Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Bushby, as the father of three young children, is rightly concerned about the future of the young within our country. They are our hope, they are our future and they are entitled to have proper job prospects. Under the past Labor regime, youth unemployment went from a disgraceful 10 per cent to an even worse 13 per cent. It is vitally important that we restore the economy to ensure that it has the capacity to employ and, especially, to employ young people.

The social data is there for all to see: employment enhances physical health; it enhances mental health. And young people especially, on their way through life, should be given the opportunity of a job. We as a government will purposefully and methodically seek to bring that about by creating an environment— (Time expired)