The Turnbull Government today announced that Mr Luke Arber has been appointed as the permanent Employment Facilitator for Gippsland to assist those affected by the closure of the Hazelwood Power Station.
Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said Mr Arber’s appointment was another key step in delivering the $43 million Latrobe Valley investment package.
“The Federal Government is committed to ensuring affected workers, their partners, contractors and business people in the Hazelwood supply chain receive the support they need to secure employment, as a matter of priority,” Mr Chester said.
“Mr Arber will be a valuable and accessible on-the-ground resource to assist local families. I encourage locals looking for work and employers who are looking for workers to contact Mr Arber as soon as possible.”
Mr Chester also thanked outgoing facilitator Grant Rathjen for his work.
“Grant has been a sound source of advice for workers and jobactive providers at a time of great uncertainty and upheaval in our community,” Mr Chester said.
“His support has been greatly appreciated and I thank him for his contribution to the Latrobe Valley in the months following the Hazelwood closure announcement.”
Minister for Employment, Michaelia Cash, said Mr Arber would continue the work of Mr Rathjen in supporting retrenched workers and their families access a wide range of services following the closure of Hazelwood.
“Over the past five months a number of key initiatives have been put in place to assist retrenched workers and their families to access a wide range of services following the closure of Hazelwood. I look forward to this great start continuing to go from strength to strength,” Minister Cash said.
For more information about the Latrobe Valley assistance package visit https://www.employment.gov.au/help-workers-who-have-recently-lost-their-job or call the Employment Services Information Line on 13 62 68.