Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell said a range of industries in the south-west were desperate for employees. 

She referenced an article in The Standard, which revealed the need for 1000 jobs to be filled across a wide range of fields, including blue and white-collar employment opportunities. 

“This is an extraordinary position to be in; unemployment in my region is low at 3.5 per cent,” Mrs Britnell said.

“So while other areas of the state are struggling to find jobs for people, in my electorate we are struggling to find people for jobs. I have spoken with nursing homes managers who need registered nurses, farmers who need people to milk the cows or shear the sheep. I’ve also spoken with plumbers, builders and bricklayers who have positions to be filled and I have even heard it from car dealers who cannot get mechanics or salespeople to work in their dealerships.”

Mrs Britnell said a solution was needed to ensure businesses could grow and be profitable.

“We are at crisis level and something needs to be done right now to ensure businesses in my region have workers available,” she said.

Mrs Britnell said Regional Development Victoria needed to create incentives for people to relocate to regional areas, to take on the jobs.

“It should not be a hard sell,” she said.

“Regional Victoria has so much to offer. Where else could you be at the beach five minutes after knocking off work? As for traffic – what traffic? Congestion isn’t an issue in our towns and the commute for someone living in Warrnambool is 10 minutes at best.” 

Member for Western Victoria James Purcell said in Parliament last week “do not always believe everything you read in the papers, in particular about the thousands of jobs needing to be filled in western Victoria”.

“Even though unemployment is relatively low in that part of the world, it is different from one place to another,” he said.

“While recent media reports say there are many job opportunities in the area, the further you move away from the coast the harder it is to find work; it's harder to create new employment opportunities.”

Mr Purcell said RDV also needed to put more effort into securing industry and jobs in the south-west. 

Mrs Britnell responded saying Mr Purcell should talk to employers. 

“I suggest that the member get out and about and talk to businesses in the region, because over several months I’ve heard the same story everywhere I go – businesses are continually telling me we can’t get workers,” Mrs Britnell said.