By Casey Neill
A Dandenong business breakfast with a twist featured a “call to arms” to help Doveton’s unemployed.
The Rotary Clubs of Dandenong, Dandenong South East, Casey, Endeavour Hills, Berwick and Narre Warren joined forces to host the event at Beletti Restaurant Cafe Bar on Wednesday 16 November.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams was among the morning’s guest speakers and spoke passionately about breaking the entrenched disadvantage and unemployment in Doveton.
She said the suburb’s downward spiral followed the exit of major employers General Motors, International Harvester and Heinz which she said served as a lesson given the pending automotive industry exodus.
Ms Williams said the south-east was home to more than half the auto supply chain jobs, with 81 of the 137 tier one and tier two suppliers in Victoria located in the region.
“Not one single thing can replace auto,” she said.
She spoke about State Government measures to assist, including funding projects in industries that could create jobs for auto workers.
Ms Williams said the State Government also had a significant role to play in helping Doveton to spring back from 22 per cent unemployment.
“Industry is also a huge piece of the puzzle,” she said.
Fellow guest speaker James Sturgess from law firm Macpherson Kelley said finding the people in Doveton who wanted jobs was hard and there was a disconnect between employment networks.
He’s fielding job offers from employers and contacting Doveton College for candidates.
“M and K have employed three people from Doveton, through Doveton College,” he said.
Mr Sturgess said the school was engaging with parents as well as students to make a change.
He said Macpherson Kelley was always open to opportunities to put back into the community.
“We want to be part of the community,” he said.
“We are privileged to be in business in this region.”
And it’s been a fixture of the community since 4 October 1905.
“There’s not a lot of businesses in Australia that have a heritage of more than 100 years,” he said.
Mr Sturgess has been with the firm for 30 years next month and said it had changed dramatically in the past 15 years in particular.
It’s now a commercial law firm with a focus on substantial businesses, and has grown from a $15 million turnover and 90 staff 12 years ago to $60 million and close to 300 people today.
“It’s a really successful business that has grown up in this community,” he said.
Mr Sturgess spoke about manufacturing as “a critical part of this region”.
He said the sector had grown by a few hundred jobs in the region in the past 10 years against a downward trend more widely.
Rotary Club of Dandenong South East’s Phil Thurgood said every dollar donated to Rotary “gets to the cause” unlike many charities.
He spoke about the work the club had been doing, including supporting Disaster Aid Australia and Romac, and funding pizza nights and swags for Cornerstone Contact Centre.
Greater Dandenong Mayor Jim Memeti said more than 50 per cent of council rates came from businesses, and that the council and Rotary shared a common goal to see the municipality grow and prosper.
