Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to wrap up the debate in relation to the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Jobs Path: Prepare, Trial, Hire) Bill 2016. As a courtesy, I thank all senators for their contribution to the debate, even if much of what has been said is completely, totally and utterly wrong. I will take the opportunity to address a number of the statements that have been made. The core of this program, the youth employment package, is the $763 million Youth Jobs PaTH. It is a program that gives our youth the ability and the skills that they need to undertake a job. It will prepare our young people by providing them with employability skills training to help them understand the behaviours expected by employers in the workplace and provide tailored, industry-specific training that will prepare our youth going into jobs.

In terms of the trial part, these are voluntary internships. You put your hand up if you would like to undertake one. They will be between four and 12 weeks and they respond to feedback from youth, who have been telling us, 'We would love to get a job, but we do not have the skills employers need.' Guess what? With this program the government is going to give these youth who want to get a foot in the door and get a job the ability to get the skills that they need.

Senator Hanson-Young, in her contribution to the debate, said: 'If it's all about getting these kids a job, why do they need the training? Why can't they just get a job?' Senator Hanson-Young completely, totally and utterly misses the point of this program. These are young people who, without the skills training, are not going to get a foot in the door. That is what the first element of the program will do: it will give them the training so that they are able to put their hand up and undertake the intern part of the program. At the end of the program employers will now be able to access the new youth bonus wage subsidy to support the ongoing employment of this young person.

I find very interesting the comments that have been made about the use of interns. I need to highlight the absolute hypocrisy from those opposite in not supporting this legislation given that the PaTH program has commenced. I am very delighted to say that the program commenced officially on 1 April. The youth bonus wage subsidy commenced on 1 January, but the actual program is up and running, and young people are already participating in the program.

Those on the other side talk about internships and how terrible they are. Let us have a look at the dozen or more Labor MPs who themselves have utilised interns and in particular focus on the current Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten. His office took on an Australian National University student named Ben through the high-profile Australian National Internships Program. Those on the other side are very happy to support internship programs when they are utilising them—and they understand the benefits that those programs will give—but apparently employers who have a job at the end of the internship are not allowed to utilise such a program.

The internship program that Ben undertook through the office of the current Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, is promoted on the ANU's website. It quotes Ben as saying that he personally contributed to several policies that were announced in Mr Shorten's budget reply, which at the time fewer than 10 people knew about. Other Labor MPs who have used interns or volunteers include: the workplace relations spokesperson, Brendan O'Connor; assistant workplace relations spokeswoman, Lisa Chesters; employment services spokesperson, Ed Husic; the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tanya Plibersek; and Senator Dastyari, who is here in the chamber. Senator Dastyari, I think you would agree with the benefits of the internship program. Unfortunately, given the use of interns by those on the other side, I think it is, quite frankly, rank hypocrisy when they stand here and say that they will not share those benefits with others.

In relation to what this bill does, this government makes no apologies that the best form of welfare that any government can provide to someone is a job. We know that when many young people are entering the labour market for the first time they do not have the skills and the experience employers look for. This obviously can make it much harder for them to get a start. If they cannot get a foot in the door, it will ultimately mean that they will be susceptible to long-term unemployment and welfare dependency. The government is committed to supporting young people to acquire the skills that they need in order to make that really important move from welfare into work.

The Prepare-Trial-Hire Program maximises the opportunities and the chances for jobseekers under the age of 25 in getting a job. As I have already stated, the first stage is all about preparing them. Employability skills training will help young jobseekers learn the skills expected by employers so that they are more competitive when applying for a job. The trial stage is a voluntary internship of between four and 12 weeks to give the young jobseeker a chance to show what they can do in a real workplace with a financial incentive to participate, and that is of course the $200 incentive payment over the fortnight. Then, in the hire stage, employers are now able to access the new youth bonus wage subsidy of up to $10,000 to support the business in employing this person.

