Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Employment. Will the minister update the House on how the government is supporting young job seekers?

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. Let me say that he is a member that is really concerned about the interests of young people. Let me inform the House that there is nothing that supports young job seekers more than a strong economy. That is why we handed down a budget in this House that is going to clean up the mess that we inherited from the members opposite, that is going to invest for the future and that is going to invest in infrastructure, creating tens of thousands of jobs. We will be repealing the carbon tax and repealing the mining tax. There is no substitute for a strong economy when it comes to creating jobs for young people. We simply cannot allow our young people to drift into the despair of lifelong welfare. Work is good for young people and work is good for the community. In addition to building a strong economy, we will be implementing a range of programs targeted at getting more people into work. We have announced the Job Commitment Bonus, a bonus to encourage young people to get and keep a job and, in doing so, to stay off welfare. We have announced relocation assistance, to encourage young people to be able to move to where the jobs are and to provide the financial support that they need to move to where the jobs are.

We are introducing a new, revamped Work for the Dole program that is going to give young people the very basic skills that they need to get back into the workforce. Regrettably, as I get around the country, employers are telling me that so many young people who present at the gates of their business lack the very basic skills that they need to get by in the workforce. Work for the Dole has the ability to impart those skills to young people, to allow young people to demonstrate the benefits that they can bring to a workplace and what they can achieve if they are given a chance. We will also be introducing trade support loans to support young people into apprenticeships, and we will be introducing measures that will encourage young people to either be earning or learning. If they are not doing that, we will be requiring them to be participating in our Work for the Dole program. It is bit rich for members opposite to feign concern for young people when, on their watch, the youth unemployment rate increased by almost three per cent. On their watch, youth unemployment increased by 55,000. It has been 195 days since the shadow minister asked me a question, so he is clearly not concerned about the interests of young people. We are about creating opportunities for young people. You opposite are about standing in the way.