Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) critical workforce shortages are being experienced, particularly in regional Australia;

(b) workforce participation among older Australians is lower than the OECD average;

(c) according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there were 107,700 people aged 60 to 69 who were not in the labour force, not retired and not currently employed but wanted to work part-time or full-time;

(d) increasing workforce participation among older Australians will have positive impacts for gross domestic product; and

(e) a recent, unpublished, National Seniors Australia survey found that 19.8 per cent of pensioners would consider re-entering the workforce—even before the latest increases in inflation and cost of living; and

(2) calls on the Government to introduce an 'opt-in' scheme to increase the income test threshold for pensioners with limited savings, as an incentive to engage in paid work.

Australia's unemployment rate plummeted to 3.5 per cent last month. This is the lowest rate in 48 years and effectively full employment. This is a good thing, but it has created an increasingly tight labour market, with high demand for engaging and retaining workers, particularly in the regions. Consequently, it's become increasingly difficult for employers to find and attract staff. In my electorate I'm reminded of this on a daily basis—the need for workers to pick fruit, to package produce, to serve in retail and hospitality. Just on Saturday I was talking to a tyre business who are desperately looking for a mechanic and willing to pay double, and they have been looking for months.

Regional communities are desperately looking for workers to function and, in many instances, to provide for the supply of food that we all enjoy. While our local communities struggle with the lost economic opportunity, a solution to the workforce problem sits idle in anticipation right before us. The solution is our older Australians. Australia has one of the lowest workforce participation rates for people aged 65 years and older. It is currently 14.2 per cent. This compares with the OECD average of 15.3 per cent; Sweden, 19 per cent; the United States, 19.4 per cent; and in our New Zealand neighbour, 24.8 per cent. Workforce participation among pensioners with limited savings is even lower, at just three per cent. The data and the anecdotal evidence strongly suggest there is an underutilised workforce available to us. However, older Australians are prematurely leaving critical sectors such as aged care and other allied health sectors because of the penalty associated with working and the consequential reduction in pension entitlements. The anxiety and stress of dealing with Centrelink every fortnight is precluding people from continuing on in the workforce.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 107,700 people aged 60 to 69 who are no longer in the labour force, not retired and not currently employed but wanting to work part time or perhaps even close to full time. National Seniors Australia found in their recent survey that one in five pensioners would consider re-entering the workforce, and this was prior to the latest inflation and cost-of-living increases. Many older Australians want to work. Our businesses, our regions and our critical sectors want older Australians to work. What we need now is a government that also wants older Australians to be given the opportunity to work. This would help to address our workforce shortages, would see an increase in tax paid and would encourage the transfer of workforce skills from older Australians to younger Australians. I am calling on the government to do its bit to make the necessary changes to allow older Australians to participate in the workforce without penalty of losing their pension, and specifically to provide an opt-in scheme to increase the income threshold for pensioners with limited savings, as an incentive to engage and reengage people into paid work. Such a scheme would be voluntary and, importantly for government, would increase tax revenue and positively contribute to our GDP. The extra tax revenue could be used to help fund core needs such as aged care.

This place rarely gets the opportunity to debate and review policy initiatives that have support across a broad spectrum of representative bodies, and this policy has support. National Seniors Australia has championed this policy. The National Farmers Federation, the Business Council of Australia, the council of business organisations Australia, often known as COSBOA, support this policy. Dairy farmers support this policy. This is desperately needed. Family businesses, from small family businesses to large businesses, support this policy, and our most critical sectors such as health and agriculture desperately need this policy.

I ask the government just to trial this initiative, even if you just trial it in our regions. It just makes good sense, and I think that there would be broad support across this parliament to help older Australians to access employment, for those who want to do it, without having to deal with Centrelink every fortnight and without losing 50c in the dollar for working hard for Australia.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

After a decade of inaction by the Morrison, Turnbull and Abbott governments we have seen a shocking skills shortage crisis in regional Australia. I see it every day on display in my electorate in South East Queensland. When you cut $3 billion from TAFE, training and skills you will have a consequence and the impact will be worse in regional Australia. I thank the member for Mayo for moving this motion because she would see this issue in her electorate and I certainly see it in the country towns in the electorate I represent.

