YEP Im a slacker!!!
But i get in read every so often
Already PM'd Paul back. But yes I live here!
Oversight of Maryborough for everyone else....
Unemployment rate for wide bay i just read 14.5% ( will include bundy, hervey bay and maryborough) ... national average is 6.3% for Feb 2015. Houses are cheap. Wont make huge capital gain in next couple of years til we get some industry back here. Walkers/EDMI are very reliant on contracts they can win. They just wound up building some WA trains, but scored a smaller contract somewhere else (in the news 2 months ago?!). The TAFE is pretty much been closed down and moved to hervey bay and USQ uni. Small town, very clicky. everyone knows everyones business. And qld government is all about merging entities and cost saving atm. I know one particular area the australian regulator has done cost cuttings of +30% for NSW market, and QLD is expecting the same, which means a huge slash of jobs regionally. Already seen 100+ people gone from this industry alone in Maryborough.
Cane farming is becoming a dying industry here. All the farms at hervey bay have been devloped for housing. Cost of watering cane is high due to electricity prices. some other smaller producers around the area.
Really need some new industries for this area in order for the town to survive. Average wages would be 40K or less. Lots of people on unemployment etc etc.
residientially, Turning up to open homes, which i have been doing in the past couple of months, im the only one there. People seem to be going for a look, or just not interested in the 300K+ market. The under 200K market a lot more interest.
prices sky rocketed in 06-07, and huge drops in prices since then in some places.
Hope this helps!...
Rowena
Rowena who posts infrequently, is from Maryborough. Might pay to message her and prompt her as she is pretty savvy with the area.
pinkboy