Jobs fears mount
THE city has been warned to brace for a shrinking job market flooded with people in need of work after the Commonwealth Games ends next year.
About 1500 staff plus thousands of contractors finish with Games organising body GOLDOC after the April 2018 extravaganza.
ASF’s axed five-tower integrated casino resort project for The Spit would have employed 13,000 during construction and ongoing jobs afterwards.
In addition, 1000 light rail stage two construction jobs are to end in January and 480 Games road upgrades workers will also finish at the same time.
Developer Sunland’s withdrawn $600 million twin tower project at Mariner’s Cove would have employed 1652 construction workers and 1019 ongoing after completion.
Critics of this week’s Labor State Government decision to terminate ASF’s plan yesterday said it compounded fears for a Gold Coast development hangover after the Games.
Bond University Vice Chancellor Tim Brailsford said axing ASF’s $3 billion resort plan removed a big post-Games employment buffer.
“The loss of that on The Spit is a major blow to the Coast and we will feel that very much leading into the Games,” he said. “After the Games we are going to have a number of people who were employed specifically for the Games looking for work.
“Then you are going to have a large number of workers and businesses associated with projects alongside the Games that will finish up so there’s a double whammy.”
GOLDOC staff would be dependent on the post-Games
legacy “in terms of the Gold Coast’s ability to attract major events off the back of the success of the Games”, he added.
“It’s important it is seen as highly successful, smoothly run and we’re seen as an ideal place to host major events.”
Latest Coast unemployment is 5.2 per cent, down from 5.4 per cent for June last year.
Opposition treasury spokesman Scott Emerson said: “The only thing stopping the unemployment rate from skyrocketing is the 8500 people on the Gold Coast who stopped looking for work because things have got too hard over the last 12 months.
“The Coast has become one of the job loss capitals and (Premier) Annastacia Palaszczuk clearly has no vision for turning things around.”
But city property market veteran Max Christmas had no concern about a post-Games headache. “We’re going to have a huge shot in the arm for 2018 and 2019 from new airlines flying into Australia,” he said. “What we need is the roads to be able to cope with that.”
Mr Christmas said the city needed a 30-year traffic plan and $2 billion from all levels of government on sorting out transport and road congestion.
“There are traffic jams through Surfers daily. What we have to do are the roads.”