Darren Chester MP

March 12, 2009

The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester and State Member for Morwell Russell Northe are seeking guarantees that local workers will get the opportunity to assist in the bushfire clean-up effort.

Mr Chester and Mr Northe are concerned that the government contracts will be won by city-based businesses and local traders will be excluded.

“The decision to award the contract for the major clean-up of housing sites to Grocon has raised fears in the community that local workers will not be employed,” Mr Chester said.

“We don’t want a situation where city-based firms win all of the contracts while local workers are faced with an uncertain employment future due to the national economic situation.

“It would add further to the heartbreak of the bushfires if local families missed out on work while crews were brought in from Melbourne.

“If there is a shortage of people with the necessary skills to handle hazardous wastes, there is nothing to stop the State Government from arranging the necessary training immediately. We should be putting locals first and making sure that any employment opportunities which arise in the clean up and reconstruction phase are offered to local traders.”

Mr Northe said The Nationals had raised the issue with State and Federal Government representatives.

“Putting locals first and giving local workers the opportunity to assist in the long-term recovery process is a critical issue,” Mr Northe said.

“The size of the task may mean that we don’t have enough resources on hand for every job but we must make sure that local workers are fully utilised.

“The local community has supported the bushfire affected communities with fundraising and other activities and I would rather see Gippslanders employed to undertake the majority of the recovery process.

“The regional economy needs to be supported in these extremely difficult times.”