Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution to this debate on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Youth Employment and Other Measures) Bill 2015. This bill represents yet another attack by this government on some of the most vulnerable members of our community and particularly young people. The government continues to come from the position that young people can easily find a job. I have told the chamber of the many occasions when young people have said to me, 'I was one of 1,000 people who applied for a job in my local area,' or 'I was one of 600,' or 'I was one of 250 who applied for an entry level position.'

We also have the situation where graduates are applying for entry level jobs such as as a receptionist or in office management—positions that do not use their skills—because they are so desperate to work. Young people have spent three or four years trying to get a university education. Does the government think that suddenly they do not want to work? Most of them have in fact been trying to work and study at the same time just to be able to survive and support themselves while they were studying. It is a complete fallacy to suggest that young people are just sitting on the couch at home not caring about work.