Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I love the youth of today, and the resilience they show in times of trouble is fantastic. Let us not dance about the point: youth unemployment is a real issue across the country, but more so in the regions. That is why programs like the Green Army are important. They are not a panacea. They do not answer all the questions. But they give people an opportunity to participate in the workforce—to practise getting out of bed, putting on a uniform and getting out there. My Green Army guys are fantastic people. I was out at Bushland Beach recently—we are doing a Green Army project out there—and I spoke to Michael, Shannon, Kayla, Jessica, Sarah, Sean and Dylan. All they want is an opportunity. Some of their parents even think they are lazy. It is very hard to keep on knocking on doors and having that thrown in your face. We have all had to go through it in our business lives and that sort of thing.

But we have an asset here and we want to make sure that these people are taken care of and supported. We must make sure that the youth of today have the opportunity to participate in the workforce and do anything we can do to allow them the opportunity to get into it. I will not tell you her name, but one girl said that the Green Army had even helped her sleeping patterns. She had previously been up all night most of the time and sleeping most of day. In the Green Army, you have to get up in the morning, put your uniform on and get out there and work physically, which meant she was in bed at sleep at night. It is a great project. You should get out there and meet the people doing this, because they are a great bunch of kids.