Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this motion forward. Without doubt, the dynamic of Australia's workforce over the last few years has changed. The pandemic impacted on businesses worldwide, and globally we all adapted and accepted change. We saw a record number of Australians working or studying from home, adapting work schedules to stay safe and still be productive. They tried to juggle a work-lifestyle balance. We experienced all the positives and all the negatives that resulted from the pandemic.

It is very likely that many Australians would be able to clearly state that their way of work and their dynamic of work have changed over the past few years. I know many members of my community, in my home electorate of Pearce in Western Australia, have continued to maintain a flexible work schedule and still work from home on designated days whilst travelling to work on other days. This is not uncommon for many people across the country.

We know that our workforce has the power to adapt and change, as it has over the last few years. We know that the Australian workforce is constantly changing, including people retiring and people entering employment for the very first time. The government is always ready to listen and consider initiatives to aid the Australian workforce in whatever capacity necessary. This will include consideration of ideas to boost workforce participation or ideas to boost labour supply.

Like many people in Pearce will know, my main priority on becoming a member is to bring a voice to Canberra, but I can only be the voice of my electorate of Pearce if I listen to what our community is telling me. We have a fabulous community of seniors—over 55s—in my electorate. I visit them as often as I can and I listen to what they have to say. We have many seniors groups, including the Groovy Grannies, the Knit and Natters, the Growing Old Living Dangerously, the Kookaburra Ladies and many more who volunteer thousands of hours of their time. Seniors forums have been organised to provide an opportunity for people to have their say. With repetition for emphasis: there is one very clear message that comes through for people over 55 who have retired and have the capacity, skill, experience and willingness to work—the barriers to entry into the workforce are too high.

I spoke to many pensioners who are experiencing these issues. While existing arrangements do allow pensioners to work, only three per cent of aged pensioners are taking advantage of the current work bonus concession—that is, only 75,706 people out of 2.6 million. Like in my colleague's electorate of Jagajaga, the number of aged pensioners with employment earnings has been declining over time, despite previous increases in the value of the concession. The Leader of the Opposition recently said that the work bonus for pensioners should be doubled. However, the previous government elected not to do this during the decade they had in office, to the disappointment of many within my community.

The age pension income test is designed to provide work incentives for pensioners who choose to do so. We also know that many people who are on the age pension prefer not to work and are often kept busy in other activities or helping out with their grandchildren. For those who want to continue working or whose planned circumstances have changed, the incentives are there through the income-free area and the work bonus. However, many pensioners over 55 who have retired have advised that they would enjoy, and require, working more hours but the negative impact on their own pension and their partner's pension discourages them from doing so. The government is listening and is holding a jobs and skills summit in September to hear from Australians right across the country about the barriers that they face.

People should have every opportunity to work if they wish to. This includes people with a disability, people managing health conditions, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, First Nations people and, of course, those over the age of 55. The summit will hear from Australians experiencing barriers, and we will listen to ideas about how we can do better and dismantle those barriers. The summit will be followed by a government white paper on employment—

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