You’ve probably noticed the shortages of various items in shops and the many ‘staff wanted’ signs around the area. A few years ago a local supermarket had hundreds of applicants for a position, now positions are suddenly difficult to fill. Why is that?
Victoria is offering large cash payments for school teachers to move there, but the teacher shortage is actually Australia wide. We should expect to see staff shortages in many professions: including pilots, dentists, doctors, car mechanics and tradesman, with staff shortages characterised by a corresponding increase in the length of waiting lists for services.
The widespread staff shortages are not easily explained by people being sick with a bad flu for a week or two, nor are they owing to lack of immigrants, on the contrary, these staff shortages are appearing around the world and they need to be explained.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
