Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I advise the chamber that this is not my first speech, but I have a question for the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, and a fellow Western Australian, Senator Cash. Minister, through bushfires and COVID-19, this year has seen unprecedented pressure on the Australian labour market. Could the minister please update the Senate on how the Morrison government has supported Australians through this once-in-a-century pandemic to stay connected to the labour force and to find employment and, indeed, the skills that they need to re-enter the workforce?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my fellow Western Australian senator, Senator Small, and I acknowledge that this is the first question he has asked in this place. I also acknowledge that he very much comes to this place representing the backbone of the Australian economy, because one of the hats he has worn is that of a small-business owner—someone who knows what it's like to have sleepless nights, to employ people and to build up a business. In that respect, he's certainly a welcome skill set in the Senate. Congratulations, Senator Small.

As Australians would be aware, we have performed better than other nations when it comes to the health response to COVID-19, and certainly on the economic front when we look at nearly every other country in the world. What we are now seeing, though, is the beginning of the labour force recovery. Over the last few months we've seen around 648,500 Australians returning to work as lockdowns ease. It is now evident that as you ease those restrictions, ease those lockdowns, more and more businesses are able to open their doors and more and more Australians are able to return to work. Our JobKeeper program has been, of course, instrumental in keeping employees connected to their employment. It is Australia's largest wage subsidy program and it has kept around 3.8 million Australians connected to their employer. It has directly saved, it is estimated, at least 700,000 jobs, building the foundation for our economic recovery.

However, as the Prime Minister says, we know there remains a long road ahead. Certainly, when you look at the employment services case load, it has increased substantially since COVID-19 hit. At the onset of COVID-19, though, the government acted quickly to ensure that our employment services providers were resourced to deal with the influx— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Small, a supplementary question?

Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, how will the government's $74 billion JobMaker plan build on the success of our existing employment services programs as we rebuild a stronger economy as part of our comeback from COVID-19?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government has a number of employment programs, and these employment programs are designed to get people off welfare and into a job. They include, of course, jobactive; our Youth Jobs PaTH program, which looks at preparing our young people who are at risk of long-term unemployment, giving them the skills they need and the opportunity to undertake work; and, of course, ParentsNext, which is a pre-employment program designed for parents whose youngest child is entering school age and who need to get job ready. As a government we have in place the programs that are specifically designed to improve the employability of Australians so that they are able to take that next step and gain employment.

As we emerge from COVID-19, the government want to build on the record that we already have and improve services for our most affected regions, but also for our most disadvantaged jobseekers—putting in place the policy framework to ensure that those most disadvantaged are able to get into work. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Small, a final supplementary question?

Ben Small (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline how these programs will interact with the record investment the Morrison government has provided in skills and training to support jobseekers to get the skills that they need to find new employment as the labour market recovers?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the government know, all of our policies work together. They work together to strengthen the economy so that businesses can reopen their doors and employ more Australians. The policies work together as part of our $74 billion JobMaker plan. Along with putting in place the economic framework required for growth, our employment programs themselves support out-of-work Australians into training and vocational pathways to ensure that they have the skills they need to get a job. Of course, this now works in conjunction with the $1 billion JobTrainer Fund, which provides up to 320,000 free or low-cost training places in areas of actual skills demand. We've worked, as I've said previously, with the states and territories on the ground to understand their actual labour market demand so that, when people are looking at putting their hand up and undertaking these free or low-cost courses, they're getting skilled up for actual areas of labour market demand in that particular state or territory. (Time expired)