Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Abbott government give lip-service to the fact that they want to help young people find employment. Each and every time I visit the budget, I find a new area that the Abbott government has attacked in relation to helping young people return to work or find their first job. I was devastated to find out recently that the Job Guide and web, which has been funded since the 70s, is about to cease. This is a tiny, little bit of money that is invested in assisting young people to find work. The Job Guide is going to be funded up until December 2015 and myfuture will finish this year.

In my previous life as a rehabilitation counsellor working with people, getting them into the workforce, I found these guides absolutely invaluable. I know that they are used at TAFE, I know that every vocational counsellor works with these guides. It is a very short-sighted decision to cease publication of these excellent guides and it will not do anything to help young people find work. In fact, the removal of them will lead to a situation where there is less information for people who are looking for work.