ACTU President Ged Kearney in Caboolture

ACTU President Ged Kearney is in Caboolture today to warn local workers they are under attack from a Federal Government which has failed to deliver a plan for jobs and continues to prioritise tax cuts for multinational corporations while slashing billions of dollars from schools, TAFE, health and hospitals.

Ms Kearney is visiting areas that have been effected by the lack of employment opportunities and will hear directly from community members about the issues that they’re worried about this election.

She said Queensland was facing a jobs crisis because the Turnbull Government had chosen to put the interests of multinational corporations first – delivering corporate tax cuts and endorsing trade deals that sell out local jobs or ship them overseas.

Young people in the electorate of Longman faced real challenges gaining ongoing employment, she said.

“After two years of cuts to skills and training funding, including a $1 billion cut to apprenticeship support it is not surprising that the electorate has double-digit youth unemployment.

“The Coalition have now axed a further $247 million from skills and training making it even harder for young people in Longman who want to get ahead.

“Many Queensland workers are doing it really tough at the moment, and at every turn this government is making it harder and harder to make ends meet.

“Despite a critical level of youth unemployment, they have ripped the heart out of our training system and announced a youth worker exploitation scheme with $4 an hour jobs – all while indigenous job seekers are forced to work for free just to retain their Newstart payment.

“Job security and cost of living pressures are getting worse every year for many people in this region, and we have a government that is turning its back on workers, focusing instead on delivering a business tax break that will be funded by cuts to health and school funding.

“The government is trying to dismantle and privatise Medicare, increasing how much people pay to visit a doctor or get basic tests like x-rays or pap smears.

“This is the last thing Queenslanders need - it’s clear this Government is failing Australian workers, and that’s why we’re urging people to put the Liberals last on July second.”