Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hughes for her question. On this side of the chamber, the government side of the chamber, we understand that the government has put in place the policies that employers are able to lever off to create jobs. And that is exactly what this government have been doing since we were elected to office in 2013. What we also acknowledge and put in place, though, are processes and procedures to ensure that people who are looking for work are actually connected with local jobs near where they live.

Last Friday, I was able to join the member for Lindsay, Melissa McIntosh, at a jobs fair in Penrith. As Senator Payne would know, there was much-needed rain in Penrith on Friday, but I'm delighted to say that, despite this, over 2,400 people came along to the jobs fair. These are 2,400 people actively looking for employment, putting their hands up and saying, 'We are ready, willing and able to undertake work.' Jobs fairs are a practical way of connecting jobseekers not only directly with employers who have jobs there on the day but also with employment service providers for any questions that they might ask. It also gives the jobseekers the ability to ask questions face-to-face and, in particular, to have their resumes looked at. Do they have the most up-to-date resume? They can also undertake a practice interview. We have a number of workshops running throughout the day, and these are always well attended. Since we were elected into office, the economy itself has now created in excess of 1.5 million jobs. In the last two years we've held a number of jobs fairs around the country, and we've now had over 26,000 jobseekers attend. We have a commitment to get more people off welfare and into work, and this is exactly what we're doing. (Time expired)