The economy is being held back by the failure of the previous government. The lack of policy, leadership and planning for the past 10 years has been astonishing. We have a lack of skilled workers in regional areas. I see it, for example, in areas such as the meat industry in my electorate. I have JBS, Dinmore, Kilcoy Global Foods up in Kilcoy and Greenmountain in Coominya. We see all the time skilled jobs that people want to engage in, so we need to take steps and we need to take action as quickly as we possibly can. That is why the Albanese Labor government's commitment to 465,00 fee-free places at TAFE and 20,000 additional university places is so critical. I commend the government for putting the Jobs and Skills Summit and Jobs and Skills Australia high on our agenda as they will be absolutely crucial. Indeed, in my electorate we're having a jobs and skills summit as well in Ipswich, and I encourage people in the chamber of commerce, in the charitable sector and in other sectors including in the faith based sector to engage in this process as well.

But we see a lot of discrimination, particularly in regional Australia, of people with disability, of First Nations people and of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. There are great barriers to labour participation in regional areas and it is made worse by the discrimination of so many Australians from backgrounds where they are disadvantaged. The reality is, to get rid of these barriers of discrimination against older Australians and people from these types of backgrounds, business, government and unions have an important role to play.

Arrangements to support older Australians are really critical. I note the motion calls for an opt-in scheme to increase income test thresholds for pensioners with limited savings as an incentive to engage in paid work. It is interesting that so far only three per cent of pensioners are actually taking up the advantage of the current work bonus concession. There is capacity for pensioners working in my electorate and elsewhere. I see the opposition are calling for the work bonus for pensioners to be doubled despite the fact the coalition did nothing about it during the nine long years they had in office. Again and again, we saw bills before this chamber where the coalition wanted to keep older Australians working longer. For example, they spent five years trying to raise the pension age to 70. The opposition should know that people who work in certain industries find it particularly hard if they are working in certain trades, for example, the police or the military. They have high levels of work related injuries, can't work for longer periods and have to retire earlier. We see this all the time. We acknowledge that recent increases in inflation and the cost-of-living are huge issues for older Australians, so we need to do more and do better, and that is why Labor's Jobs and Skills Summit and Jobs and Skills Australia are critical for identifying areas where there are shortages and for removing the barriers to older Australians, young people and people in migrant communities. These things are really important, and we need to take steps to do them. I understand the sentiment from the member from Mayo. I understand where she's coming from, and this government is committed to removing those barriers. People living in regional Australia have worse health outcomes, have fewer job opportunities and struggle with challenges that people who live in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane do not know and do not experience. So we need to do all that we can.

One of the first actions of this particular government, which I commend, is allowing older Australians and people in regional communities to manage their money. That's why we're moving to abolish the Morrison government's privatised cashless debit card. It's really critical for regional Australia.

Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing forward this private member's motion and shining a light on what is a critically important issue to regional and rural Australia. I would suggest that my seat of O'Connor, stretching across 1.1 million square kilometres, is probably as badly affected by this current labour shortage as any electorate across the country.

The regional city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, part of the Goldfields mining industry, has been the canary in the coalmine, because we've seen unemployment rates in Kalgoorlie-Boulder sub three per cent for over five years now. So we've experienced this current skills shortage that the rest of Australia has been experiencing now for many years. I'm very proud of some of the measures that the previous government put in place, and skilled migration has been a big part of that. Unfortunately, with the COVID restrictions and border closures—many of which were necessary—some closures, particularly in the western part of the continent, were perhaps a little bit over the top.

