Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Self-Employment Programs and Other Measures) Bill 2022. The former coalition government was transformative in respect to the way employment services were being delivered Australia-wide, most notably with the introduction of Workforce Australia. From July of this year, Workforce Australia has brought together the Department of Education, Skills and Employment's workforce employment skills initiatives under one single identity, replacing jobactive and the current employment services network. Workforce Australia is now in place, providing more personalised services to better target jobseeker needs, investing in those jobseekers who need it and making greater use of digital technology. This bill is a result of that change. Changing the name of the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme to the Self-Employment Assistance program serves an important purpose in ensuring that payments made under it are treated in the same way as other NEIS payments.

The coalition cares about getting Australians off welfare and into work. The unemployment rate sat at an almost 50-year low when we left government in May 2022, with just 3.9 per cent of Australians unemployed. This was not an accident. Getting people off welfare and into work was at the crux of the previous coalition government's policy. The government's previous employment services system, jobactive, saw nearly two million placements since it was established in 2015. The success of this system was a key factor in keeping our unemployment rate low.

The new Workforce Australia model seeks to build on the success of jobactive, giving jobseekers the best opportunity to find employment through a tailor-made approach. The former coalition government spent several years working with jobseekers, providers, peak bodies and employers on developing a model that works for all and supports a pathway for Australians off welfare and into work. This model was informed by all key stakeholders and is the culmination of much reflection and advice on how to best serve Australians wanting to re-enter the workforce. In the future, Workforce Australia will be the one-stop shop for Australians and Australian businesses to find work and retrain.

The bill itself is merely technical, allowing streamlined efficiency and ensuring access to payments. Schedule 1 of the bill ensures that the Social Security Act and the Veterans' Entitlements Act operate in the same way in relation to self-employment assistance payments as other NEIS payments. This schedule also ensures any name changes of these acts will not require future bills, streamlining the legislative process. Schedule 2 of the bill simply makes more minor technical amendments to the social security law, removing redundant notes and simplifying complexities that merely function as confusing red tape. I stress that this bill is technical in nature but, importantly, it streamlines policy and ensures funds keep getting paid to Australians on support payments.

Prior to the pandemic hitting, the coalition government had reduced welfare dependency to its lowest level in 30 years, getting Australians into jobs. From entering and exiting government, we helped 1.8 million Australians into work. For a moment, let us not think about the abstract numbers; let us think about the reality for Australians. Let us think about the unimaginable number of people now working towards their futures not reliant on government support. Let us think of the freedom they have in employment, the independence reached for so many more Australians. That is why these numbers matter. We were determined from when we were first elected to government in 2013 to put in place the strong economic policies and labour market programs that allowed the economy to recover and support Australians into work.

The previous government's long-term plan for jobs and growth meant that we entered the pandemic crisis from a position of economic strength. Our former employment services program played an essential role in supporting economic recovery by increasing labour force participation and helping workers transition to new jobs. These programs, including jobactive, the Youth Jobs PaTH, Transition to Work and ParentsNext, are working and have ensured that we bounce back from COVID-19 and continue the pathway of getting more Australians back into work. These programs have aided hundreds of thousands of Australians to improve their employability and gain employment, with jobactive having supported over two million job placements since its introduction in 2015.

There was $62.8 million invested in supporting employment in 25 regions through our Local Jobs Program. We coordinated the Workforce Australia reform, the biggest reform to employment services since the Howard government's reforms in the 1990s. In the coalition's last three years in government, 73 job fairs were funded which attracted tens of thousands of jobseekers and thousands of exhibitors. With social security being such a large expenditure area for the government, the previous coalition government recognised the need for scrutiny, careful planning and, importantly, thoughtful execution. At every step of the way, our government improved employee opportunities and we'll continue to do that, even if now from opposition.

