Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation and Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare. Will the minister inform the House of the government's plan to provide on-the-ground support and jobs and skills expos to help recently dismissed Queensland workers?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question. I know that the member for Blair is deeply concerned about the jump in the local unemployment rate in Ipswich, which he represents, from 4.7 per cent in July to six per cent in August. I also know that, like so many others in this place, he is deeply shocked at the severity of the numbers of workers that the Queensland state government has axed.

Of course, it stands in stark contrast to this government's focus on employment and on increasing job security for Australian workers. On our side, our very hardworking MPs—and, I must say, particularly the representatives from Queensland—have urged us to step in and assist in their home state. That is a call that we are absolutely willing to heed. Today our government proudly announced an $850,000 support package to assist the 14,000 Queensland workers that have been coldly and cruelly sacked by Campbell Newman and his government.

Members would be aware of the success of the government's jobs expos that we have been holding right around the country, which already, to this date, have seen over 21,000 Australians placed in jobs and back in the workforce. At 58 expos across Australia we have worked at a grassroots level to help Australia, to keep Australia working. I know at the Kurri Kurri smelter, when thousands of workers received the news of their impending redundancy, we did not turn our backs on them. Instead, we were prepared to stand alongside them, to work with their company. I had great pleasure in attending an expo with the Chief Government Whip that we organised where there were 6,400 jobs on offer for those workers.

Similarly, we will not turn our back on the workers of Queensland. Instead, we have today announced that we will step in. We will provide additional expos.

We will expand the jobs expo that we will be holding in Logan. We will add additional expos in both Brisbane and Townsville. We will work shoulder to shoulder with the people of Queensland to assist back into work those very people whose faith Campbell Newman has betrayed—the nurses, the hospital orderlies, the child protection workers, the school cleaners, the transit officers and so many more who have been stripped of their livelihoods by the LNP government in Queensland.

Of course, we know that they are not alone because it is in the LNP DNA. We have seen the education cuts and the health cuts in New South Wales. We have seen the TAFE cuts in Victoria, and we have seen the South Australian Liberal opposition leader stand up and announce that 25,000 to 35,000 workers should be stripped of their jobs there.

The Australian people have a very clear choice at the next election because standing up for ordinary Australians is what this government does. (Time expired)