.
Melbourne University urban policy professor, Brendan Gleeson said growth area residents often found it taxing to commute to the city and were likely to take jobs closer to home which they were over-qualified for. “For the highly qualified in these communities, the continuing commute to stable, high-value jobs is often too costly,” he said.
Point Cook’s Edi De Pellegrin called on the government to “have the guts” to attract more businesses to Wyndham and fix traffic problems. “How do you get 35,000 residents travelling to work when there is only one main road?”
The NGAA wants residents to share their experiences at voicesofoutersuburbs.com.au.