But we have seen a rapid drying up of that skilled migration program. It is starting to be accessed again, but I'd like to make the comment that the time to process these applications is taking a minimum of 12 months and an average of 18 months. The cost to businesses sponsoring skilled migrants can be up to $20,000, with no guarantee of an outcome. This is a big issue for the businesses across my electorate, particularly in the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. As the member for Blair mentioned, abattoirs—meat works—are finding it very hard to find staff. I've got several large operations across my electorate, and they are accessing the expanded Pacific Islander scheme, and that's another initiative of the Morrison government which is paying dividends. We certainly need to upskill our local workers and encourage people to move to and have a wonderful lifestyle in regional Australia.

Moving on to the substance of the motion, and that is getting our pensioners, who are willing and able, to work. There are many who don't want to work full time, but they would be quite happy to contribute by doing a day or two here and there. The coalition has announced a policy, which I'm very, very supportive of, that we will double the Age and Veteran Service Pension Work Bonus Scheme, from $300 per fortnight to $600 per fortnight. The practical implication here is that a couple, who might want to hook the caravan up and head out to the Wheatbelt, in my electorate, and maybe help out through the harvest period, would be able to earn up to $1,200 per fortnight, without impacting their pension. I think that's a great incentive. A month working on a chaser bin is not physically demanding. You sit in an air-conditioned cab. It takes a bit of skill and a bit of training, but I'm sure many of the older people that I know would certainly be able to pick up that sort of job in no time.

I'm very supportive of the scheme. I see it as a great initiative to help regional Australia find the casual workers that we lost when we lost our backpackers, and, once again, that goes back to the COVID border closures. But backpackers do suit some of the work tasks in regional Australia particularly well. It's seasonal work; it might be a month or two. It doesn't suit Australian people to leave the metropolitan area to go to, for example, Manjimup, in the Southern Forests to pick apples for a couple of months. It's not something that rational people would do, but for a backpacker who's travelling around Australia, it's ideal work. Unfortunately we've lost them; they don't seem to have the confidence yet to start travelling again, particularly in Western Australia. But a pensioner and his or her partner may decide that going down to the beautiful Southern Forests for a month or two with the caravan, or to stay in a donga on a property, and help out with the apple picking, would be very much something that would suit their lifestyle and would suit them financially. Then they could continue on for a few months on their merry way with the caravan and enjoy their holiday. I absolutely support and commend this policy initiative from the coalition and I thank the member for Mayo once again for raising this issue in parliament.

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this motion, because we absolutely do need to consider all possibilities to boost workforce participation with people who are willing and able to work. It is a time at the moment where many employers in my community and in other communities are reporting that they're struggling to get the workers that they need. That's why it is really important that our government will hold our Jobs and Skills Summit in September, bringing together groups like unions, employers, civil society and governments so that we can collectively address this challenge that's before us and consider different options like this one that's been brought by the member for Mayo.

When we look at our pensions and our social security system, one of the central parts of the Australian social security system is our strong and targeted pension system. It's important to note that it is a targeted system; it measures a person's need for income support and their capacity to contribute towards their own support through the means test. The targeted nature of our system is a large part of what makes it equitable, and that should be a principle we retain as we do consider further changes. This is a government that will always stand up for pensioners. We know that the Australians who've worked hard all their lives, who have built this country, need support and respect based on that. That's an abiding principle for this government as we look at this. That includes the ability to work if they want to do so. The current pension work test does allow for pensioners to work, and these arrangements are generous. But the data shows us that, as at March 2022, only three per cent of aged pensioners were taking advantage of the current work bonus concession. In fact the number of aged pensioners with employment earnings has been declining over time, despite there being previous increases in the value of the concessions—so there have been some incentives put in place. So far what we haven't seen is people taking that up and actually working, so we need to consider what other factors may be behind older Australians not choosing to work.

