news, local-news, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gladys Berejiklian, FOOD Week, Andrew Gee, Canowindra Balloon Festival, Parkes Elvis Festival, Trundle ABBA Festival

AUSTRALIAN Bureau of Statistics data showing less than 5000 regional jobs were created outside Wollongong and Newcastle in the past year is cause for concern, according to NSW opposition regional development spokesman David Harris. State treasurer Gladys Berejiklian praised the regions on Friday, saying 59,700 jobs were added in the year to March, which was an increase of 5 per cent and accounted for about half the jobs added in NSW. Mr Harris visited Orange on Tuesday to meet with mayor John Davis in the wake of Orange City Council’s decision not to continue as part of Evocities, but was cautious about the job figures. He said if Wollongong and Newcastle’s jobs boosts were removed, the figure for the rest of rural and regional NSW became 37,954 jobs, and just 4896 of them were full-time. Across the Central West, the unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent in March, although it averaged 6.4 per cent during the course of the year. “Nearly all the jobs are part-time and with part-time jobs you can’t get loans,” Mr Harris said. “If you’re going to relocate to a regional area, people need full-time jobs - it’s really not keeping up with the jobs being lost.” Mr Harris said he and Cr Davis discussed the Murray Darling Medical School, while the matter of Evocities support would come down to lobbying rather than election promises. “Given the election isn’t until 2019, it’s probably too late,” he said. “There was a regional industry investment fund that was changed to Jobs for NSW - they took a regional program to encourage regional business to relocate and made it into a program focused on innovation. “While you need innovation, you also need established businesses to move because they provide the most jobs.” Member for Orange Andrew Gee said the ABS data showed jobs growth in the Central West was 7400 jobs, the unemployment rate was below the national average of 5.7 per cent and the Central West Jobs Action Plan had secured $20 million in investment, including 81 jobs in Orange. “If Mr Harris had come to the region earlier he could have experienced FOOD Week, the Newcrest Orange Challenge, Wine Week, the Canowindra Balloon Festival, Vanfest, the Parkes Elvis Festival and Trundle ABBA Festival, all of which have been sponsored by the NSW government,” he said.

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