From the day we took office four years ago the Government has worked hard to tackle unemployment.
Thanks to the creation of 650,000 new jobs, the unemployment rate has fallen from 8.5 per cent in March 1996 to its lowest level in almost a decade at 6.7 per cent. Now there are around 125,000 fewer Australians out of work than four years ago.
It is vital that these efforts be maintained because I strongly believe that unemployment remains too high, especially in some regional areas of Australia.
One way we can tackle this problem is through Work for the Dole which has implemented our principle of mutual obligation.
In return for the community’s help for those in need, young unemployed Australians are accepting the personal responsibility to give back to the country that supports them.
So far 57,000 young people have been part of 1,500 community based projects designed to give them greater self esteem and a new work ethic
The results are for all to see.
Recently I presented the annual Work for the Dole achievement awards where every major winner came from a location in regional Australia such as Wyong, Albany and Gympie.
Gosford’s Troy Bryant received the best participant’s award for his work with the local council where he mastered practical skills such as fencing, concreting and landscaping.
But it was Troy’s motivation of his peers and his encouragement of their work ethic that brought him praise and a full time job with the Gosford Council.
That is exactly the type of outcome Work for Dole is striving to achieve.
Troy joins the 70 per cent of participants who now feel greater self-esteem as a result of Work for the Dole, our practical programme to encourage hope, experience and responsibility amongst young Australians.