It seems that one of these factors is most likely age discrimination and the reluctance of many employers to hire older workers. I know in my electorate, I hear from a lot of older people, particularly older women, who might have been out of the workforce for some time and who are looking to re-enter, about the real age discrimination they face. They just can't actually get a job interview. From people who have been laid off later in life, I hear the same problem. Employers just knock back their CV once they see how old they are. Age discrimination is one of the factors that Ian Yates, the Chief Executive Officer of the Council of the Ageing Australia has cited as a factor in older people not being in jobs, even if they do want to work. In fact, he has cited figures from the Australian Human Rights Commission that somewhere between a quarter and a third of employers actively discriminate on age. This is something that, as a society and as a government, we absolutely have to consider. I was really heartened to see the Minister for Skills and Training in the media today talking about just this—about the fact that age discrimination does exist when it comes to older people working, and that that's something that we have to tackle.

Other factors that I think we also need to consider when we look at this issue are things like low wages. The member for Mayo talked about the aged-care sector, an area where we know that so many centres are crying out for workers. But let's be honest; the current wage in aged care is not very attractive. Again, if you're a pensioner, if you're looking at re-entering the workforce, one of the things you have to weigh up is, 'Well, is it worth my time?' I think a lot of pensioners are probably currently looking at the aged-care sector and thinking, 'On that rate, that is a pretty unattractive proposition.' Our government has made a commitment to look at low-paid work to support an increase for aged-care workers. We know that this is vitally important work and that our aged-care workers deserve a pay rise. Perhaps that's something that will make it a sector that is more attractive to older people. Again, this is an idea worth considering and it is great that our job summit will give us the opportunity to do just that as well as look more broadly at how we are encouraging people to be part of our system to work and to have the fulfilment and the income that comes from working.

We need to look at all factors, such as age discrimination and low wages in industries like aged care and others. Most importantly, we must retain our respect for pensioners. We must make sure that we always stand up for pensioners and their right to a decent life.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this important issue forward. Certainly I would have to say in the last six or 12 months as I've travelled around my electorate the No. 1 issue when I walk into a business has been, 'We can't get enough workers.' It's repeated whether it's in hospitality, the aged-care sector, agriculture, aquaculture, mining or local mechanic shops—it's right across the board—'We can't get enough workers.' While I know the issue is similar in the cities, I don't think it's to the same extent as it is in regional areas, because we know that we are always struggling to attract people to come and live in regional areas, which I find fairly insulting. It upsets me, but I can't do all that much about it, I have to say.

The suggestion that age pensioners and disability pensioners should be allowed to earn more before they hit the threshold where their pension starts to reduce, I think, is a very solid one. It's one that has been backed by Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, calling for a doubling. I think we are sitting at rates of $336 a fortnight at the moment for double pensioners and $190 for singles.

There are a plethora of schemes in place to assist people into the workforce. I have a printed list here. There are over 50 different schemes in place to assist people into the workforce—from relocation to re-education and a whole host of things. I'm not saying any of those programs are particularly failing, even though I don't think it hurts to ask the question of whether they are succeeding. But there is a reality in this debate at the moment—the fact that we have hit 3.5 per cent unemployment across Australia. If anyone is being brutally honest, that last three per cent is going to be fairly difficult to get into the workforce for a lot of reasons. I won't go down that pathway at the moment, but the point being that, while these assistance schemes all sit there ready to help and helping where they can, in fact that last three or 3.5 per cent to go into the workforce will be people that don't want to shift, people that have poor skills, poor education, poor health and a whole host of other reasons why they don't want to move into the workforce.

Pensioners are just the perfect group to be targeting. I will just make the point that there is not a retirement age in Australia. There is no retirement age. What there is is an eligibility for the age pension, which is at the age of 67 at the moment. So no-one should feel as they approach 67—and I am not all that far away from it, I must say—that they need to get out of the workforce. In fact, I say to many people, 'Consider what it's going to be like doing nothing for maybe the next 40 years, because the medical health system's pretty good.' How long one's piece of string is comes into contention when one is considering retirement. There are a lot of jobs where you can back off and become partially employed, but there are a lot of jobs where you can't. I might point out that being a federal politician is probably one of them. I really encourage people to keep some kind of work measure in their lives.

