Youth Sector

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (15:19): I rise to speak about young people in our South Australian communities and how the federal Tony Abbott Liberal government has disregarded them through their cruel budget cuts. In the face of these cuts, I fear for the health, wellbeing and morale of every young South Australian, including the approximately 5,500 between the ages of 18 and 30 who live in the electorate of Reynell.

I have spoken in this place before about how the federal Liberal government has let down families, women, pensioners, those who are sick, those who need X-rays or prescriptions, low-income earners, workers, people with a disability, people with mental illness, people who need to use child care, people who access the family tax benefit, and people with a low superannuation balance. Unfortunately, the extensive list goes on. It seems that the list of who they support is a much shorter one, although I cannot quite seem to identify who might make it onto that list—themselves, the extraordinarily wealthy, perhaps?

I value an Australia that thinks the best of its youth and treats them with dignity and respect. I value an Australia that recognises that youth are our community's future leaders and enables their voice. I value an Australia that is tender to its youth, that supports them and empowers them as they embark on their life's journey. It is clear that the federal Liberal government does not value a similar Australia but, rather, one that takes away our youth voice, creates a 'do not enter' sign on the pathway to education and employment and takes away an income altogether for young people looking for work. This is not an Australia that reflects the values of giving people a go and supporting them when things are tough.

On the morning following the federal budget, the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia reflected that the 'budget was a devastating blow for young people and people working in the youth sector'. Rightly, the council is deeply concerned about how this budget has targeted young people and how it will impact them. The council is part of an extensive coalition that has provided a strong national voice for young Australians for decades. Unfortunately, the body at the heart of their coalition, the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, has been entirely defunded and will no longer exist post 31 December.

There is now no national voice representing young people and their issues. Shamefully, young people have lost an advocate at a time when they need the strongest possible collective voice to combat the attacks against them by a federal government that fails to recognise how important it is for us to listen to young people and ask them to help shape our policies in a way that makes a difference for them.

There is also no federal minister for youth for young people to engage with. Perhaps Prime Minister Abbott could add a 'status of young people' portfolio alongside his Status of Women portfolio. Perhaps he could purport to represent young people as he purports to represent women. Perhaps the Prime Minister could become the minister for those whom he sees as easy targets. The federal Liberal government's new mantra seems to be 'learn or earn' which in itself is not necessarily negative should that learning and earning be supported.

Cutting funding to programs such as Youth Connections (which young people in Reynell have been able to access at Noarlunga and Marion), designed to directly address barriers to education and employment, closing VET programs and thereby reducing the number of training places by 20,000 and changing the way apprenticeships are paid for, does not provide support: it does quite the opposite.

At a time of rising youth unemployment, cutting significant federal youth unemployment prevention programs is bewildering, deeply concerning, and astoundingly short-sighted. Many young people face barriers to securing employment, and for some a straightforward path from education to employment is out of reach. Programs like Youth Connections help get young people who are in danger of falling through the cracks into work.

Those who do fall through the cracks or take a bit more time to successfully secure a job and who do not have friends or family to support them are almost certain to be forced into extreme poverty. Such poverty is brought about through the eligibility age for Newstart being raised from 22 to 25; through school leavers or newly-unemployed people having to wait six months before being eligible for Newstart or Youth Allowance; through benefits only being paid for six months before they are cut off again for a further six months should a young person not secure a job.

What on earth does the federal Liberal government think young people will do? How do they think young people will eat, pay their rent, keep a car running, or catch public transport to get to a job interview? Shamefully, they just do not care. Perhaps a young person could get support from one of the many capable and committed community sector professionals but, with $400 million of cuts planned for the sector, access to such support will be more difficult.

Access to education and training at university or TAFE that enables skill development is one way to help get young people ready for work but, with the looming deregulation of universities and TAFE colleges, fees will dramatically increase.

Time expired.