Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to rise tonight to speak on the government's Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Jobs Path: Prepare, Trial, Hire) Bill 2016. I think this is one of the hallmark aspects of our government's agenda in our commitment to reducing youth unemployment across this country. I think all submitters to the Senate inquiry are absolutely united in acknowledging the scourge that is youth unemployment, particularly for those young people located in regional Australia, where unemployment rates are much, much higher than they are in urban areas. And when you go out and speak to employers, when you speak to young people, when you speak to careers teachers in schools and across universities, one of the key reasons for young people finding it hard to get secure ongoing employment is the fact that they lack the requisite work experience in the particular area or industry in which they are seeking to set out a career path.

Indeed, that is what is key and at the heart of this particular policy initiative—ensuring that young people actually get the work experience they need in the area they are interested in and that employers are incentivised to take on that young person, who may not have the full skill set required to fulfil that task. Employers, equally, are supported so that the young person can get experience, because finding your way as a young Australian, or a young person anywhere, through the myriad study options and employment options can be a tangled path, a long and winding road. Many young people, as we have seen with our university data, think that a particular course is going to provide them with satisfaction and ongoing enjoyment. However, once they embark on that course they find that it is actually not for them and they go on to find another course that will fulfil their particular needs and interests.

So, too, it is for employment. Giving young people the opportunity to participate in industries and areas that they may not have come across in their particular region or school setting will I think lead to increased employability of all young Australians. So, I completely support the minister and really appreciate her bringing this initiative forward, because at least we are doing something.