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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-10-16 Daily Xml
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Employment Vulnerability

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:15): The chance to work, have a job and earn a decent income is a right that we should extend to as many people as possible, and I know it is one of the major driving forces for all members on this side of the house. We know that the benefits of work help drive improved family life, better physical and mental health and improved opportunities for children.

Unfortunately, right around Australia your chances to secure a good job depend largely upon where you live with those in outer suburbs far more at risk of economic shocks. The Centre of Full Employment and Equity at the University of Newcastle produces an employment vulnerability index which highlights which areas of Australia have the highest proportion of the types of jobs most at risk of economic shocks.

When it comes to Adelaide the figures are clear: it is the outer north and the outer southern suburbs where people's jobs are most at risk to an economic shock. This includes the Aldinga region in my electorate as well as neighbouring southern suburbs in the electorates of Reynell and Mawson, namely, Hackham, Hackham West, Morphett Vale West and Christie Downs—all of which are listed as red alert. The regions covering Seaford and Christies Beach in my electorate are listed as medium-high risk, or amber alert.

There are two reasons for this according to the report. The first is that some of these suburbs have an existing disadvantage—low levels of education and skills training, low incomes and high unemployment. The second reason is that many suburbs are classified as 'emerging disadvantage job loss localities', namely, Aldinga, Hackham and Morphett Vale West. The report says this means that people who live in these suburbs have been attracted to low interest rates and lower housing prices and hence face significant mortgage stress should a downturn occur. There are two main shocks that are currently putting these outer northern and outer southern suburbs at risk: the federal budget cuts and the federal government's abandonment of manufacturing.

It should be imperative of government to actively shield its most disadvantaged from the impact of drastic changes to funding cuts, yet this is not what we are seeing under the federal budget. We see from the recent University of Adelaide analysis of the federal budget that over 29.4 per cent of South Australian families stand to be worse off as a direct result of the federal government's economic policies by 2017-18.

Looking at my electorate in the outer southern suburbs you can see that the impact of the federal budget will hit the south hard. For instance, in Aldinga 63.9 per cent of families will be worse off to the tune of $1,621 per annum in 2017-18, and in the Seaford region, 61.4 per cent of families with children will be worse off to the tune of $1,740 per annum in that same year. For instance, single parents will be the ones set to experience the worst impact of these budget cuts with all but the top income bracket losing around $3,700 from their annual disposable income. Couples with children in the lowest income bracket are projected to experience a loss of around $2,780 and a reduction in disposable income of 6.6 per cent. The report shows that the impact of these budget changes will see some 7,000 fewer jobs created by 2017-18 in South Australia. This builds upon the federal government's neglect of manufacturing in this state.

Before the 2013 election you could not escape without seeing an image of Mr Abbott in a fluoro vest on a job site, but that is a distant memory as the Liberals have turned their back on manufacturing in Australia. Firstly, the Abbott government cut funding for car manufacturing in Australia that will see the entire industry close and Australia leave the list of countries that can design and build their own car. That will not only impact the northern suburbs where Holden is but a large number of car component suppliers in the south of Adelaide who supply Holden and Toyota, particularly in the Lonsdale region.

Now we see Mr Abbott apparently contemplating breaking his promise before the election and building 12 submarines, not in Adelaide at our advanced Techport facilities, but in Japan, putting at risk more jobs and manufacturing in Australia. The ability for an individual to keep their job should not be so dependent on their address. The most disadvantaged in our outer suburban areas deserve better than to be further disadvantaged as a direct result of the federal government.

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