Rural jobs ‘could solve shortage’

Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Catherine King says helping marginalised Australians back into jobs would help alleviate skills shortages in the regions.

Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Catherine King. Picture: Brendan Radke

Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Catherine King says helping marginalised Australians back into jobs would help alleviate skills shortages in regional economies.

Ms King said regional Australia was not “one homogeneous area” and that policymakers needed to acknowledge the fundamental differences in each economy.

With up to an estimated 82,000 job vacancies affecting ­regional communities, she said applying the same approach would not work everywhere.

Ahead of a virtual regional ­development round table with ­industry stakeholders including the National Farmers Federation and the Regional Australia Institute on Tuesday, Ms King said all federal investment in the bush should be fair and equitable.

Helping vulnerable Australians – including people with disabilities, people from diverse backgrounds and those who had spent time out of the workforce – in finding paths back to employment could help solve labour market challenges.

“In terms of access to workers, it’s understanding why workers may or may not come to various regions, and what are the short, medium and long-term solutions to fix skill shortages in those different areas,” Ms King said.

“Everyone thinks regional Australia is one homogeneous area, and again it’s not. It’s about delving down into the different economic drivers in each regions.”

The Albanese government promised during the election campaign to revitalise regional development through stronger partnerships with local governments.

The NFF has been pushing the federal government to consider a $1.1bn proposal to establish 20 regional development precincts to turbocharge growth in the regions and help reach its plan for the sector to become a $100bn industry by 2030.

While Labor indicated it was open to the proposal ahead of the election, Ms King on Monday said she had major reservations about the idea, arguing it was important to lift up all regions rather than be selective.

“I think what I’m nervous about in terms of that is we’ve just had a decade where we’ve had massive pork barrelling, frankly by the Nationals and Liberal Party into some regions, and it’s meant that some regions have been sidelined and seen very little investment at all,” she said.

“I’m interested in partnerships between local government and federal and state governments where that’s possible.”

Ms King pledged to provide investment opportunities fairly and transparently across regions rather than “picking winners”.

NFF president Fiona Simson disagreed, arguing that the proposal would strip politicisation and pork barrelling out of regional development, and provide a clear plan to help regional Australia flourish.

“Regional development precincts are about lifting up all ­regions, not just some,” Ms Simson said. “The idea is to put more Australians within a 90-minute drive of urban-equivalent economic opportunities and services.

“It’s about giving each region a clear plan for the housing, ser­vices, skills and infrastructure it needs to succeed.

“Governments need to agree on robust selection criteria for ­regional development to avoid perceptions of pork barrelling.”