Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Since the budget I have heard from many job seekers under 30 worried about how they will survive when your government takes away their income for months at a time. These people are desperate for meaningful work and they have already studied, retrained and even got postgraduate qualifications. Prime Minister, when your budget takes away all their income, what should young job seekers do first: stop paying for rent or stop buying food? Or is your view simply let them eat cake?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call and will pay no attention to the final comment in the question, which was out of order.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want the young people of Australia to get the best possible start in life. I have to say that no-one should start their adult life on social security. We want the young people of Australia to be either earning or learning and, thanks to the changes in this budget, the chances to learn are absolutely unprecedented. Thanks to the changes in this budget, there are more opportunities to learn than ever before. We will be making available Trade Support Loans to apprentices and we will be applying to non-degree courses the same kind of fee help that has long been available to people doing degrees. It is a fairer, better system as a result of the changes that this government has put in place under the budget.