Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moore for his question. He is a member who takes a great interest in the issue of employment. We on this side of the House were pleased to see the employment figures released last week which showed a fall in the national unemployment rate and the creation of some 17,400 jobs in the month of August, with the number of people now in work at a record high.

As part of a range of measures, jobactive is a $6.8 billion investment by this government in assisting job seekers on their journey from welfare into work. It is a program that delivers better services to job seekers and better services to employers. Jobactive contains measures which will be of particular interest to the constituents of the member for Moore, such as the $1.2 billion investment in wage subsidies delivered more flexibly and delivered sooner, which was what employers were asking for, encouraging more employers to employ more job seekers. Under Jobactive the Work for the Dole goes national, allowing job seekers to learn new skills and at the same time give back to their community.

Employers are telling me that many young people lack the basic skills that would make them competitive in the workplace, and Work for the Dole will assist them to get those skills. We have the $330 million youth employment strategy to help more young people into work, particularly those young people at risk of becoming long-term unemployed. We have the $212 million Transition to Work program, providing intensive assistance for young people, such as coaching and mentoring, literacy and numeracy training and postplacement support—helping them address the barriers that are keeping them out of the workforce, barriers that are very difficult for some people to overcome. We have the $106 million innovative youth program, providing $19.4 million to support young people with a mental illness to get into work; providing $20 million to assist migrants and refugees into work.

Employment services have their place but the most important thing is a strong economy. That is why we abolished the carbon tax and we abolished the mining tax—two taxes so destructive to Western Australia. That is why we have negotiated a free trade agreement with China, to assist that state with its all-important exports I challenge the Leader of the Opposition to drop his crazy plan to reimpose a carbon tax, and I challenge him to, for once, stand up to the CFMEU and support a free trade agreement with China.

In the 10 seconds I have left I have more than enough time to advise the House of all that Labor's is doing in the space of employment, and that is: not much, not much at all. (Time expired)

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