28 February 2014

Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor says proposed legislation to boost youth employment and encourage more job seekers into regional areas are excellent initiatives for the long term unemployed.

Mr Taylor outlined Coalition legislation that was introduced into Parliament this week.

“A new initiative called the Job Commitment Bonus will provide to young people, aged 18 to 30, who’ve been unemployed for more than 12 months and receiving Newstart or the Youth Allowance, an incentive payment of $2500 if they take up a job and remain in continuous work for 12 months. A further $4000 will be paid if they remain in continuous work and off income support for two years,” Mr Taylor said.

“The Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job incentive is a payment of up to $6000 to eligible job seekers, of any age, who have been unemployed for more than 12 months and on Newstart, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment, who move to a regional area to take up employment.

“You can be moving from one regional centre to another, or from a metropolitan area to a regional centre. Families with dependent children can be provided with an extra $3000 to help with additional costs.

“In country towns across Hume, youth unemployment is too high. As we all know, there are fewer available jobs and fewer support services in regional areas, compared to the city, and that can make it tough to stay positive.

“These are excellent incentives for people who’ve been unemployed for a while and show the Government is committed to stopping job seekers - particularly young job seekers - from sliding into welfare dependency. We want to reward positive, pro-work attitudes and we urge the Labor Party to support this legislation.”