Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Picking up from comments made by the last speaker: the government is rolling seven programs into one. I think it is more a case of rolling seven jobs into none. I had to laugh when the minister, in answer to one of Senator Fifield’s questions today, said that the job services contract is very important. I have to say, though, that I rolled my eyes when he actually told this chamber that the government had had wide consultation with industry and they had had wide consultation with community groups. What the government tend to forget is this: you can consult as much as you like, but if you do not listen to the concerns of those people and take action to rectify them, it is worth nothing. But you would expect nothing more from those in that government. Unlike them, the coalition listened to the concerns of the job providers and we ensured that this debacle was sent to a Senate committee. We are now looking forward to getting to the bottom of the mess that Labor have created.

I also have to say that it is rather ironic that the new program will be called Job Services Australia, because the bad news for those poor Australians who do need that service is that it will not be a job that they will be found, it will be absolute, complete, total and utter distress. All of the information that we have been provided with to date confirms that this tender process is a complete debacle. The last thing that this service is going to find Australians is jobs. What is more disappointing is that unemployment continues to rise, with more than 200,000 Australians having lost their jobs since August last year—and it is those on the other side who continue to tell us unemployment is going up. You would actually think that they would try to implement policies that would not result in Australians losing their jobs. But, quite the opposite, it would appear that everything that the ALP touches results in another Australian losing their job.

The minister should have revised this model back in August last year, when he had the opportunity to. But he did not. As a result of his inaction, you will have Australians languishing on the dole queue. That is un-Australian. We on this side continue to advocate that every element of government policy should be focused on implementing measures that ensure that employment in Australia remains high, not measures that will result in Australians losing their jobs.

What is interesting, though, is that the new employment services contract excludes many providers who offered exceptional service under the last employment services contract. The question must then be asked: why would providers with a proven track record be excluded this time around? I thought you wanted the best possible organisations, those with a proven track record, taking on the role of trying to find jobs for out-of-work Australians. When Senator Fifield raised this with the minister opposite, the minister said, ‘I don’t know what Senator Fifield is referring to.’ That is just not good enough. We are talking about the fact that many Australians will not have a job. They need a service that is going to assist them in getting back into the workforce.

The public also have the right to know about another issue that Senator Fifield raised—a very important one. They have a right to know if, during the probity period, there were any communications relating to purchasing matters between the previous Minister for Employment Participation, or his staff, and a tenderer. Again, the minister failed to answer the question. The public have a right to know: was probity adhered to or wasn’t it? It is going to be devastating for all of the caseworkers in the Job Network who may now themselves be facing the same dole queue, through no fault of their own. (Time expired)