Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. Eighty-five per cent of successful providers were ranked at 3.5 stars or above in the area of expertise, which is a far preferable position to that of the previous government, which, by rolling over 95 per cent of the business in 2006, allowed job seekers to languish with some providers whose performance was well below par. I am confident that the job the department has done in relation to the structuring of the system, of Job Services Australia, and also in relation to the weighting of the tender has been done properly and correctly. In the end, it will be in the interests of the job seekers, because that is what Job Services Australia is about—actually putting the interests of job seekers first, especially job seekers who come from a disadvantaged background and have been long-term unemployed.

It is not just that that we are doing, Senator Bernardi; we also have the Innovation Fund. There is $41 million for looking at innovative ideas to create jobs. We have the Jobs Fund. I have to say thank you to the Greens, Senator Fielding and also Senator Xenophon for ensuring that that Jobs Fund passed through the Senate. That will mean real work and real employment, not training for— (Time expired)