Page 1898 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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MR STANHOPE: I thank Ms Burch for the additional question. In addition to the matters which were just a very brief summary of the issues that were dealt with at last week’s COAG—it was a very comprehensive agenda and I have just touched on only two or three of the more significant initiatives that were pursued and agreed by COAG last week—I might just say, before going on to respond directly to the compact with young Australians, that at the meeting I did sign, on behalf of the ACT, a memorandum of understanding on the development of the national strategy for energy efficiency.
It is pertinent that all jurisdictions have agreed to a new national renewable energy target of 20 per cent. I also signed the intergovernmental agreement for a national licensing system for specified occupations and I also signed a national partnership agreement to establish a national road safety council.
In relation to the youth compact, which as I said just now targets 15 to 19-year-olds and 20 to 24-year-olds, the youth compact arose from the February 2009 COAG meeting where ministers acknowledged the importance of developing the skills needed in the Australian labour force during the global economic downturn. This will ensure the economy and individuals, most particularly young people, are well placed to take advantage of new opportunities and to support long-term productivity growth.
It is a fact that young Australians, those not yet in the workforce or those just recently arrived in the workforce, face perhaps the greatest risk of unemployment or of longer-term unemployment as a result of an economic downturn, and the COAG, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, was very determined to ensure that we do not create what the Prime Minister has described as a lost generation or a major lost opportunity for young people just on the cusp of joining the workforce or just at that point where they do not have a qualification but have begun to train for a lifetime of employment. The youth compact seeks directly to address that particular issue.
As a result of the compact, the commonwealth will adjust eligibility for social security benefits to reinforce the compact. There will be a mandatory requirement for all young people to participate in schooling, or an approved equivalent, until they complete year 10. In addition, there will be a mandatory requirement for young people who have completed year 10 to participate in educating, training or employment, or a combination of these activities, until they reach the age of 17. This initiative aims to stop a number of young Australians, as I said, from falling through the cracks. We need to put an end to the stigma and difficulties attached to high school dropouts.
The compact will also help better prepare our community and our nation for when the economic good times do return; we will have a cohort of better-educated young Australians to accept the opportunities that will present when we do come out of this difficult economic time.
As the ACT Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr, has already announced, it is our intention to increase the school participation rate and to introduce a mandatory participation requirement to age 17 in the ACT. This will ensure that every young Canberran is studying, training or working after year 10 in a way that
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