The former coalition government's commitment to employment services was strong and focused, isolating those service where government expenditure would be most efficient and most socially beneficial to Australians. When Labor last left office, the youth unemployment rate was 12.7 per cent. In January 2020 under a coalition government the youth unemployment rate was nine per cent, 2.6 points lower than pre-COVID levels in March 2020. Youth unemployment is such an important number to drive down, because we know that by investing in jobs for young people we are supporting them today and also supporting them and our communities into the future. This is testament to the former coalition government's concerted investment to give young Australians the right assistance and encouragement to develop new skills; to become work-ready; to get a job or look at another job or a better job through the pathway; and to stay in a job.

The former coalition government's Youth Jobs PaTH program helps young people gain the skills and work experience needed to get and keep a job. It also supports businesses to trial young people in the workplace and offers a financial incentive when they hire them, which is so crucial, because we know businesses and small businesses want to support young people and they want to invest in their communities. But we also know that young people don't have that experience that older employees have. So it's important that we encourage business to invest in those young people, and they can learn those skills on the job. What we have seen is that this program is working, with 67 per cent of completed internships resulting in immediate employment for those young people, and a further eight per cent recording a job placement within three months.

Transition to Work participants receive intensive pre-employment support to develop practical skills to get a job; to connect them with educational training if that is what they need; and, really importantly, to find local job opportunities to connect them with jobs that are suited to them in their area. In Casey, we have a thriving agricultural industry, but, like many industries, it also has many skills shortages. Transition to Work participants will be trained and pushed into opportunities that align with the agricultural industry of Casey, which is one practical example of how this program works. And part of that is to connect them with the relevant local community services—because we know that local community services are in touch with local industries in their area—to find those jobs, providing great opportunities for those on the program and also for local businesses and local communities. Since its commencement, over 64,000 young people have found job placements—that's 64,000 young people finding their feet in the workforce and working for themselves and for their community and for their country. And, as I said, these 64,000 young people are not just finding jobs for today. These are jobs that they will have for the future, so it's an investment now and in the future. When we invest in our young people, we're investing in the short term and the long term of our communities. The former coalition government gave immense focus to what is so crucial to our country: the success of our young people.

My electorate of Casey has had remarkable success in recent years regarding work outcomes. We are fortunate that Casey has over the years of the previous coalition government consistently tracked lower in the unemployment rates when compared to greater Melbourne, Victoria and Australia. On top of this our gross regional product has steadily risen, even considering the decrease in population in our area. This hallmark of productivity is another example of the success of the former coalition government's policies, with the median weekly incomes for all the individuals, families and households of my electorate of Casey beating those for Victoria and Australia. However, while these numbers are positive, more needs to be done.

Like many areas, Casey is struggling with skill shortages. We have opportunities to continue to upskill our young people. I'll continue to advocate and work with our local providers in this regard. We also need to look at immigration and understand that by investing in targeted immigration we're creating new jobs for Australians, because the biggest handbrake on business in Casey is a lack of workers. Forever and a day a business will invest in a new market and grow, and they will add employees after the fact. I was talking to a business—and this was the first time I've heard this in 15 years in business—and that business said they will not grow a new market before employing people. Now they look to employ a person and then create the demand. It is staggering and unprecedented in business for someone to look at that. It shows the challenges we face with the skill shortages. It also shows the long-term impacts and challenges that our economy will have because if business is not prepared to grow and look at those opportunities for growth then it will hurt jobs in the long term. If businesses aren't hiring, because they've decided to be conservative, then as more young people come into the workforce we'll be in a lot of trouble. These skill shortages link to the outcomes we're talking about today.

We can talk about the millions in funding and how the averages of certain metrics have risen or fallen, but ultimately we cannot find ourselves lost in discussions of numbers. This discussion is about people—people once reliant on social security finding their footing in the workplace, feeling the freedom of being in control of what they do and earning money for all their efforts. There truly is dignity in work.

I am proud to support this bill and I commend this bill to the House.

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