By Sean Malloy
"There is a huge contradiction between the action being taken by the government and the contents of Wanted: Our Future. The Carmichael report, Keating's youth jobs schemes and the income levels set by the government fly in the face of this report", said Carla Gorton, Sydney organiser of the radical youth organisation Resistance.
Wanted: Our Future is a report drafted by the Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training on "the implications of sustained high levels of unemployment among young people".
The report incorporates experiences, statistical data and studies of young employed and unemployed people.
As well as further studies, reports and reviews from other government departments, the committee also recommends:
- "that greater flexibility be introduced into existing provisions regarding the opportunities for, and support for, JSA [Job Start Allowance] recipients who wish to engage in volunteer work".
- a 150% tax deduction for business on new employment of people who have been unemployed for six months or more.
- "establishment of a national employment corps, funded by the States and Commonwealth on a dollar for dollar basis, and managed by local or regional corps committees with input from young people, to provide paid employment in ventures relevant to local, regional or national needs and conditions".
- "that income support should be increased to a level commensurate with the revised Henderson Poverty Line".
- reduction of waiting periods for benefits.
- "a unified youth income support payment for all eligible individuals under 21 whether they are unemployed or in full time study with different levels for those living at home (for whom a parental means test would apply) and those living independently".
Stephen Kelly, national secretary of the Young Christian Workers, said that "an underlying theme of the report is the 'likelihood of major social disaster' and a warning that without preventive action 'we shall reap a bitter harvest'. The prospect of an unstable society seems more the impetus for change than the human costs often hidden in times of boom".
On this point, the report says, "Unless its causes are recognised and addressed, we can expect levels of anti-social behaviour to escalate, as they have in other countries which have failed to confront the .
Kelly noted that "while drawing attention" to "contradictions in demand and supply, the senators back away from job creation.
"It will be interesting to see how much weight the committee's sober reflections have, especially after youth wages below the poverty line have been set in concrete."
Carla Gorton thinks "the report has been cynically drafted after the adoption of the Carmichael proposals by the government, which includes youth wages below the poverty line.
"If all of this information about the plight of young people today, which most of us experience first hand, was available for the Senate committee, why wasn't it available for the Youth Jobs Summit?
"It would be great if these proposals were put into action, but I think the report will be used to make it look as if the government is doing something for young people rather than really being implemented", she added.
Elle Morrell, national coordinator of the Environmental Youth Alliance, also saw "job creation" as "a serious gap in the report".
"Our environment is in need of urgent repair. Public transport, health care and housing also need urgent attention, yet job creation is ignored", said Morrell.
"We need a long-term approach to job creation that is environmentally sustainable, that gives us real meaning in our lives. Economic rationalism has rationalised young people out of jobs."
Kelly concluded that "the report has covered new ground in facing up to structural unemployment, but has largely confined itself to the fringes. Instead of a band aid, we now get a tourniquet. Job creation is still a dirty word. 'Wanted: a job now', is still the cry."