What the bill does, though, is actually quite simple. It is designed to help young jobseekers by making sure that the young people undertaking the PaTH internships receive the full benefit of participation. Youth Jobs PaTH internship incentive payments to participants will not be considered as income for social security and veterans entitlement purposes. This means that participants will receive the full amount of the incentive payments on top of what they will continue to get, which is their existing social security payment or veterans entitlement. If the bill does not go through, those on the other side will be costing these young people up to $48 per fortnight. The amendments also aim to ensure that eligible young people in particular circumstances will be able to have their social security payments restored without having to make a new claim. So, if they were to lose the job with an eligible employer, through no fault of their own, when in the hire stage, then within 26 weeks of ceasing to receive income support they could be reconnected to government services and income support. So, the bill ensures that young people, in the event that through no fault of their own they lose their job, are able to quickly and easily return to employment services and have their income support payments restored. That is all the bill does. As I said, the Youth Jobs PaTH Program is already up and running. It commenced on 1 April.

I will just respond to the amendments that have been moved in the chamber. The government will be supporting the amendments to the bill proposed by Senator Griff and, we understand, also supported by One Nation, which would involve a review of the Youth Jobs PaTH Program being conducted and a report tabled in each house of parliament two years after the bill has received royal assent. The government accepts this change as it will complement the planned evaluation strategy and ensure that the outcomes of the program are made freely available.

The government will not be supporting the second-reading amendment that I understand has been moved by Senator Cameron. The government is confident that the design of the program addresses each of the concerns raised, and in fact a number of the concerns have been raised by the government's response to the committee report in relation to this bill. But just very briefly, for the benefit of the chamber, PaTH internships will not displace paid workers, and this also goes obviously to what Senator Bernardi raised during his contribution to the debate. Placements are time limited and are specifically designed to prevent host businesses from terminating or reducing the hours of existing employees. Before starting an internship, employment service providers must be satisfied that there is a reasonable prospect of employment, and the host business itself must agree and certify that they are not displacing workers upon signing the internship agreement. If they are not prepared to do that and they do not sign the internship agreement, then no internship can take place. Participants in the internship program are not employees; they are undertaking a supervised work experience placement. And the incentive payment is not a wage; it is a payment on top of the welfare payment that the jobseeker already receives and will continue to receive.

As with any government program, the participant's safety is obviously of utmost importance. Providers will undertake risk assessments prior to the placement to ensure the safety of participants, and participants will be covered under state and territory workplace health and safety laws. As with other work experience programs, and certainly whilst Labor was in government—the work experience programs that continue to run when Labor was in government—participants will be covered by the insurance policy of the Department of Employment or, for disability employment service participants, the Department of Social Services.

As I have already stated, and just to respond to some of what Senator Bernardi has raised, in relation to the displacement of workers the program is specifically designed to ensure that this does not occur. Before commencing a PaTH internship, as I have stated, providers must be satisfied that there is a reasonable prospect of employment for the jobseeker with the host business. That is, where the host business has a current vacancy available, will likely have a vacancy following the internship or has a regular pattern of recruitment. Host businesses will need to certify in the PaTH internship agreement that the PaTH intern will not displace existing employees or reduce their hours of work. If they are not prepared to do that, they will not be able to enter into an intern agreement.

In terms of the internship placements themselves, they are time limited, with a duration of between four and 12 weeks for an average of between 15 and 25 hours per week. They are specifically designed, as I have stated, to prevent host businesses from terminating or reducing the number of hours worked by employees that are being employed in the business.

The PaTH program is up and running, and we are very proud of it. It is a significant investment in getting those youth who are on welfare and who are looking down the barrel of a lifetime on welfare an opportunity to get off welfare and to get the skills that they need so that they can avail themselves of the job. In terms of what this bill does, there are two very discrete things. If the bill does not pass, despite those opposite standing up and saying that they actually believe that the youth deserve all of this money, et cetera, they will be responsible for PaTH interns losing up to $48 a fortnight in incentive payments and, also, if they do lose their job through no fault of their own, then having to reconnect with the system and go through an entire process. We say that is unfair. The youth deserve the full $200, but they also deserve, in the event that they are disconnected or they lose their job, to be reconnected to the welfare system.

In conclusion, passage of this bill will ensure that young people are afforded every opportunity to become fully engaged and job ready to maximise their chances of finding work as quickly as possible. I commend the bill to the chamber.