by admin | Nov 27, 2014 | Media Release
POLITICAL ADVERTISING BUDGETS NEED TO BE REDUCED AND FUNDS PUT INTO EDUCATION POLITICAL advertising budgets need to be slashed and the funds instead injected into the rural post-secondary education sector, says Vote 1 Local Jobs founder James Purcell. Mr Purcell said hundreds of millions of dollars were spent annually on promoting government projects – irrespective of which government is in power. “Obviously community engagement is vital, but with the incredible rise in social media promotion the need for expensive TV advertising is significantly reduced,” Mr Purcell said. “Significantly reducing these budgets and other waste and duplication would free up substantial funds. This money could then be spent on our rural education sector.” Mr Purcell said more innovative communication methods had the potential to save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars per year. “We are running our Vote 1 Local Jobs campaign on a shoestring budget and have made a minimal financial investment in social media. Our message is being distributed far and wide – without the multi-million dollar budgets the major parties have. “Social media is changing the way we operate and should be embraced as a cost-saving measure by government.” Vote 1 Local Jobs is Western Victoria’s newest political party. It was created by Moyne Shire Councillor and former Mayor James Purcell. It has been inundated with support and has more than 850 members. Mr Purcell stood at the last state and federal election and was the most successful independent in the south-west region’s history....
by admin | Nov 26, 2014 | Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE COUNTRY business should be exempt from paying payroll tax, says Vote 1 Local Jobs founder James Purcell. Mr Purcell said regional businesses faced increased costs due to the tyranny of distance and a payroll tax exemption would have obvious positive benefits for regional businesses. “Businesses pay 4.85 per cent payroll tax once they pay $550,000 in wages,” Mr Purcell said. “Removing this tax for businesses located in regional areas will free up cash flow and enable employment growth. “It will also provide a much needed incentive for businesses to locate and employ in regional areas, rather than concentrating their investment in Melbourne.” Mr Purcell suggests the change could be funded by a 1 per cent increase in payroll tax in metropolitan areas. “There are five times more businesses in Melbourne, thus a one per cent across the board increase in Melbourne will create a move by businesses to set up in regional Victoria, which will facilitate business and employment growth in regional areas. “Generally speaking regional businesses have less access to goods, services and support networks than their metropolitan counterparts, so it is wrong they are paying the same rates.” Vote 1 Local Jobs is Western Victoria’s newest political party. It was created by Moyne Shire Councillor and former Mayor James Purcell. It has been inundated with support and has more than 850 members. Mr Purcell stood at the last state and federal election and was the most successful independent in the south-west region’s...
by admin | Nov 25, 2014 | Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE A REGIONAL ‘buy local’ scheme should be introduced to commit government authorities to buying in the regional areas where their offices are based, says Vote 1 Local Jobs leader James Purcell. Mr Purcell said this was the next step in his aim to decentralize services and jobs from Melbourne, with step one seeing more government services relocated to regional areas. “Government authorities need to commit to buying local, alongside consumers,” Mr Purcell said. “If product pricing is within 5 per cent of its metropolitan counterparts it needs to be purchased locally. “We need to stop the drain of resources and funds to Melbourne.” Mr Purcell said increased revenue in regional areas had obvious benefits. “We need to be putting processes in place to increase jobs and revenue; obviously a buy local scheme will increase local expenditure and create employment opportunities. “Experts are predicting Melbourne’s population will skyrocket and double by 2050. We are going to end up with a huge city that more likely than not will not have the infrastructure to support it. “Supporting regional areas, creating more jobs in country towns and spreading expenditure around will have obvious benefits for regional areas, but also for Victoria as a whole.” Vote 1 Local Jobs is Western Victoria’s newest political party. It was created by Moyne Shire Councillor and former Mayor James Purcell. It has been inundated with support and has more than 850 members. Mr Purcell stood at the last state and federal election and was the most successful independent in the south-west region’s history. Download as PDF – 141125 MR Buy local...
by admin | Nov 24, 2014 | Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE A FURTHER five per cent of government services should be relocated to regional areas to increase accessibility and job opportunities, says Vote 1 Local Jobs founder James Purcell. Mr Purcell said it was time initiatives were developed to stop the rural drain to Melbourne and increase regional residents’ accessibility to government services. “The concentration of government departments in Melbourne makes it difficult for regional residents to access services and also denies country people significant employment opportunities,” Mr Purcell said. “Relocating a further five per cent of government departments to regional areas will provide greater job security and encourage future generations to gain meaningful employment in their hometowns. “It will help combat our rising youth unemployment rate, provide more diverse job opportunities and also help with the youth drain to Melbourne which is becoming more prominent.” Mr Purcell suggests rural or agriculture related state government departments be relocated to regional areas. “There has been substantial closures of government departments in regional Victoria over recent years and this must be reversed. “From a job perspective it is important we have a diverse range of job opportunities and relocation of these departments will certainly provide a greater variety of jobs. “Relocating these departments will also increase confidence in the economic stability of these towns and in turn increase economic growth. We need to stop being disadvantaged.” Vote 1 Local Jobs is Western Victoria’s newest political party. It was created by Moyne Shire Councillor and former Mayor James Purcell. It has been inundated with support and has more than 850 members. Mr Purcell stood at the last state and federal election...
by admin | Nov 18, 2014 | Media Release
MEDIA RELEASE VOTE 1 Local Jobs has announced its second Upper House candidate for the Western District – Tanya Waterson. Owner/operator of her own communications business and a mother of three primary school children, Ms Waterson said she had considered a tilt at politics for some time. “I’ve always been interested in politics and was approached to stand for Council at the last election but the timing wasn’t right for my family,” Ms Waterson said. “This year my youngest child is in grade prep so I felt I was in a position to commit to being a candidate at the state election.” Ms Waterson said she was hoping to bring a fresh perspective to the male-dominated political scene. “I think this election is so important because there is a very real risk of the area where we live missing out again. If Vote 1 Local Jobs isn’t elected it is highly likely there will be no local representation for the area where we live in the Upper House; the five elected members will be from Geelong and Ballarat. “My husband and I chose to raise our three children, who are 10, 8 and 6, here and I simply want to secure the best future I can for them and their friends. “I want my children to be able to access quality post-secondary education in Warrnambool and surrounds, if that is what they want to do. I want them to have secure and diverse job opportunities in south-west Victoria and I want safe roads for them to travel to and from school, their social activities and work.” Ms Waterson is running...