While some people at that age of 67, to be brutal, are pretty clapped out, there are a lot who are not. I have a friend who has started up a gardening service. I think he's 68. He's one of the most energetic people you are likely to meet. He doesn't really want to work for half rates. He says to me: 'Can't you lift the threshold? Can't you do something about it, particularly at this time when Australia is so desperately short of workers?' Well, I couldn't agree with him more. Well done, Cliff.

I do back this call from the member for Mayo and I do back the call from Peter Dutton, the Leader of the Opposition, to lift that threshold. The sooner the better. I know it comes at a cost. The Treasurer at the moment is talking about the threats to the budget. I understand that. I can also say that not filling those jobs across Australia at the moment comes at a far greater cost than the $160 million that is mentioned in the documentation I have here. Not being able to fill jobs, businesses not being able to expand when there are opportunities in the market, not being able to replace people who are wanting to retire for good reason, and not being able to replace businesses that have bad effects from COVID at the moment are really costing the community dearly. We should get on with the job.

Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this motion forward. Without doubt, the dynamic of Australia's workforce over the last few years has changed. The pandemic impacted on businesses worldwide, and globally we all adapted and accepted change. We saw a record number of Australians working or studying from home, adapting work schedules to stay safe and still be productive. They tried to juggle a work-lifestyle balance. We experienced all the positives and all the negatives that resulted from the pandemic.

It is very likely that many Australians would be able to clearly state that their way of work and their dynamic of work have changed over the past few years. I know many members of my community, in my home electorate of Pearce in Western Australia, have continued to maintain a flexible work schedule and still work from home on designated days whilst travelling to work on other days. This is not uncommon for many people across the country.

We know that our workforce has the power to adapt and change, as it has over the last few years. We know that the Australian workforce is constantly changing, including people retiring and people entering employment for the very first time. The government is always ready to listen and consider initiatives to aid the Australian workforce in whatever capacity necessary. This will include consideration of ideas to boost workforce participation or ideas to boost labour supply.

Like many people in Pearce will know, my main priority on becoming a member is to bring a voice to Canberra, but I can only be the voice of my electorate of Pearce if I listen to what our community is telling me. We have a fabulous community of seniors—over 55s—in my electorate. I visit them as often as I can and I listen to what they have to say. We have many seniors groups, including the Groovy Grannies, the Knit and Natters, the Growing Old Living Dangerously, the Kookaburra Ladies and many more who volunteer thousands of hours of their time. Seniors forums have been organised to provide an opportunity for people to have their say. With repetition for emphasis: there is one very clear message that comes through for people over 55 who have retired and have the capacity, skill, experience and willingness to work—the barriers to entry into the workforce are too high.

I spoke to many pensioners who are experiencing these issues. While existing arrangements do allow pensioners to work, only three per cent of aged pensioners are taking advantage of the current work bonus concession—that is, only 75,706 people out of 2.6 million. Like in my colleague's electorate of Jagajaga, the number of aged pensioners with employment earnings has been declining over time, despite previous increases in the value of the concession. The Leader of the Opposition recently said that the work bonus for pensioners should be doubled. However, the previous government elected not to do this during the decade they had in office, to the disappointment of many within my community.

The age pension income test is designed to provide work incentives for pensioners who choose to do so. We also know that many people who are on the age pension prefer not to work and are often kept busy in other activities or helping out with their grandchildren. For those who want to continue working or whose planned circumstances have changed, the incentives are there through the income-free area and the work bonus. However, many pensioners over 55 who have retired have advised that they would enjoy, and require, working more hours but the negative impact on their own pension and their partner's pension discourages them from doing so. The government is listening and is holding a jobs and skills summit in September to hear from Australians right across the country about the barriers that they face.

People should have every opportunity to work if they wish to. This includes people with a disability, people managing health conditions, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, First Nations people and, of course, those over the age of 55. The summit will hear from Australians experiencing barriers, and we will listen to ideas about how we can do better and dismantle those barriers. The summit will be followed by a government white paper on employment—

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I thank the honourable member for Pearce. I welcome her to the 47th Parliament. There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.