Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Throughout the world and here in Australia, 2020 has been an extraordinary year. Notwithstanding the struggles and heartaches encountered everywhere there are few, if any, other countries in the world that any of us would rather be living in. That is in no way meant to diminish or trivialise the deep hardship that so many Australians have faced and continue to face, with their lives in turmoil through events completely outside of their control—including fires, floods, drought, export bans and COVID-19. Lives have been lost, dreams and aspirations have been shattered, and life savings have vanished. So many Australians are now trying to rebuild their lives, often having no ability to access government assistance. They have become the neglected Australians, whom the Morrison government prefers to deflect from whilst talking up the good news stories that distract from the harsh realities faced by so many others. We saw it in question time today.

Amongst the neglected Australians are so many young people, who are trying to plan their lives and pursue their aspirations. Their ability to do that is very much dependent on decisions made by governments today, and in particular, decisions about the issues that will directly matter to young people. These are issues such as climate change, because it not only directly impacts on the world we live in, including the environment and weather patterns, but also and importantly on the burden left to future generations. Climate change is real, and the latest CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology State of the climate 2020 report makes that absolutely clear. Air and sea temperatures are rising, with air temperatures being about one degree hotter since reliable records began in 1850. Ice sheets are melting and sea levels are rising, with sea levels having risen by some 25 centimetres since 1880. Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, with CO2 levels now at around 400 parts per million compared with 280 parts per million on average over the past 2,000 years. Rainfall patterns are changing across the country, affecting the livelihood of so many of our farmers. Flora and fauna are being lost in ever increasing amounts. Droughts, fires and floods are also becoming more severe, and the direct cost to the economy of climate change issues is rising annually and now running into tens of billions of dollars. I don't think we have to look much further than last summer to see the effects of the fires then, and we already have fires raging in the country right now. They all come at a real cost to society.

These are no longer debatable claims but are supported by extensive worldwide scientific research and data recording over many years. Yet the Morrison government's response to climate change is tokenistic. It is a government content with adopting minimal standards and pushing the problems onto other nations or onto future generations. Of course, the Prime Minister will not be around to be held to account when the climate change impacts hit even harder in years to come.

Even other conservative governments and industry leaders are singling out Australia for its woeful commitment in reducing emissions. The Morrison government is only concerned with the next election. Young people understand that, and they also understand that climate change is real and that it affects their lives and that they will wear the consequences of the comforts of today's society.

The second matter that I refer to is how young people have been left behind by the Morrison government during the COVID pandemic year. According to a report released only yesterday by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, youth unemployment reached a 23-year high in 2020 and youth underemployment is now also at record levels, with one in three young people unable to get enough work. I will quote directly from the press release put out by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence:

Youth unemployment, which reached a 23-year high of 16.4% in June, remained disturbingly high at 15.6% in October, with 337,224 young people unable to find work.

Marginal jobs growth since lockdowns ended in most states has largely been in part-time work, leading young people into an increasingly part-time, casual and insecure workforce.

Youth underemployment, which was already emerging as a major challenge before the pandemic, reached a record high of 23.6% in April 2020, and stood at 17.9% in October's seasonally adjusted employment figures.

COVID will impact on young people for years to come. The press release goes on to say:

The report also found that young women suffered higher initial job losses from the sudden closures of largely female-dominated industries such as hospitality, accommodation and retail, while men were more likely to be have their hours drastically cut.

That press release was only issued yesterday and is possibly the latest of the statistics that are available on this subject. It paints a very grim picture for young people in this country and it makes clear that it is young people, more than any other group, who are carrying the burden of the pandemic. We have seen that not only in respect of employment directly; the Morrison government has responded to all of those concerns in the following way. Firstly, at a time when young people are finding it difficult enough to get jobs and, if they do, those jobs are insecure at best, the government it wants to make all work even less secure. Secondly, the government cut billions of dollars from skills training across the country, so, again, if young people are trying to create a future for themselves with a skill and a vocational in a particular area, it has just been made even harder for them. Thirdly, as a result of the changes made by the Morrison government through legislation in this place only this year, we saw how university education will become even less accessible to more young people.

Now, it's pretty clear to young people that this is a government that doesn't particularly care about the future of young people, because the changes that this government makes, whether they're on industrial relations, on the matter of university education or on its response to climate change, will directly impact on young people into the future. In particular, the changes will impact on young people's ability not only to create the future they want but to even own their own homes, which has always been an Australian dream. Australian homeownership rates are already falling and rank well behind dozens of other countries, including the USA, the UK and Canada. For 25- to 29-year-olds, the homeownership rate in Australia in 1970 was around 50 per cent. In 2016, the last year for which figures are available, it was down to 37 per cent. It has dropped from 50 per cent to 37 per cent. For 30- to 34-year-olds, the homeownership rate was 64 per cent in 1971. In 2016, it was down to 50 per cent. It dropped 14 per cent over that period. That proves the point that it is the younger people, more than any other age group, who are being left out of the homeownership market in this country.

I would've thought that any responsible government would be trying to reverse those trends and give young people an opportunity to live the life that perhaps some of us who are a bit older have been able to. The Morrison government simply doesn't have a vision or a plan for Australia's future, and it will be young people who will pay the biggest price for that. In closing, I say that the future belongs to young people and it shouldn't be up to any of us here today, or any government of today, to steal that future from the young people of this country.