Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Recently I received an email from Michael in Seaford, who asked me to 'encourage the government to think more APPROPRIATELY'—in capital letters—'about aged persons'. So I'm here to tell the House and the government what Michael's life has been like and what too many other people's lives have been like.

Michael is 66 years of age. He is unemployed. He really wants to work. He's had many years in administration—decades and decades. But he left his job in 2013 to be his mother's full-time carer until she died in 2015. He then became a taxi driver, but 60 hours of work a week to make $400 didn't work. He used his money to try to be an owner-driver and couldn't make money out of that. He took out all of his super, and that lasted a year. He is now on unemployment benefits, and his job provider is sending him to get a cert III when, as he says, he's capable of working. He just wants to work. He doesn't want to earn a huge income; he just wants to be able to pay his rent and his debts and live comfortably.

Michael and too many people in this country have suffered because of insecure work. They've suffered because older people seem to be invisible. They've suffered from the Morrison government's policies, and it has to change for people like Michael and people across my electorate.

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