As society starts to reopen, there is no magic lamp to rub, no genie to appear to band aid our economic recovery.
The road to economic recovery is a long one and must be guided by the objective of creating good, stable, secure and local jobs for residents, feels Dr Mike Freelander, Federal Member for Macarthur.
The unemployment rate in Macarthur is projected to be 7.3%, a rate that is significantly higher than our national rate of 4.6%.
Underemployment continues to be high, with a national rate of 9.2% – indicating that a large portion of our population remains unable to secure the hours of work that they need to get ahead.
“At present there are around 8, 666 local residents who are on the JobSeeker Payment, a figure which remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels”, Dr Freelander points out.
Macarthur is home to some truly remarkable local industries and employers – some of our local businesses export products globally and have pioneered world-leading technology.
“The potential of our local economy is limitless – we just need a little support from the Government to drive job creation and opportunity in our region,” Dr Freelander says.
He says that Labor will establish a transparent and powerful anti-corruption commission to stop the misuse of taxpayers’ money and foster the creation of stable jobs for local residents.
“Only Labor has a plan to create secure jobs for Australians by criminalising wage theft, addressing the rampant casualization of our workforce, creating apprenticeships, partnering with business to create a National Reconstruction Fund, investing in a future made in Australia and by buying Australian made,” Dr Freelander says.