Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last week I was pleased to welcome the member for Chifley to the electorate of Lalor. He came down with me to listen to those looking for work in my electorate. We all know and understand in this place the dignity of work. What we heard was that looking for work is not so dignified. We heard from young people looking for entry level jobs, as well as university graduates. We heard from single mothers with toddlers desperate for work. We heard from men and women with a work history and tertiary qualifications looking for work. We heard from men and women over 50 looking for work, and what we heard was shattering. We heard that the Commonwealth job support agencies are not giving the level of support that we in this place all expect that they are, and we cannot afford for this to continue. We also heard about Jobs Victoria. We spoke to people employed by west@work, where our state is overlaying the Commonwealth spend in this area to actually get people back to work, and it's active in my community. What I learnt was that we need to make looking for work a dignified thing to do. We need to ensure that the people who are putting in hours and hours of their days seeking to make a better contribution to our community are given the kind of support that will help them get to work, rather than the disheartening disillusionment they are now facing.

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