Whitsundays ‘inexplicably overlooked’ in $62.8M job support

More than 900,000 jobseekers will benefit from the program, but none of them will be from the Whitsundays.

The Whitsundays has missed out on a taskforce set up to upskill jobseekers and provide them with employment assistance. Photo: William West

THE Whitsunday region has been left out of a $62.8 million local jobs program in a move the Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce president has labelled “beyond ridiculous”.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash yesterday announced that more than 900,000 jobseekers would benefit from a local jobs taskforce program aimed at connecting unemployed people with training and job opportunities.

The nationwide program will be rolled out in six locations across Queensland, including Cairns, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast and Wivenhoe.

The taskforces will bring together employers, employment agencies and training providers to develop projects to get jobseekers back into work.

Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce president Allan Milostic said it was “beyond ridiculous” that the Whitsundays was not included in the program along with other tourism-reliant destinations.

Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce president Allan Milostic says the region has been “inexplicably overlooked”.

“The region deserves the support in this regard and the problems we’ll face with employment,” he said.

“It’s just another example of the Whitsundays being overlooked, inexplicably overlooked.”

Figures in July showed the number of Airlie Beach residents on JobSeeker payments had tripled in five months.

Data from the Queensland Government’s Statistician’s Office also revealed an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent in the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region in July.

This sat just below the state average of unemployment, however with one in three jobs in the Whitsundays related to tourism, Mr Milostic said there was an “uncertain” future for the industry.

He said a jobs taskforce would have been critical in assisting the industry as it looks towards recovery.

“Even though some businesses are really, really busy they’re hesitant to make an investment in staff because if the floor suddenly drops … then they’ve got commitments to staff that they won’t be able to afford,” he said.

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“We’ve got people that worked on boats and that job is not there anymore but the local mechanic desperately needs someone.

“Everyone talks about having to pivot, well this essentially would give employees a way to pivot.

“They could change their careers and move into new roles that are hopefully suited to their skills they had before.”

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.

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