Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased that the government has accepted the amendments that we moved in the Senate. They are 10 amendments to strengthen this legislation and to actually protect vulnerable job seekers. We were very concerned that vulnerable job seekers were again going to be penalised by the government, as we have seen in other pieces of legislation from the government. We are very pleased to see that the government has seen sense and agreed to our amendments, particularly those amendments that allow job seekers to maintain their right of appeal if they are suspended due to missing their appointments.

We also are particularly pleased that our amendment to exclude job seekers over the age of 55 from job search activities has been agreed to. We do think that the discrimination in the job services market for those people who are over 55 is real and we think the government has got a lot more work to do before we could agree to such a proposal. I thank the government for actually considering the amendments and for taking them in the manner in which they were put into the other place. I am pleased to see that this bill be passing.

Question agreed to.

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