'We shouldn’t have left': New couple face job loss shock

LACHLAN Haywood and his partner left Bundaberg for Toowoomba earlier this month with jobs to walk into, but the outbreak has left them lining up at Centrelink.

Lachlan Haywood moved to Toowoomba from Bundaberg but the job he was hired for no longer available due to coronavirus. Crowds outside Centrelink office. Picture: Bev Lacey

LACHLAN Haywood and his partner left Bundaberg for Toowoomba earlier this month with jobs to walk into, but the coronavirus outbreak has left them lining up at Centrelink.

The 20-year-old has been left devastated as their dream move for a better life turned sour in the face of a global pandemic that has shut the Queensland borders and left thousands of people out of work.

"I did have a job to come down to and it's just disappeared at this stage, and that was labour work," Mr Haywood said.

"I'm a self-contractor with my own ABN and that's dried up.

"We're pretty devastated - we really think we shouldn't have left Bundaberg."

Crods outside Centrelink office. Picture: Bev Lacey

The couple joined the hundreds who lined up at Centrelink yesterday to apply for income support.

Mr Haywood, who is a labourer by trade, said they had just signed a lease on a rental property, and nearly signed for finance on a car when the job losses started.

"We've got no family down here, if we were back at Bundaberg, we probably wouldn't be at Centrelink today," he said.

"We're trying to find any help we can get, we've just moved down here and half our stuff is down in Warwick and (the removalist) can't leave his business because of the virus.

"We're staying in Wilsonton Heights, we've got a lease, but now we've got to find a way to pay rent.

"I'm just glad we didn't take any big loans out, because we were just looking into a new car.

"We've got each other, and that's important."

The line at Centrelink continues to grow today, stretching around the block according to reports.

Groom MP John McVeigh has called on residents applying for income support to be patient, due to the incredible amount of inquiries.