The Battlers

Bill Mitchell

Bill Mitchell is a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity at the University of Newcastle. Bill is a co-author of a recent study, published in conjunction with Queensland's Griffith University, which identified Australia's most vulnerable suburbs in the economic downturn. This employment vulnerability index listed many of Logan's suburbs as being under high risk of suffering job losses.

Craig Brown

Craig Brown lives and works in the Logan area. Last Christmas, Craig's employer, a cold storage manufacturer, was forced to make dozens of people redundant due to the economic downturn. Those like Craig who kept their jobs had their hours reduced, moving onto 4-day weeks. Craig's wife Justine juggles three days of work a week at a local glazier while taking care of their three children.

Leisa Warren

Leissa Warren runs and owns the Insulation Superstore at Slacks Creek with her husband. She says a business has boomed since the Federal Government introduced a $1600 rebate for each household to install installation. She says she has gone from hiring three staff six months ago to ten installers, 3 new salesmen and a part-time accountant. She says she will be looking to hire three more workers in the coming weeks.

Adrian Le

Adrian Le is as a concreter subcontractor. Adrian says his family did well out of the boom, but the sudden downturn means he's had to let a labourer go as he just manages to scrapes in five days of work for himself. Adrian says he currently relies on work from state and federal construction projects, including a social housing project in Mt Gravatt, funded by Canberra's stimulus package.