More than 120 travelled from across the country to lunch with the PM and other parliamentarians, among them, five representatives from the Goulburn Valley’s Jobs for Christmas campaign.
Ross Freer, Alastair Douglas, Doug Crow, Mary Coad and Don McKenzie were flown to Canberra by Allan Gawne in a charter plane in time for yesterday’s barbecue luncheon.
Invitations for the afternoon had been sent to groups from all over Australia who had responded to the Bill Kelty-Lindsay Fox youth jobs taskforce last year.
Mr Kelty and Fr Fox set out on a mission to create 50,000 new jobs across the nation.
So far 30,000 jobs have been filled and a commitment has been made by Australian communities to push for the remaining 20,000.
Shepparton Kyabram Rodney Development Corporation (SKYROD) auspiced a successful rally for 300 new jobs last year and is overseeing another Jobs for Christmas campaign now.
Chairman of the campaign Ross Freer said Shepparton district had been highly noted in a speech by ACTU secretary Bill Kelty at yesterday’s luncheon.
“I think it’s because when he first came here (Shepparton) there was such an appalling response,” Mr Freer said after arriving home yesterday afternoon.
“Job creation can happen in every town as long as there is leadership,” Mr Freer said of the theme of Mr Kelty’s speech.
The SKYROD Jobs for Christmas campaign group spoke with Mr Keating for about 10 minutes and presented his wife Anita Keating a basket of “local produce”.
Mr Keating spoke generally about the jobs taskforce campaign and thanked the Shepparton district group for its commitment, Mr Freer said.
During his own speech to the 120-strong crown Mr Keating played down the likelihood of a jobs levy as a possible solution to Australia’s long-term unemployment problem.
Mr Keating, speaking ahead of the release of this week’s Green Paper on unemployment, said there was no substitute for economic growth to stimulate jobs.
The ACTU and the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) have promoted the idea of a jobs levy on high-income earners to pay for a jobs creation program worth up to $3 billion.
“We are seeing growth in the economy, and of course we are seeing employment with it,” Mr Keating said.
He said the government was not under any pressure to consider the levy.
He said the government was due to receive the Green Paper on unemployment on Wednesday, while Mr Kelty would hand down a separate report on regional employment later in the week.
6°C