By Luke Voogt
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) plans to leave Geelong could cost more than 120 local jobs, according to two local women’s community groups and a municipal alliance.
About half the employees who would lose jobs were women, according to Soroptimist International Geelong secretary Rita Jenkins.
“They’re going to be hard-pressed to find an equivalent job,” she said.
“This move would have ongoing negative impacts on our community and especially on the women, particularly those who are mothers and carers.”
The ATO’s current lease for its Geelong office expires on June 27, 2021, and the agency anticipates making a decision on the closure by August.
But the proposal made little sense amid the COVID-19 pandemic and advances in digital communication, Ms Jenkins said.
The move also went against state and federal governments recently relocating organisations like the National Disability Insurance Agency and WorkSafe in a bid to decentralise, she said.
“It’s ironic that while [federal] government says it’s trying to keep people in jobs, the ATO is considering making a business decision to remove jobs from Geelong.”
Few employees would be able commute three hours each day to Melbourne and proposal would weaken Geelong economically, Ms Jenkins said.
She joined fellow women’s group Zonta Club Geelong in protesting the closure recently while local municipal alliance G21 also spoke against against the proposal.
“We are dismayed by a proposal under active consideration to close the Geelong ATO with the loss of these jobs,” said Elaine Carbines, chief executive officer of G21.
Ms Carbines said the pandemic had hit Geelong hard and she implored Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to intervene and stop the closure.
An ATO spokesperson said the agency made decisions on locations to deliver the most “effective and efficient” services possible.
“We have an obligation to ensure that our decisions represent value for money for all taxpayers when it comes to leasing arrangements.”
If the closure went ahead, ATO would offer staff redeployment at its other offices, assistance to transfer to other government agencies or redundancies, the spokesperson said.
“We have actively engaged with staff and unions in the lead up to a final decision being made following recent employee consultation.”
