Cairns high on dole spots
CAIRNS and Bundaberg have more people on the dole than any other area in Australia, but one federal member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says some people snub work that is available.
The Queensland economic divide is made clear in new figures that show regional cities take out the top five areas for the sheer number of people on the dole.
A breakdown by postcode shows Bundaberg has 4465 people taking unemployment benefits, more than any other postcode in the country.
Second was Cairns, postcode 4870, which had more than 4353 dole recipients, followed by Liverpool, NSW.
Parts of Toowoomba, Hervey Bay and Mackay rounded out the five highest areas in Queensland by postcode for the number of Newstart recipients. It comes from the latest Department of Social Services figures available, covering the December 2016 quarter.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, whose electorate includes Cairns, said the city had been through tough times since the global financial crisis, but the situation was being turned around.
“There’s no shortage of jobs, just a shortage of people that are prepared to take them,” he said.
Mr Entsch, who’s first job was cleaning toilets, said there were jobs in fruit picking, milking sheds and cafes that were being snubbed by Australians.