Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) Anti-Poverty Week is from 13 to 19 October 2019, and 17 October 2019 is the United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty,

  (ii) it is becoming increasingly difficult for young people to obtain and retain the basic means to live and support themselves because of:

(A) an insufficient youth allowance which hinders their ability to enter meaningful employment, complete further practical or academic study and/or explore entrepreneurship, while meeting the rising costs of living,

(B) a shrinking job market and decreasing employment opportunities, and

(C) the multinational corporations which currently monopolise markets and prevent aspiring young entrepreneurs from breaking into the market,

  (iii) the 2019 Grattan Institute report, Generation gap: ensuring a fair go for younger Australians, found that:

(A) there is a growing wealth gap which is failing young people,

(B) youth unemployment is at 13% and rising, and is far higher than that of the mean national unemployment rate of around 5%, and

(C) youth underemployment is on the rise, growing from 12% to 20% between 2006 and 2016, and

  (iv) ensuring that young people can access the supports and services they need to be able to access a quality education, put food on the table, have a safe place to sleep every night and still enjoy a good life is ultimately an investment in the future; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

  (i) reinstate federal funding for the national peak advocacy body for young people,

  (ii) reinstate a separate Federal Minister for Youth Affairs so that young people have a dedicated representative in the Federal Parliament, and

  (iii) work with young people and their peak representative bodies to develop a national strategy to address increasing generational inequality, and ensure that young people can access the supports and services they need to live a good life.

Question agreed to.