Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I still can? That's excellent. As one of the youngest members in this place, I do feel an obligation to make sure that we are best representing young Australians and young families. I can agree with the member for Kingston that the COVID-19 pandemic has absolutely been extremely challenging for young Australians. We know that they need certainty at a time when they are building their careers and building their families; we need to support them. Of course, the pandemic has been the perfect confluence of circumstances to provide great uncertainty. That is why the Morrison government was so quick to act to support young Australians and young people, so I can't agree with the member for Kingston's characterisation of the number of measures that we have put in place to make sure that young families are supported throughout the pandemic.

JobKeeper and JobSeeker were the lifeblood of the Australian economy when the pandemic first started, and they've now set us on our path to recovery. We're seeing young people play an important role in that, in particular in the hospitality sector. In my electorate of Ryan we have the famous Regatta Hotel and others that were forced to shut down during the pandemic. But having JobKeeper to support the young people who would normally be working behind the bars or at the tables was incredibly important to sustain their efforts. Now, having seen the success of JobSeeker and JobKeeper, we see young Australians getting back into the workforce. As our economy is recovering, more than 30 per cent of the more than one million jobs that were created went to Australians aged 15 to 24.

In June 2021 Australia's rate of youth unemployment dropped 10.2 per cent to the lowest level of youth unemployment since 2009. I will say that again: as we come out of the pandemic we have the lowest level of youth unemployment since 2009, and that is testament to the fact that the Morrison government has supported young people throughout this COVID crisis. An article in the Australian last week said:

The number of Australians taking trade apprenticeships has hit an all-time high as the nation embraces a 'once in a generation' opportunity to train up more skilled workers to fill gaps sparked by border closures.

There were over 217,000 Aussies in trade apprenticeships in July this year, the highest figure since records began, so we have the lowest youth unemployment since 2009 and a record number of young people getting their apprenticeships because of this government's focus on sovereign capability. This is how we provide certainty for young people. We provide—

Opposition members interjecting—

Those on the other side of the chamber are scoffing at the idea of young people improving their skills and getting a job, which is what the Morrison government wants for them. The Morrison government wants young Australians to have the opportunity to go into the trade that they choose, to get education opportunities and to find a job so that they can start to support their family and they can build the life and the career that they want. Labor, on the other hand, would prefer to tell you how to do it: what you should do, what you should study and the conditions of the job into which you should go.

In the last three years Morrison government policies such as HomeBuilder and the Home Guarantee Scheme have helped over 320,000 Australians get into a home. Getting the education and training opportunities that you need, getting a job opportunity and then getting your first home are vital so that you can start the important role of building your family and your career. This is what creates certainty for young people. This is what young people need at a time of incredible uncertainty during the pandemic, and the Morrison government's policies are ensuring that they're getting those opportunities. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of the government that has helped so many of these young Australians to get their first homes, including in my electorate of Ryan where we see considerable construction and that young people have taken up the HomeBuilder opportunity.

In the time that I have left, I want to touch on the topic of mental health, because this is also very important for our young people. We know that if we can get them the support that they need early on we can head off a lifetime of mental health challenges. The Morrison government is funding two important programs that focus on mental health for our youth. First, the government has allocated $60 million annually for the National Schools Chaplaincy Program that has a special antibullying focus at the moment. The chappies are doing fantastic work in their local community, and I pay tribute to them and to our local headspace providers. They're taking the funding provided by the government and bringing practical support to young Australians to help them in their time of need.

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