Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Social Security Amendment (National Green Jobs Corps Supplement) Bill 2009 seeks to introduce a training supplement of $14.60 a fortnight to eligible participants in the Green Jobs Corps. The Green Jobs Corps, as you may remember, Mr Acting Deputy President, was announced at the 2009 ALP conference by the Prime Minister. At that conference Mr Rudd promised to deliver 50,000 new green jobs—a very memorable commitment. Yet we now know that, of these 50,000 new green jobs, only 6,000 were actually real jobs. I well remember the television footage of Senator Arbib on Sky, at the national conference, with the Darling Harbour venue in the background, struggling to explain how many of these jobs were new and real. I did actually feel sympathy for Senator Arbib—he is someone I am quite fond of, whom I spar with from time to time—because I suspect that Senator Arbib had this sprung upon him. I know that Senator Arbib would otherwise have been across the detail. It looked very much like something that had been cooked up very quickly in the Prime Minister’s office, and no-one had really quite thought through the details. So I think we all should be understanding of the very difficult and unfair situation that Senator Arbib was put in on that occasion.

The Green Jobs Corps is a six-month work experience program for 18- to 24-year-olds who have been unemployed for more than 12 months. Participants will continue to receive Newstart, youth allowance or a parenting payment. Whilst not a job, work experience is a welcome step in the right direction. Work experience programs such as Work for the Dole, Greencorps and Green Jobs Corps are designed to increase the employability of the unemployed. They do help job seekers to become job ready. They are a pathway to a job, but they are not jobs on their own.

Greencorps, it is important to remember, was an initiative of the former coalition government. And in many respects the Rudd government’s Green Jobs Corps appears very similar to the coalition’s Greencorps. The only differences are in the increased eligibility for older participants and that participants in the program receive income support payments now rather than the old Greencorps allowance. A cynic may even accuse the government of simply rebadging the coalition program. To be fair, Labor has added in the word ‘Jobs’ to the name, but it has not yet defined a pathway between this training and an actual paid job.

Employment for young people in Australia has serious deteriorated since the Rudd government was elected. In the last 12 months alone 108,300 full-time jobs have been lost amongst young Australians. And the rate of unemployment for teenagers who were not in full-time education rose to 18.5 per cent in 2009, up from 12.2 per cent in 2008.

The coalition will not oppose the passage of this bill. However, it is clear that the Rudd government have no strategy to create actual jobs for young Australians. We on this side of the chamber sincerely hope that they find a plan to do just that.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fifield for his contribution. I too saw the very impressive performance by Senator Arbib at that national conference but I did not reach the same conclusion that Senator Fifield did. I think there is a serious case of political spin being put by Senator Fifield on Senator Arbib’s contribution to supplement the announcement by the Prime Minister of the National Green Jobs Corps.

The amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 are sought to allow the introduction of the National Green Job Corps supplement of $41.60 per fortnight to participate in the corps for those who receive Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance (Other) or the Parenting Payment. The supplement of $41.60 per fortnight will be paid in recognition of the additional costs participants may incur due to their participation in the program. It will also act as an incentive for young people to participate. The National Green Jobs Corps with provide 10,000 places over two years for Australians aged 17 to 24 to gain a combination of environmental work experience, skills development and accredited training. This program builds on the broader compact with young Australians by seeking to ensure that young Australians have the skills and experience required to realise their full potential and ensure they are well positioned for the jobs that emerge in the 21st century labour market. The corps will attract young people who may struggle to engage with and remain in educational training and the program will also provide a pathway to employment or further education and training. It provides a pathway to employment and in doing so the corps will help to equip young people with the skills to fill employment opportunities in emerging green and climate change related industries. It will equip young people with the skills to recognise and respond to the challenges of environmental change and will improve our readiness to respond to the impacts of climate change.

This debate, to touch on Senator Fifield’s contribution, takes place at the time of a period in the world of a financial and economic crisis, the worst in 75 years, which has seen unemployment rates increase—not because of the election of a Labor government but because of the world financial and economic crisis, which commenced a year ago—in most comparable countries to Australia, although not Australia I have to say. It has seen unemployment rates increase massively over the last year. Just over a week ago the unemployment rate in the US hit 10.2 per cent—15 or 16 million people are unemployed in the United States. I would stress of course that a year ago there were some who were forecasting that Australia would reach double-digit—one million—unemployed. It is one of the key reasons that they Rudd Labor government took decisive action to implement its stimulus package to cushion the economy from the worst effects of the most significant financial and economic crisis in 75 years. As a consequence, the budget forecast for unemployment—assuming the impact of our stimulus package of course—was 8.5 per cent. The MYEFO released a few weeks ago highlighted the positive effect of the stimulus package and our cushioning against the world financial and economic crisis and recession. Those figures for unemployment were revised down to peak at 6¾ per cent and, as I speak, Australia’s unemployment rate is 5.8 per cent. That is significantly below almost every comparable advanced economy in the world. We have the second-lowest unemployment rate amongst advanced economies and that is testimony to the decisive actions taken by the Rudd Labor government to cushion the Australian economy, to secure businesses and to secure jobs in this country.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.