SOUTH Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris is right.
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Speaking from the Australian Jobs Embassy in Canberra, Mr Rorris said the issue of jobs is clearly a topic around the dinner tables of regional Australia and certainly the Illawarra region.
Steelworkers, manufacturing workers, teachers and public sector workers have taken the fight to Canberra to ensure the Federal politicians are aware of the concern.
“This is our voice – this is us saying to them, every day that you’re here, we’ll be here,” Mr Rorris said from the jobs embassy.
“We’ll be talking to them, saying jobs are what matters to the people of this country, not the distractions. It’s jobs, that’s what gets talked about every night around the dinner table, how to play the mortgage how to pay the bills.
“And why our federal government is not supporting Australian jobs.
“We’re here to reinforce that message.”
Joining Mr Rorris in Canberra was Shellharbour seafarer Zack Kinzett.
Mr Kinzett is living proof of the heart of the issue, part of a crew replaced by international workers.
“We should have the right to work in our own country,” Mr Kinzett said
“We pay taxes, we buy things in this country, we have a mortgage in this country. Foreign workers that come in, everything goes offshore.
“So they’re taking the jobs and then not putting anything back into the economy.”
These messages will be reinforced loud and clear.
Later this year there will be a Federal election and this region can not take a backwards step in making clear what is important.
The region must make a stand.
CONGRATULATIONS HAWKS
Congratulations to the Illawarra Hawks for making this year’s NBL play-offs.
The Hawks confirmed their place in the finals with an over-time win against Townsville on Saturday night.
They still have one more home game to go before the finals on Friday night against Adelaide at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
The magnitude of the Hawks’ achievement – coming from the bottom of the table last season to be genuine premiership contenders this season – should not be underestimated.
Well done, but the job’s not over just yet. It’s unfinished business.