Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My community of Newcastle is desperately in need of jobs. Since the Abbott Liberal government was elected, unemployment has climbed to decade-long highs—peaking at more than 10 per cent and still well above the national average at 8.1 per cent today. There is little sign of reprieve under this government, which clearly has no plan for jobs of today or tomorrow.

Last week saw a significant milestone for our highly skilled shipbuilder Forgacs and its workers as the first air warfare destroyer was launched in Adelaide. Sadly, rather than rejoicing at the launch of a ship that they helped build, workers are faced with more uncertainty, with Forgacs management already forced to downsize its workforce as this government sends what naval shipbuilding work it has commissioned offshore.

Newcastle is home to some off our country's brightest minds, leading researchers, highly skilled manufacturers and promising start-ups. We are an innovative city and a community that has a history of successful transition into new jobs and new horizons. But transition does not happen on its own. It needs support. Yet this government offers nothing more than ongoing attacks on higher education and vocational education and cuts to assistance for those who are looking for work, just to make things worse.

Labor has a plan for innovation and a plan for the jobs of the future. It has a plan for science, technology, engineering and maths jobs and a plan for start-ups. This government needs to step up to the task it set itself of creating one million jobs over five years. Its performance so far has been dismal, and this budget provides no answers. (Time expired)