Unemployment Under Bracks - Another Story Of Bracks' Underperformance
Swept along in the years of long economic growth under the Howard Government, Victorians are beginning to realise that the Victorian economy, while it hasn't fallen apart, has given up it's leadership status within the Australian economy.
This story is in many ways, emblematic of the entire Bracks government. The Bracks government has enjoyed every benefit a State government could ever wish for: It inherited a budget surplus, has governed through a period of enduring economic growth and stability, and at a time when a vast new source of taxation revenue has been made available to the States. Yet what do Victorians have to show for it?
- Police out on the streets collecting revenue rather than catching criminals.
- Public works projects coming in over budget and months if not years behind schedule.
- A selective toll on the Eastern suburbs while the North & West still drive free.
- Revelations of hidden and unreported State Government fees and charges that the Government refuses to disclose.
Whereas Jeff Kennett left Victorians with the second lowest unemployment rate among the States, Victoria under Steve Bracks today has the second highest unemployment rate. Whereas Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia & Tasmania have all managed to reduce their unemployment rates by between 1.97% and 3.45%, the Bracks government has only managed a measly 1.1%.
Victoria Deserves Better.
posted by JP @ 3:14 PM
1 Comments:
The reason why unemplyment in Victoria has not fallen as much as in other states is because the imbalance in Victorian jobs between city and country is shown in that just 4.8% of the new jobs created in Victoria in 2002 were outside Melbourne, where 26% of the unemployed live.The Gippsland/Latrobe region lost 1300 jobs in 2002, the Wimmera/Western districts lost 596 jobs, the Goulburn/West Ovens region 750 jobs and Greater Geelong lost 200 jobs.
If the Productivity Commission succeeds in removing tariffs on TCF, this will hurt regional Victoria disproportionately hard, as many of Australia's remaining TCF factories are in regional centres in the State. The fact is that most unemplyment occurrs in rural and regional areas where welfare is high.
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