Labour force data released this week shows that Port Macquarie-Hastings has clearly the lowest unemployment rate of all other Mid North Coast Councils. The data released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations indicates that the Port Macquarie-Hastings economy continues to perform strongly.
According to Council’s Manager of Economic Development Mr Trevor Sargeant, a key to the very good performance of the economy is the increase in productivity levels, that is the increase in output per worker hour.
“While our area continues to be bound by a range of external influences such as inflation, interest rates and global competition, over which we have little control, productivity grew to around $43,500 in 2008 per employed person. This is a growth of about 4.5% each year since 2001,”said Mr Sargeant.
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Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s Customer Care Program has received national recognition with the Hastings being named the ‘Most Customer Focused’ region in Australia at last night’s prestigious Australian Service Excellence Awards held in Sydney.
National Award winners in the Customer Service Institute of Australia Awards (CSIA) must demonstrate high standards of management, training and commitment to excellence.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s General Manager, Andrew Roach believes the award will provide a significant springboard for further success
“This national award indicates our businesses are outstanding in serving their customers. The Customer Care Program has more than 300 active members, all of whom are committed to high quality service. I would like to pay tribute to each of the accredited businesses who have invested in service excellence through the Customer Care Program,” said Mr Roach.
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The winners of the inaugural Tastings of the Hastings Art Competition were announced on Friday night at the exhibition opening held at Long Point Vineyard and Art Gallery. Guests enjoyed canapés made from local produce and sipped on local Long Point wines to celebrate this new addition to the annual Food and Wine festival. Music was provided by Lake Cathie duo, John O’Shaughnessy and Heather Humphreys. Long Point owners and event sponsors, Graeme & Helen Davies, have unearthed a vein of new talent in our local area.
Guest judge, Dr Leigh Summers, awarded the $3,000 open prize to Port Macquarie artist Samantha Clark. The winning entry, “Sandfly Alley” is a “fabulous oil painting displaying rich textures and layering”, explained the judge, The winner has certainly represented the “home-grown” theme of the competition with a luscious oyster the central part of the winning work, which “makes me want to open a bottle of bubbles”.
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The Port-Macquarie-Hastings region has been lauded as setting the benchmark for customer service following an assessment by Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA) judges this week, in the lead-up to the New South Wales finals of the Australian Service Excellence Awards.
A contingent of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council representatives including general manager Andrew Roach will travel to Sydney on October 22 to find out if the region is State leader for customer service.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s Customer Care Program has been nominated as a NSW finalist in the 2009 Australian Service Excellence Awards.
An awards program initiated by the Customer Service Institute of Australia, Council’s entry is in the running for the top prize in the Local Government category. If successful, it will be the second time the Customer care program has won the prestigious accolade.
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The Port Macquarie-Hastings economy has held its head above water over the last 12 months with the latest data indicating the region has buffeted the impacts of the global financial crisis.
Council’s Economic Development Manager Trevor Sargeant has released statistics on the local economy, retail and building industries in the latest edition of Snapshots – a quarterly publication on economic development in the Hastings.
Key results show that unemployment between July and December 2008 experienced little change with a 0.1% increase compared to the previous year. This is despite the Hastings economy adding 175 more jobs to the market during this time.
“Some of these jobs may not be within Port Macquarie-Hastings,” Mr Sargeant explained. “Around 10 percent of Port Macquarie-Hastings residents commute to work outside the area. It will be interesting to see what impact the global financial crisis has had on local jobs when more recent data becomes available.”
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With construction of Port Macquarie’s new commercial wharf nearing completion, plans are now underway to encourage local businesses to become involved in trading with Lord Howe Island.
The new wharf located adjacent to Birdon Marine will primarily service the ‘Island Trader’ which has the contract to ship freight between Lord Howe Island and Port Macquarie.
Council’s Economic Development Manager, Trevor Sargeant said, “It’s anticipated that most of the Island’s needs will be able to be sourced from competitive local businesses here in the Hastings.
“Council is holding an information session for local businesses interested in supplying goods and services to the Island,” Mr Sargeant said.
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