In today's Mercury (16 August 2018), Nick Clark's article Kingston job fears over Antarctic Division move describes the potential move of the Australian Antarctic Division to Hobart's Macquarie Point. This would move up to 300 jobs out of the Kingborough Area.
What do you think of the proposed move? Please get in touch with me at gideon.cordover@tas.greens.org.au or leave a comment below.
Jobs like those offered by the Australian Antarctic Division are good, secure and well-paying. They help put Kingston on the map and ensure that Kingborough residents are economically supported. I have always been focused on ensuring that good jobs are brought into the Kingborough area. When I say 'good' jobs, I mean secure, well-payed and fulfilling jobs that can help our households save money that they will then spend back into the community. Too often, political leaders have settled for trying to attract minimum-wage, burger-flipping jobs that have little in the way of stability or benefits. Kingborough already has an issue with unemployment and underemployment.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data in 2016, there were 865 unemployed people in Kingborough and a low participation rate of only 59.9%. To be considered employed, a person needs to work a minimum of one hour per week. This means that there are lots of people who are not receiving enough hours to meet their needs but are not described as unemployed. These are the 'underemployed' and their plight is serious. We need to do more to help these families earn the income they require to make ends meet. It will help all the businesses and community groups in Kingborough if people have more savings.
I believe we should try to attract good jobs to Kingborough; well-remunerated jobs with stable hours and proper benefits. Rather than focusing our attention on giving tax-breaks and incentives to private profit-seekers who pay minimum wage, we should be working on up-skilling our workforce close to home and providing state-of-the-art public amenities and services to make sure that Kingborough is an attractive place for high-value employers and public service employers to make roots.
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