Question Time

Federal Budget

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a brief question about announced federal budget cuts to support the automotive industry.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Last week, the federal Liberal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, announced a series of severe cuts to industry support, including a cut to support for existing industry exiting—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Will you sit down, the Hon. Mr Ngo. Every member in this chamber has the right to get up and ask a question and answer a question in silence. The Hon. Mr Ngo.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Last week the federal Liberal government, under Treasurer Joe Hockey, announced a series of severe cuts to industry support, including a cut to support for existing industry exiting the automotive sector. Can the minister provide any details she may have regarding this cut in support and funding to the industry exiting the automotive sector?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:30): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. The shock waves continue to build around the nation as details of the impact of the shocking federal Liberal budget become more and more widely understood as the detail is revealed in relation to the extent of the damage that is going to be caused by these terrible measures. Another area of grave concern to this government and people living in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Honourable members will allow the minister to answer the question.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I will repeat that, Mr President, because I know that you were not able to hear it due to the rabble opposite me. Another area of grave concern to the government and people living in South Australia is the slashing of support for South Australian workers exiting from the automotive industry, and I am advised these cuts of around $17 million will affect employment programs as well as cuts to the important work that service agencies perform. The Automotive Industry Structural Adjustment Program (AISAP) was established to support workers in the automotive industry who were retrenched—an extremely worthwhile and much needed commonwealth program.

Up until now workers retrenched from eligible automotive businesses have been currently receiving assistance to the value of $2,880 through the commonwealth Employment Pathway Fund, but wait, Mr President, just when we know there are going to be thousands upon thousands of workers who will be retrenched and forced to look for other employment and to gain new skills—this is what we know is likely to happen—what does the federal Liberal government go and do with its first budget? What does it do in response to this national challenge?

Well, we see that, in the federal Liberal government's first budget from July this year, they will slash around $17 million worth of support to South Australian workers exiting the automotive industry. This will reduce the level of support available per automotive worker by around $1,330. This will impact on potentially 7,800 automotive workers who will be affected by the automotive industry exit. These changes potentially reduce commonwealth support for South Australia by about $10.4 million, a loss of support to this state. Even using the commonwealth's conservative estimate of 5,000 auto workers, it is a reduction of $6.65 million—and it doesn't stop there.

These changes will also reduce the employment outcome payment to job service providers who place automotive workers into employment. One of the roles of the job service agency is to work with those people who are about to be or have just been retrenched to find new and ongoing employment. Many of these workers go and reskill and they access training and other assistance. Not only are many of them wrestling with the devastating news that they have just been retrenched or are about to be retrenched—they have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, gone in to access training to help learn new skills so that they can refocus their employment so that they can support themselves and their families, and then they often work with a job service provider who then supports them with things like CV writing, résumé writing and preparing for interviews to help them find new work and those sorts of skills that is a vital service—but the federal Liberal government is going to cut their payment for assisting the worker into employment, reducing the incentive for producing an employment outcome.

It is a shameful cut to some of our already vulnerable workers, at a time when they need this support the most. When we know that there are huge structural changes going on throughout the industry, what does the federal government do? It pulls the rug from underneath them. This equates to approximately $6.4 million that will no longer be available to support existing automotive workers. Be assured, those on this side of the chamber and those in the Labor government will resist these savage cuts. We will fight for workers impacted by these draconian, shameful measures.