Build your future on 35,000 Australian construction sites

Australia’s towns and suburbs are about to be transformed into construction sites, with the Rudd Government poised to roll out 35,000 construction and maintenance projects in the next 12 months.
 

And a government report released yesterday has found a massive construction program is already well under way, with the Government spending money from its economic stimulus packages to build roads, rail lines, school buildings and houses to maintain economic activity in the face of the global recession.
 

Labor senator Mark Arbib, a parliamentary secretary to Kevin Rudd, released the details yesterday, rejecting Opposition claims that billions of dollars worth of stimulus payments had been wasted.
 

"Within 12 months you are going to have 35,000 projects," Senator Arbib told The Australian newspaper.
 

"People are going to see the construction sites all over the countryside. They are going to know people who are working on stimulus projects or who are supplying the projects."
 

Senator Arbib said tens of millions of dollars had already been pumped into local economies on infrastructure projects, sustaining employment and providing important new community facilities.
 

Since the global economic crisis landed last year, the Government has crafted two major economic stimulus packages worth more than $AU60 billion in total.
 

The federal May budget included a further $AU22 billion for long-term infrastructure projects, the majority earmarked for spending on infrastructure, including new school buildings, public and defence housing and subsidised ceiling insulation.
 

Senator Arbib compared the program to a war effort that involved all levels of government, and said every community had already received up to $AU200,000 for every school to spend on maintenance such as painting.
 

In the coming year, every school would also build a new library, school hall or set of classrooms and 137 councils had already received funding for new community centres, park upgrades and other local projects.
 

Senator Arbib said government subsidies for people to insulate their ceilings had boosted the insulation industry, with Fletcher Insulation, at Dandenong, in Victoria, doubling its output and turning its factories into 24-hour operations to meet demand. The expansion would create wider economic effects, including more work for installers and drivers transporting the batts.
 

According to the progress report released yesterday, construction is under way on hundreds of public housing units across the nation, including 183 homes for service personnel.
 

Repairs and maintenance work have been carried out on 1300 public housing units nationwide.
 

In Queensland, contracts have been let for projects at 734 schools, while in South Australia more than 100 school projects are now under construction.
 

All this is good news for a whole spectrum of skilled workers. Paradoxically, skilled immigration has been reduced to 108,000 for the current year. Many people are concerned that the intake is not higher, as Australia will need more skilled people to take full advantage of the recovery after the downturn.