But there’s a five-letter word that by necessity should precede it in any fair-dinkum campaign pitch that is of most interest to the residents of this town and others across the Bega shire.

And that word is ‘local’. Local jobs for local people.

Almost predictably in the current election climate, there was the Eden Jobs Forum on June 4, which saw Australian Labor Party candidate Mike Kelly, Greens hopeful Tamara Ryan and independent Daniel Grosmaire go head-to-head in a live debate.

Incumbent Liberal member for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy did not attend; a poster of him was stuck to a chair with the pointed message “Missing: Have you seen this man?”.

Politics aside, Dr Hendy did inspect storm damage to the Allied Natural Wood Exports facility near Eden last week, commenting that he was “very concerned about the potential impact on local jobs and our regional economy”. 

So where does this leave the shire’s young people who are about to leave school, or have left and are attempting to break into the workforce?

Government policies and cut-backs appear to be driving them away from their home towns by the score. In recent weeks this paper has reported that cuts to TAFE have resulted in school-based apprentice trainees travelling to Canberra or Wollongong to attend classes.

Once they gain their qualifications, what opportunities are available to them locally? It’s a problem that has come under the spotlight at an innovative youth project known as Generation Innovation, or Gen-I, which kicked off with a bootcamp at Jigamy in May and was launched to the members of the Eden community and business sector at the Log Cabin last Thursday.

Mayor Michael Britten struck a chord when he said support for this project was vital to ensure that young people could remain in the area in which they lived, without the necessity of them leaving for the city or bigger regional centres in search of opportunities.

The project’s motto is “If you can’t get a job, make one”.

But that’s a big ask for anyone, let alone our young people. Election promises will come and go but the Gen-I project is worthy of our support. Let’s get on board.