Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

It was a while ago!—government was actually the largest employer of apprentices. They were the ones who employed more apprentices than anyone else, and now we rely on the private sector to employ apprentices. But, if you are a small business, it is very challenging to take on an apprentice. A lot of small businesses feel they don't have the confidence and supports to be able to take on an apprentice. In particular, that's because in the first couple of years the apprentice is generally costing the business money, and with tight margins that's very challenging. So I would urge the government to have a little bit of a look at that whole program and how so many young people are not finishing their apprenticeships.

The last thing I would like to raise is Youth Allowance. Youth allowance is pitiful. We think JobSeeker is a very low amount, but you can't live on youth allowance. You just can't. There are many young people who are 20 or 21 who are independent. They are outside of home. They can't physically be in the home either because they've got to study and that's far away from home, or because home is just not a safe place to be. We hear people talk about the rate of JobSeeker and how for years there's been a call to lift the rate. I acknowledge that the previous government did lift the rate a small amount, but youth allowance was left untouched. Quite frankly, I don't think you could keep a dog or a cat alive on youth allowance, let alone a young person. So I would urge the government, in this budget, to look at Youth Allowance and make sure it is sustainable so that young people have a bright future in our nation.

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