Brett Raguse (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation. How is the government working with private sector and community organisations to implement additional measures to assist retrenched workers?

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment Participation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forde for his question and for his ongoing interest in looking after job seekers and those workers who might find themselves redundant in the months ahead. Mr Speaker, as you know, being made redundant is one of the worst experiences that can confront any worker. I remember when my father was made redundant. I remember when, as I became a new member of parliament, thousands of workers in my electorate were made redundant as a result of the collapse of Ansett. I do recall those days in 2001, dealing with thousands of workers who did not have sufficient assistance to find their way back into the workforce. But can I say that, through a $300 million package announced yesterday, the government has acted to provide ordinary Australian workers with access to additional support and training to gain skills and to regain employment as quickly as possible.

In stark contrast with those opposite, who seem to have no idea how to tackle the global financial crisis and no idea how to attend to the needs of job seekers in this country, the Rudd government is working in partnership with business groups, unions, church and welfare organisations and, of course, employment service providers to develop this significant package of support and training measures to assist newly redundant workers. We have put together a package of the best ideas and put them into action quickly to support newly redundant workers and we will deliver this package through collaboration with industry.

I do not know who the opposition are talking to these days, but can I say that the business groups have come out and warmly welcomed the announcement made yesterday by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and me. The Business Council of Australia, through its CEO, Katie Lahey, yesterday welcomed the announcement of immediate assistance for workers. Ms Lahey said:

We need to limit the effect of the downturn on individuals and the economy in order to position Australia more strongly for recovery. Measures to reduce the time an employee spends out of the workforce will be vital in achieving this.

ACCI responded to the initiative in the following way:

The announcement will help the newly unemployed bounce back into the job market.

Better matching newly retrenched workers with available jobs will also help the business community retain workforce skills and add to economic efficiency.

The third employer body that responded yesterday was the Ai Group, which indicated:

There is no doubt that pressures are growing on employment and the additional investment in employment services is ‘spot on’.

The Ai Group said that these initiatives are spot on and that they are sensible and very necessary in the current uncertain economic climate. These initiatives have been widely welcomed by employer groups, the ACTU, community groups, churches, employment providers and others because this package is intervening early to assist job seekers—to assist those people in this country who are made redundant through no fault of their own. We know that quickly connecting people with employment services and referring them to training in areas of skill need will provide better opportunities for these workers to find work in the near future. It will help newly redundant workers get back into the workforce to maintain and boost their skills, and indeed this is critical. That is why the government has acted decisively in relation to this matter. We continue to make decisions in the national interest, in the interests of business and in the interests of Australian workers and their families.