Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said previously in yesterday’s debate on the Social Security Amendment (National Green Jobs Corps Supplement) Bill 2009, two of the Green Corps projects were provided through Mission Australia in Bunbury, in my electorate. The purpose of the first project was to help restore a healthier ecosystem which in turn would assist with major problems including salinity and erosion. This project not only enhanced biodiversity, controlled weeds and feral animals and increased native vegetation but enabled the young people involved to be able to gain a better awareness of the community. It gave them hands-on experience of fencing, revegetation, tree planting and, very importantly, weed control. Probably even more importantly, it gave them a sense of pride in themselves, the environment and what they were able to achieve as a group. The purpose of the second project was to restore the Picton and Kemerton wetlands to a healthier ecosystem. Through the project those involved were educated on how their actions during the project would in turn alleviate more serious problems such as salinity and erosion. I would like to acknowledge the work of Shane Ellison, the coordinator of this program, who worked with each of these groups in my electorate. Shane was a wonderful motivator and leader of all three of these groups.

I met those in each group at the beginning of the program and I found those that finished the program were certainly a different group of people. I saw the growth in these young people and their sheer enjoyment of having been involved in a program that otherwise they would not have had access to. It gave so many of them another view of what they might choose as an opportunity in pursuing a career. Some of the young trainees were looking at a role with the local shire or looking at a traineeship with the department of the environment or through a range of these types of environmental projects or further pursuits. They enjoyed getting dirty. For some of them it was the first time. For others their enjoyment was simply about the fact that they were part of a group engaged in an area that they had never considered previously.

The Shire of Busselton, in my electorate, also administered a Green Corps project that got young people actively involved in activities including river restoration, wetland revegetation, remnant vegetation management, construction, nursery work, macroinvertebrate sampling and stormwater management. These projects provided training and education to those involved and I am also told that they developed personally. I saw this in the groups that I met in Bunbury and I suspect it was the same with all of the Green Corps groups. New skills that participants gained include teamwork aspects, confidence in their own ability and a far greater awareness of the environment. I also understand that the career prospects of the young people involved were seriously improved as a result of the Green Corps program. Green Jobs Corps appears to be very similar to Green Corps. The differences are in the age of the participants—the age has been extended to 24 in Green Jobs Corps—and the fact that participants receive income support payments instead of the Green Corps allowance.

I would like to note that Green Jobs Corp is part of Labor’s efforts to reduce youth unemployment, yet there is no real employment measure or actual pathway to a job under this program. It is disturbing to hear that 108,300 full-time jobs have been lost amongst young Australians over the last 12 months. Furthermore, 71,500 young Australians have lost their jobs since the election of the Labor government. The proportion of teenage Australians not in full-time education or full-time employment has also risen in this time. There are around 120,000 persons aged between 18 and 24 in Australia not in full-time education, not in the labour force or unemployed. This equates to approximately 14 per cent of the 18- to 24-year-old demographic. Yet under the proposed youth allowance the same young people will have to find 30 hours of work every week for a two-year period in regional and rural areas. In the lower Western Australia statistical region, in which my electorate of Forrest falls, the total unemployment rate rose from 4.8 per cent during 2008-09 to 10 per cent in 2009-10.

I recently discussed Green Corp and the Green Jobs Corps program with one of the very dedicated people who were closely involved with Green Corp programs prior to the 1 July 2009 program changes. She said that both Green Corp programs were fantastic initiatives to engage unemployed youth and give them the opportunity to learn more about preservation of the environment and Australia’s cultural heritage. However, she has concerns regarding the ability of current and proposed programs to assist young people to gain employment, as I said earlier. I understand that the Green Jobs Corp program is no longer purely a youth program and does not include a strict training component. I have been informed by those in my electorate that young people gained employment through the previous Green Corp program and that this was largely due to the facts that the programs in my electorate gave young people an opportunity to see whether they were suited to an environmental career path and that they worked closely with parent agencies.

I note that there are a range of programs for apprentices. An article in yesterday’s Adelaide Advertiser referred to apprentices and those employing apprentices in small to medium-sized companies that are forecasting perhaps a sharp drop in the uptake of new apprentices, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors—two areas that particularly affect my electorate. By working closely with parent agencies, the Green Corp program was able to deliver to young people firsthand, though work and progress, in order that they could obtain their certificate II, and these young people were therefore more inclined to be employed by businesses.

The Green Corp program is an alternative learning method for young Australians who are not necessarily suited to being in a classroom or a standard environment for learning. The former Green Corp program encouraged these young people to undertake training modules and be assessed on the job, therefore giving them a better opportunity to demonstrate that they understood the training modules. It certainly encouraged young people with a manual skill level and those who were really keen to pursue what they were good at. It was also for those who wanted to try a totally new career path. I have met so many of these young people in the Green Corps program. I saw them at the beginning when they started with Green Corps and I saw their development and the opportunities that they have been given and how much they value those opportunities. For young people who never thought a career in environment or environmental management would be something that they would pursue, this program gave them their first experience. They loved what they did, they were in a great team and they grew as people as well as in their training and career opportunities. Over 70 per cent of those who participated in the old program in my electorate passed their modules, which is a great result.

The coalition are supportive of the legislation’s aim of creating the Green Jobs Corp work experience program in order that young people can continue to learn about the environment, but we have concerns regarding the number of young Australians who have lost their jobs and the lack of clarity as to how many green jobs will be created in this term of parliament. I support the amendments as moved. We are concerned that 71,500 young Australians have lost their jobs since the election of the Rudd government and that 108,300 full-time jobs have been lost in the past 12 months. We note that the commencement of traditional trade apprenticeships has fallen by 21.2 per cent and that the proportion of young Australians not in full-time education or employment has risen. We are concerned that the minister believes that six-month work experience placements are a substitute for a job. We call on the government to outline how many real new green jobs were in the Prime Minister’s announcement to the ALP national conference on 30 July. We also call on the government to outline how many green jobs will be created in this term, as I said previously, and the strategy to create jobs for young Australians.

In the last couple of minutes, I will finish by once again talking about Mission Australia and the wonderful young people that I met. I went to each launch of a Green Corp program and met a group of individuals. At the conclusion of the program, I would go to the graduation ceremony and inevitably came across a team of young people with absolute enthusiasm and commitment to the environment and what they had learnt. About 70 per cent of the young people I met were basically motivated to seek a career in this particular field. From my experience and the experience of young people in my electorate, the Green Corp program was a very good program that encouraged young people and provided them with an alternative opportunity for a career path. They also learnt to work as a team. In some instances it was the first time they had worked with someone and had to take instructions. That was also very useful for them. The value of these environmental programs around my electorate was quite significant. This has not only provided a huge bonus to the small communities but has also provided very valuable environmental and heritage work throughout the electorate of Forrest. I thank all of those young people and those who have been involved in delivering the program. I commend the work of Shane Ellison and everyone involved.

Debate interrupted.