PM: The global economic crisis takes many forms and one of the forms it takes is its impact on jobs and its impact on people who lose jobs through no fault of their own. Absolutely no fault of their own.
The Government's response has been to embrace a nation building strategy. First, stabilise financial markets. There's been hard work done on that. Second, nation building through infrastructure investment for the future to provide support for jobs in the near term as well as build the infrastructure that Australia needs for the longer term. Hence, our $15 billion investment in the biggest school modernisation program the country has seen. Third part of it is this, to support those workers who through no fault of their own lose their jobs or at risk of losing their jobs because of this global economic crisis.
Today the Government announces two new measures. The first is to provide immediate employment services support for retrenched workers. At present what happens under the existing system is that a person has to be out of work for three months before being eligible for intensive assistance. That now changes as a result of the decision of the Cabinet, this will now be immediately available as of today to anyone who becomes retrenched.
That means that persons in those circumstances would be immediately available, immediately able to access what is called stream two services. Career advice, comprehensive skills assessment, skills development training, IT support and stationery support to help with job applications, targeted referrals to appropriate education and training and also a $550 credit to the Employment Pathway Fund for items such as computer courses, heavy vehicle licences, safety boots and work uniforms.
This is a practical set of supports available to retrenched workers but the big change is, it is available now as opposed to workers having to wait three months. That is the change that we're announcing today. That is one element of what the Government's decided today.
The second is this, the Government has also providing funding for a further 10,000 Productivity Places for redundant workers. This is important. If a person has lost their job through no fault of their own, then what we need to have available is a sufficient number of training places for those persons to use their time of unemployment to obtain further skills or to build up their existing skills. And that's why an additional allocation of 10,000 training places specifically targeted on workers who have become redundant is an important part of the overall plan.
This of course builds on something which the Deputy Prime Minister announced last week which is a $145 million program to provide out-of-work apprentices, that is apprentices who are currently doing their apprenticeship but whose employer can no longer retain them, to provide assistance specifically for them and that of course was to the tune of $2,800 per individual apprenticeship place.
These are three practical measures to assist with the problem which arises for people who lose their jobs, or are losing their ability to sustain their apprenticeship through no fault of their own.
There is no silver bullet in this. These are practical measures to assist on the way through. But I would say this, the Government remains resolved to take whatever further measures are necessary to support workers and their families who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
If I could turn to the Deputy Prime Minister and then the Minister.
GILLARD: Thank you very much. Just briefly as the Prime Minister said, last week I announced a practical step to help apprentices who find themselves out of trade. We've met some young people this morning midway through their training. If they hit a circumstance where they lost their job, the Government wants to take practical measures to help them secure a new opportunity so that they can finish their apprenticeship, hence the announcement of $2,800 in incentive money to get a new employer or a group training organisation to take that apprentice on, give them a new opportunity and give them a new way of completing their apprenticeship.
It also comes with additional resources for training organisations to find pathways to completion for apprentices who lose their jobs.
Today, building on that measure, we announced 10,000 new productivity places for redundant workers. This builds on our very successful productivity places program and the Government has already allocated and budgeted for more than 700,000 places.
These 10,000 places will be there to help workers who are made redundant get the skills they need to get new opportunities in our workplaces.
What we know from past economic downturns is when the economy turns down, people stop training. When the economy then grows, everybody is crying out for skilled labour. We want to do everything possible through these kinds of practical measures to change that cycle, to continue to invest in the Australian people, even in these difficult days following the global financial crisis - to make sure that they have got the skills they need to get new opportunities in our economy.
O'CONNOR: Can I just add to the comments made already by the Prime Minister in relation to the initiative. Can I say firstly it's critical that the Government intervene as early as possible to assist retrenched workers and that is why we are dedicating almost $300 million to provide the support that's needed to get people back into work as quickly as possible.
What we do know is that the current services provide only a resume and indeed provide only one meeting prior to three months for the first three months.
