Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I want to speak directly to Tasmanians aged under 30 about what the Abbott coalition government is proposing to do to them if they are unemployed. Labor will not support the proposal from Mr Abbott, Mr Whiteley, Mr Hutchinson and Mr Nikolic to cut access to Newstart for people under 30 for more than six months in every year. Mr Whiteley, Mr Hutchinson and Mr Nikolic propose that, for more than six months in each and every year, Tasmanians aged under 30 who do not have a job and who are not in training would have no income. Rather than defending their constituents from these savage budget cuts, the self-styled 'three amigos' are in lock step with Prime Minister Abbott that people under 30 should have to beg, borrow or steal for more than six months in every twelve.

I recall a line from Three Amigos where the bumbling fools—Lucky Day, Ned Nederlander and Dusty Bottoms—said:

Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find the three amigos.

The nickname chosen by the three MPs themselves—Mr Whiteley, Mr Hutchinson and Mr Nikolic—could not be more appropriate. The injustice of stripping the basic income support safety net from people under thirty is self-explanatory, as is the suffering that will be imposed upon Tasmanians under 30, their partners, their children, their families and their communities. The liberty of individuals will be not just threatened but deprived as they struggle to survive for more than six months in every twelve without any income.

This is not a policy aimed just at the youth labour market. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the youth labour market covers people aged 15 to 24. This proposal from Mr Abbott, supported by his three amigos, is for all people aged under 30 who cannot find a job and cannot access appropriate study. The fact is that finding a job or a training place in Tasmania was hard enough before this budget was announced two months ago. But under Mr Abbott's budget, there are no new work or training opportunities, just cuts to employment services like Youth Connections and the removal of the north-west Tasmanian Local Employment Coordinator from an area where youth unemployment is over 20 per cent.

Today we heard the terrible news that the Mount Lyell copper mine, which has been the lifeblood of Queenstown on Tasmania's isolated west coast since the 19th century, is set to close with 200 workers to be made redundant. This follows Monday's announcement that the Henty Gold Mine, 20 minutes drive from Queenstown, will close in the next year with 150 workers to lose their jobs. These two announcements within a week are a huge loss to the town of Queenstown and the entire west coast region, the effects of which will be felt much more widely across the state. My thoughts are with the workers, their families and their communities.

These announcements demonstrate that job prospects in the north, the north-west and the west coast of Tasmania are tough, and the people of Tasmania need action from the Abbott coalition government to grow jobs immediately—something Senator Fierravanti-Wells might want to take onboard.

Both sides of this place agree that government does have a role to play in creating jobs in Tasmania. Both sides of this place took to the last election the promise to spend $40 million on co-investment grants with local businesses to keep and grow jobs in the north-west region and a total of $100 million dollars across the state. This funding was the one part of the Tasmanian Forests Agreement that Mr Abbott and the three amigos supported. Barely any of these projects have been confirmed by this government. If Mr Abbott and the three amigos were serious about jobs in Tasmania they would expedite the remaining contracts because at present, under this coalition government, finding a job is only getting harder. Under this coalition government, finding a training place is only getting harder. If Mr Abbott and the three amigos get their way, for people under 30 putting a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and clothes on their backs will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for more than six months in every 12.

I call on the three amigos to drop their arrogant moniker and, rather than perpetrating injustices upon, imposing suffering upon and depriving the liberty of your fellow Tasmanians, do what you promised to do. Get out there and put the $100 million in co-investment grants into local businesses to create much-needed jobs in the Tasmanian community.