Scott Morrison yesterday reintroduced cuts to young job seekers into the Parliament proving that even with a new leader, the Liberal government still doesn’t care about young people.
Just last week Labor voted down Tony Abbott’s savage cuts to young jobseekers, seeking to make sure people under 25 were supported when looking for work.
With regional unemployment rising, and young people in Ballarat finding less options for local employment, Scott Morrison’s cuts couldn’t come at a worse time.
“Just last week we learnt that 130 people from our community were losing their jobs.” Federal Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, said today.
“These people are suddenly out of work and need support but for all of them who happen to be unlucky enough to be under 25, this government thinks they can be forgotten for a month.
“When they do finally receive assistance, this government wants them to live on $50 less a week.
“Losing their jobs shouldn’t mean they and their families are instantly forced out on the street just because they’re young.”
These cuts come on the back of two years of attacks on youth support services in our region – the closure of Youth Connections and specifically targeted local job assistance programs all leave young people in regional Ballarat with nowhere to turn.
Labor will never agree to force young people to have nothing to live on.
Australians don’t want these cuts and Labor will continue to fight them, no matter who leads the Liberal party.
If Malcolm Turnbull wants to prove he’s running a better government than Tony Abbott, he needs to stop these unfair cuts and support our young people.