Motion: Employment in Regional NSW

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (15:48): I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the average unemployment rate in regional New South Wales has risen by 2.6 per cent since the Liberal/National Government came to office in New South Wales,

(ii) unemployment in regional New South Wales is now 8.5 per cent, compared to 5.8 per cent in the greater Sydney area,

(iii) more than 10 000 jobs have been lost in the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands area - 16 per cent of the workforce - since the Abbott Government came to office,

(iv) the positions of the Illawarra Local Employment Coordinator and Employment Project Officer were cut as result of the Abbott Government's 2014 federal budget,

(v) Australian Paper has announced the closure of its Shoalhaven Mill, resulting in the loss of 75 jobs in the Shoalhaven community, and

(vi) the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has estimated That the closure of the mill will lead to the loss of 150 flow on jobs from Shoalhaven and $20 million in regional household income in the local economy; and

(b) calls on the Government:

(i) to reinstate the positions of Local Employment Coordinator and Employment Project Officer as a matter of urgency, and

(ii) to commit to maximising paper purchases from local renewable paper producers.

Question agreed to.