Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

This government has worked assiduously through COVID-19, through the development and the implementation of JobKeeper and through the development and the implementation of JobSeeker, to assist young Australians to stay in work where they can and stay connected to their jobs, to support them through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, the youth unemployment rate over the last period has increased. That's why we put in place measures to assist young people to get work and to attract employers to employ young people in apprenticeships. Only in the last sitting fortnight the opposition were criticising us for focusing on young people's employment as part of our budgetary strategy, but we will continue to do that because we know the negative effects on young Australians if they stay out of work too long. We will continue to support them into new jobs. (Time expired)