Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. I refer the minister to her comments on ABC’s AM program this morning that ‘we expect now unemployment to be higher’. Given that Australians are now considering borrowing money on the basis of the $10.4 billion incentive, how many Australians are now predicted to lose their jobs over the next 12 months?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. As he would be aware, I have said to this House before—indeed, I have said it now on a number of occasions—that the unemployment forecast contained in the May budget was for unemployment to reach 4¾ per cent by the June quarter 2009, June next year. As I have indicated in this House previously—indeed, as recently as last week—the government have indicated that we expect as a result of the global financial crisis and its feed-through into the real economy that we will see unemployment rates higher than the predicted 4¾ per cent. As I have also indicated in this House previously, including as recently as last week, the updated forecasts will be available in the mid-year fiscal and economic outlook, which will be released next month.

I also indicate to the member who asked the question that the government has acted proactively on this issue. One of the main parts of the Economic Security Strategy released last week was a new 56,000 productivity places. They are there deliberately. We obviously want Australians who are outside the labour force to be able to get the vital skills that they need to get into those parts of the economy where skills are still in demand. People would of course know, looking at the Australian economy today, that there are many sections of the Australian economy where employers find it difficult to get skilled labour. They would hire people if they had people presenting with the skills they need. Our Productivity Places Program throughout has been targeted at areas of skills shortage. It has been successful with very high demand for the places. Some of the people who have taken those places have already completed their training and gone on to get a job. Making the 56,000 additional productivity places available is a proactive response to the circumstances that we find ourselves in with the global financial crisis and its impact on the real economy and, most particularly, on employment in this nation. I also say to the member that 10,000 of the new productivity places will be used to assist particular industries or regions that are strongly impacted. So we will be there to assist with structural adjustment should that be required.