These new initiatives will provide personalised intensive support for retrenched workers. It will include assessing their skills, referring them to training providers to get them trained in areas of skilled need as quickly as possible, and provide opportunities for them to find work.
There is nothing worse than a worker being retrenched and this Government is acting swiftly to respond to the need of those retrenched workers.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is there enough money for the maternity leave plan to go ahead this year?
GILLARD: Well what I have said in the past about that, and what remains my view is that the Government was elected saying that we wanted to have a Productivity Commission inquiry into paid maternity leave.
We said that because we wanted expert advice on how to design a system that would build on and not displace some of the things that companies around the nation are already doing on paid maternity leave.
The Government's going to receive that report by the end of this month and we've always said that any financial matters flowing from that report would need to be considered in the budget context.
JOURNALIST: Is it going to be time to bite the bullet soon, as Mr Rudd said last year?
PM: Well I remain personally committed to paid maternity leave. But as Julia has quite rightly pointed out, what we said was we would look at the Productivity Commission report - it's due soon - and that we'd consider it in the budget context. That is the right way to do public policy.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, you are an advocate of four-year fixed terms as I recall. Do you think that now with first West Australia and now Queensland Premiers calling elections well ahead of time, at great public expense for nothing but their own political advantage, do you think people have a right to be sick of that and will you undertake to serve a full term yourself (inaudible).
PM: Firstly what I'd say about Queensland is this - the Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has been upfront about the challenges that the State faces as a result of the global financial crisis. She's laid bare the State's balance sheets and said that what the State needs is certainty and confidence going forward. Anna Bligh as Premier can provide that. When I hear the words Premier Lawrence Springborg, confidence and certainty are not the first two words which spring to mind.
Secondly, in terms of fixed year terms our position is absolutely clear. That's the position I have long advocated, that's the one I believe in for the future for the Federal Government. Every individual State Government makes up its own mind. Mark.
JOURNALIST: Ms Gillard, what did you mean yesterday when you called Mr Pyne a mincer?
GILLARD: Well in Question Time you've got to have your moments of humour and I think that that was a moment of humour.
PM: [inaudible]
GILLARD: As is a matter of public record I think the Member for Warringah Tony Abbott was interested in the job. I think anybody who's seen Tony Abbott in action would say he's got a very different style to Christopher Pyne.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd are you a toxic bore?
PM: Can I say that anyone, anyone - you wrote about this today Matthew. (Inaudible). If you are dealing with the totality of a global economic crisis, unless we have a restoration of private credit markets and private credit flows across the global economy and normal flows in Australia, then we're never dealing with the full dimensions of the problem. That's what I was saying in the Parliament yesterday, that is the reality which every government in the world is wrestling with -
JOURNALISTSo does that mean yes?
PM: - that is the reality which every government is wrestling with. Secondly, stimulus along the lines of nation building plans and what we described before are part of providing near to medium term support while private credit markets are being restored. I think it's important to be upfront with the Australian public about the dimensions of the problem which are occurring in the global banking system, what's causing that, where the solutions may lie.
Secondly, what we in Australia are doing in the near to medium term to support growth and jobs on the way through. That's the right course of action and I'll be sticking to it.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, Tony Abbott who described you this morning as a toxic bore - how would you describe him?
PM: I think when you're dealing with a global economic crisis it's important to be serious about, of course there's a problem and what you can do about it. This Government is in the practical business of trying to fix problems and can I say people losing their jobs isn't funny. What we're trying to do is provide support for people losing their jobs and through measures which the Liberal Party opposed only a week or so ago help create, support new jobs by construction activity in schools.
JOURNALIST:Are you getting nervous about emissions trading and is there a chance that that you could actually be rolled on this one?
PM:The Government will legislate the contents of our White Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme as we announced last year.
We have no intention whatsoever of changing our course of action on that. It is necessary for the long term future of the planet. It is necessary to also do it in the balanced way we outlined in the White Paper, mindful of the challenges of the global economy.