Senator Malcolm Roberts will introduce a very special family to the Fraser Coast community, a family who have been directly touched by the shocking impact of crime in our community. Our area will rally behind these special people, as they share their experiences.
But there is hope. We will be joined by another special guest, a local who is running camps for at-risk kids, a diversion program aimed at youth who need help to be accountable and get on track. There are solutions to the youth crime problem, we just have to ask the questions and place pressure on those who control the leavers.
These are the stories that need to be shared, the ones that the ‘powers-that-be’ in Brisbane must confront.
Hope to see you there!
When: Saturday, 10 June 2023 | 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Queensland is experiencing a surge in violent youth crime, causing tensions to escalate among concerned households. Frustrated with the lack of action, community members have taken it upon themselves to address this issue, with former One Nation candidate, Torin O’Brien, leading the charge in working with police to bring local criminals to justice.
Hi, one nation has voted to approve the government’s JobMaker scheme. You know, at first with JobMaker we had concerns and raised these openly in the Senate as we do. As senators, it’s our job to get the facts straight. So Pauline met with the treasurer and discussed the concerns we received from people about JobMaker.
The treasurer to his credit provided solid data and we have the courage and integrity to change our view and I want to tell you why. Firstly, it became clear that our youth have been hit particularly hard in terms of access to jobs. After the COVID-19 workplace restrictions started, the unemployment rate for 16 to 35-year-olds is 10.5%, 10.5. And for over 35, it’s 4%.
When we learned that it disturbed us and I’m sure it’ll trouble all Australians because we need our youth in jobs as soon as possible. They’re our future. And they’re also our future taxpayers for decades to come. And it costs our community and economy dearly when they disengage and languish at such a critical time in their lives.
You know travelling around Queensland, I’ve had many conversations with local business leaders and citizens who highlight that when our young people are not employed trouble follows, drugs, crime. Secondly, our concern was that jobmaker will allow a company to sack an older worker and replace them with a subsidised younger worker on JobMaker.
The treasurer showed us, this is not the case. The government has addressed this by ensuring an employer can only get JobMaker if the number of employees goes up. So there is simply no point in sacking an older employee to put on a younger worker, as this will not lead to any increase in the number of employees.
JobMaker would not be available and therefore would not motivate or drive this behaviour. Plus, there are serious penalties for such behaviour built in to the legislation. Finally, there were concerns that workers are worried that they will have their hours cut back so that a new worker can come in under JobMaker.
The protection put in place by the government is the requirement that states the number of hours must go up. It’s clear that JobMaker is only available to a business that can demonstrate extra hours being worked. There’s no point in cutting back hours of an existing employee to give to a new employee because JobMaker would not be available.
Plus there are serious penalties for such behaviour. Now we accept and we know that some employers don’t do the right thing. And that’s why there are financial penalties for employers who do the wrong thing.
And if a person feels they have been fired or had their hours cut back unfairly because of JobMaker, then that person can ring the tax department hotline anonymously to report the situation and have it investigated. Any employee is also free to report an employment matter to the fair work ombudsman for either a permanent reduction in hours or a dismissal.
Those protections have always existed for every Australian worker and one nation will ensure they always exist. One nation are for workers of all ages and we believe JobMaker will tackle the task of job recovery at its most critical point for our future economic prosperity.
Now I’m sure all people young and old care, really care and want to ensure the young are supported in this challenging period with very high unemployment for the young. All Australians care about our country’s future.
On Tuesday we supported 2 of 11 amendments to the JobMaker scheme but on receiving new information on Wednesday afternoon we changed our position. We listen and when we get new data we have the courage and integrity to review our position.
There was concern that employers would put off older workers and only employ younger workers to receive the JobMaker scheme.We now know this is not the case. The legislation only offers JobMaker for businesses who increase their payroll & head count. Sacking an elderly employee & hiring an under 35 wouldn’t qualify for a subsidy.
The Treasurer advised Pauline that unemployment in people 35 years of age or younger is 10.4%. In people older than 35 is 4%.There is a crisis for those in our community under 35. A job can make all the difference. When Covid restrictions came in unemployment increased 100%. And unemployment among younger people increased 150%.
Transcript
Hi, we just had a bit of a kerfuffle in the Senate about the job makers scheme. It’s to subsidise hiring of two groups of people. Those from 16 to 29 years of age, and those from 30 to 35 years of age. Yesterday, I spoke strongly opposed to it. And we then supported two amendments, two of 11 amendments. We rejected nine of Labor greens amendments, rejected nine, we supported two.
One was on reporting and the other one was on duplication. Here’s some new data. And when we get new data, we look at it, because we use these things, this thing, and our heart, and we assess the data honestly, and we don’t care what people think just because we changed our mind. We have the courage and the integrity to change our mind.
So here’s some of the data we got from the treasurer through Pauline today, she went in to see the treasurer, and we were told that the unemployment rate for those under 35 years of age is 10.4%. The unemployment rate for those over 35 years of age is just 4%. So that means the young have been really hammered. We’ve got to get those people back to work.
Another set of figures, the increase in unemployment, across all of Australia, due to the COVID restrictions, was 100%. The increase in unemployment due to the COVID restrictions on people under 35 years of age was 150%. So it’s really savaged the young. And we have to help these people back to work. Now, the treasurer gave us this data, and as I said, that caused us to rethink.
He also reassured us about the two amendments that we had previously supported. One was about reporting, and he assured us that the ATO will do that. And we also were reassured that the data will be reported to the COVID inquiry, the COVID committee. The second amendment was about duplication. We’ve been reassured on that too. The treasurer gave us the facts.
We have the courage and the integrity to change our position. Sadly, the Labor party and the greens are pitting old versus young. We know that that’s crap. That’s complete rubbish, because Australians care. And Australians who see those figures will do exactly what we’ve done. They’ll try and help the young and everyone. We know that all Australians care and will want this fixed.
And this programme is necessary to get the young back to work quickly. There are other programmes for other groups, and they’re at work already and have been at work in some cases for months. So that’s why we changed our position, because we’re honest and straight. No deal done, simply facts. Labor and the greens can’t understand that, because everything they do has to be grubby.
