Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) that the unemployment rate in Australia has barely fallen from immediate post Global Financial Crisis levels;

(b) Treasury projections that the unemployment in Australia is unlikely to improve in the next three years under current policy settings; and

(c) significant labour market indicators such as rate of under-employment and levels of long term and youth unemployment, are continuing concerns within the community and amongst economic commentators, as is the comparative decline in the availability of full time jobs;

(2) further notes that:

(a) rates on unemployment in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries have fallen significantly since 2012 while Australia's unemployment rate has remained stagnant; and

(b) Reserve Bank of Australia observations about the likely limited effect on economic activity of further interest rate cuts;

(3) recognises:

(a) the negative impact on the federal budget in continuing high levels of unemployment;

(b) the cost to individuals, the community and the economy in people not being able to find work; and

(c) the Government's failure to grow full-time employment opportunities; and

(4) urges the Government to give higher priority to addressing labour market stagnation and take whatever steps it can through fiscal policy and selective initiatives to address this ongoing blight on Australian society.

Last week, Australians woke to the news that wages growth had hit all-time lows and that the task of finding a job or even some extra hours was at least as difficult now as it had been during the global financial crisis. What was not news was that this government had simply no plan for the unemployed, unless that plan was to wait for something to turn up—like Charles Dickens's Mr Micawber in my favourite Dickens novel, David Copperfield.

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