Jobs for the West. Employment Proposals for Western Sydney. Dr Ian Watson

Transcription

1 Employment Proposals for Western Sydney Freelance Researcher and Visiting Research Fellow, UNSW Web: ianwatson.com.au Report Launch, Penrith Library 18 August 2018

2 Overview What are the employment proposals? The conventional (failed) approach to jobs A more enlightened approach The employment needs of Western Sydney How the proposals fit together How Western Sydney benefits

3 What are the proposals build high-speed rail (HSR) between Sydney and Melbourne; build orbital rail across Western Sydney; revitalise manufacturing in Western Sydney; rebuild the TAFE system in NSW; build innovative waste-recycling plants; initiate programs of environmental repair across Western Sydney; promote greater community-based banking in Western Sydney.

4 Integrated proposals vs ad hoccery By contrast, most employment strategies rely on: attract capital investment, whatever the social and environmental costs; subsidise projects with government money, but not spend it directly; As a result: unemployed people jump through endless hoops that often lead nowhere; projects ignore the plight of the underemployed and commuters. Smuggling in residential development to nearly every employment proposal. Western Sydney becomes a vast dormitory.

5 Starting point: needs of workers Three key groups: the unemployed, especially younger workers and mature age workers (including NEETs: neither in employment, education nor training); the underemployed: insufficient hours, or doing work not suited to level of skills/experience; those commuting long hours. Key principle: put the person in a job, and then train them. Both on- and off- the job training. Hence rebuild TAFE.

6 Unemployment in Western Sydney Quintiles Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest Hawkesbury The Hills Blue Mountains Blacktown Penrith Parramatta Cumberland Fairfield Camden Liverpool Cant Bankstown Wollondilly Campbelltown

7 Teenage NEETs in Western Sydney Quintiles Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest Hawkesbury The Hills Blue Mountains Blacktown Penrith Parramatta Cumberland Fairfield Camden Liverpool Cant Bankstown Wollondilly Campbelltown

8 Young adult NEETs in Western Sydney Quintiles Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest Hawkesbury The Hills Blue Mountains Blacktown Penrith Parramatta Cumberland Fairfield Camden Liverpool Cant Bankstown Wollondilly Campbelltown

9 Some figures Unemployment rates of 10% and over; 1,600 teenage NEETs in Blacktown; 9,500 young adult NEETs in outer Western Sydney; 9,000 workers in Penrith commute to Central Sydney; 11,000 workers in Campbelltown commute to Central Sydney.

10 The jobs needed Must cover spectrum of skills; Must include blue-collar, advanced white-collar and professional jobs; Professional jobs (outside human services) needed; Advanced clerical, finance and IT jobs needed; Jobs in corporate, commercial and government areas; The economy of Western Sydney is unbalanced.

11 Some figures Job losses hit Western Sydney. Between 2006 and 2016 Western Sydney lost 15,000 manufacturing jobs and 5,000 wholesale jobs; Job gains bypass Western Sydney. Between 2006 and 2016 Sydney saw 60,000 new jobs in professional, scientific and technical services. Western Sydney got less than 10,000 of these. Governments are part of the problem: large number of job losses on the railways; concentration of public administration jobs in Central Sydney (13,700). Parramatta (5,500) and the rest of the West come a long way behind.

12 Is WSA the answer? Environmental costs: a case of jobs blackmail. Job figures vastly exaggerated. Realistically, jobs which will go to Western Sydney residents: about 120 jobs per year during construction; about 800 airport jobs by During operation, claims of 8,700 aviation jobs are inflated. Comparable airports (like Adelaide) support only 1,600 aviation jobs. Job figures for the Business Park are inflated. The aerotropolis appears unviable: most likely to be a Trojan Horse for residential development.

13 High speed rail Environmental benefits; Not complementary to an airport: it s either / or, not both; Stabilise construction macro-economic benefits also; Corporate headquarters in Western Sydney; Local construction of locomotives and rolling stock enormous boost for manufacturing; Local supply chains boost for local SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

14 Coherent and integrated proposals High speed rail and orbital rail Innovative waste recycling Environmental repair

15 The bigger picture: where do jobs come from? Governments can directly create jobs if there is a worthwhile social need; otherwise Jobs money (credit) + skills The skills tragedy in Australia: Govt funding for TAFE fallen 23% since 2012; In last 5 years, apprenticeship numbers have fallen by 35%; In Western Sydney: numbers of vocational students in technical areas has fallen 20% Blacktown has lost one quarter of its technical teachers, Penrith has lost half.

16 The bigger picture: where has credit gone? 60 Dwellings Share of total credt (%) Business Government Other

17 Conclusion: how Western Sydney benefits New and good quality jobs instead of 500,000 new residents; Retaining remnant woodlands and open space; Genuine parkland, healthy rivers and clean air; Reduced commuting, and more local jobs; A solid skills infrastructure for all businesses across Western Sydney; Greater access to credit for those businesses; A future for the young people of Western Sydney.

18 Documents The following documents are all available for download from the internet: The main report (152 pages) An executive summary (8 pages) Short overview (2 pages) Slide presentation (18 pages) The web address is: jobsforthewest.co/publications