General News
10 July, 2023
Systemic issues including housing, childcare shortages hamper pilot project success, report finds
An initiative to address labour shortages in the Central Goldfields Shire through attracting skilled migrants was unsuccessful, a report has found, with housing, childcare availability and no centralised hub for job vacancy listings flagged as...
An initiative to address labour shortages in the Central Goldfields Shire through attracting skilled migrants was unsuccessful, a report has found, with housing, childcare availability and no centralised hub for job vacancy listings flagged as barriers to success.
The Welcome to Central Goldfields pilot was developed in response to staff and skills shortages impacting local employers with a view to fill vacancies with skilled migrants willing to relocate to Maryborough.
Seven families/individual participants took part in the three-month project from October which was filmed as part of an upcoming documentary and while initial impressions and community support were prevalent, systemic issues across the shire impacted the initiative’s success.
Participant’s first impressions of Maryborough, according to the report, were that the town feels safe and is beautiful, the community is “very friendly and welcoming, particularly compared to Melbourne” and participants felt like they were human and people knew their names, however it was quiet with less to do compared to metropolitan areas.
The report goes on to say local businesses were at varying stages of readiness for staff with migrant backgrounds — some lacked induction processes for new staff and others did not benefit from the project at all.
One concern that arose from the project was the lack of a central job hub so migrants could know which jobs are available locally, something that could create a funnel for skilled migrants if it was in place, according to the report.
In terms of housing and childcare, the report states council will undertake further advocacy work on top of existing projects to support these areas, with those participating in the pilot billeting with existing families short-term due to a lack of available housing.
Welcome to Central Goldfields was unsuccessful at attracting skilled migrants, according to the report, which attributes this in-part to the short timeframe of the pilot and timelines driven by the documentary partner.
As of January, one migrant family and one individual had chosen tostay in the Central Goldfields, the report states.
Despite this, many people involved in the pilot agreed that raising awareness of workforce issues and the benefits of recruiting migrant people was the greatest success factor of the pilot, the report states.
The project was undertaken by the Central Goldfields Shire Council in partnership with documentary production company Blackfella Films, with a view to create a documentary following the project which will air later this year.
The report was presented at a recent council meeting and caused division, with several councillors questioning the value of endorsing the project’s evaluation without having seen the documentary.
Four councillors were in favour of endorsing the report while three — mayor Grace La Vella, councillors Anna De Villiers and Gerard Murphy were against.
Speaking during the meeting, councillor Chris Meddows-Taylor said the evaluation of the project was separate from the documentary and needed to be read as such.
“Our community not only rose to the challenge of making migrants welcome, but rose wonderfully and magnificently,” he said.
“We showed, above all, that our community is a welcoming community — it supported those migrants while they were with us and that was something to behold.
“Importantly, it also supported our commitment in the community vision to support a community that is diverse, welcoming and supports inclusion.
“This report shows there were some real benefits and this is an important lesson and learning that will take businesses forward.”
Councillor Murphy said he felt Blackfella Films had “hijacked” the project and was unsure about the documentary.
“I totally feel that Blackfella Films hijacked the whole situation,” he said.
“I really can’t believe what this documentary is going to be about, talking to people who are going to be in the documentary, they aren’t very happy with the way they were treated.
“Do I say yes, let’s go through with the evaluation and we’re all happy? Or does someone have to stand up and say I’m not sure what this whole documentary thing was about?”
Councillor De Villiers argued the project was never an official project or initiative of council’s and believed the documentary needed to be seen before any report was endorsed.
“I do not feel or believe that we have seen the conclusion of this project yet and I would rather have waited until we see the Blackfella Films production at the end of this year before we note this report,” she said.
Mayor La Vella agreed, stating the report’s urgency was unclear.
“After seeing the footage, the evaluation report content may or may not alter,” she said.
“We are totally aware we have a housing shortage only with a three to five year supply at best, we are currently doing work on an industrial and housing strategy and until that is complete, we do not have a defined way forward in relation to short-term or indeed long-term housing solutions.
“I believe it is prudent to take time now until we see final footage with our Welcome to Central Goldfields partners, Blackfella Films, before we even consider endorsing anything around this council table.”
A recount of votes saw councillors Meddows-Taylor, Wayne Sproull, Liesbeth Long, Geoff Lovett and Murphy vote in favour of endorsing the report’s recommendations, while La Vella and De Villiers remained against.