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The Greens are today announcing a commitment to bring the voice of the people into politics through trials of Citizens Juries and participatory budgeting, and requiring a parliamentary debate on petitions which receive over 100,000 signatures.
Senator Larissa Waters, Greens co-Deputy Leader and democracy spokesperson, said “Confidence in Australia’s democratic systems is at an all time low, and no wonder when governments are working for their corporate donor mates and and ignoring the people who elect them. It’s critically important that we work to earn back trust, and giving people a real voice in decision-making is central to that.”
“The Greens have been leading the political debate for many years on getting the influence of big money from corporate donations out of politics, closing the revolving door of lobbyists and MPs and setting up a federal anti-corruption commission,” Senator Waters said.
“This election, we are taking that commitment further, with plans to not just get corporate money out of politics but also create paths to bring the people back in.
“We’ve just seen an enormous petition with 1.4 million signatures calling for Fraser Anning to be booted from the parliament which was tabled by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, but what many people don’t realise is the petition is never actually debated by federal politicians. We think that’s wrong and petitions that reach a threshold of 100,000 people – the equivalent size of a lower house electorate – should be allocated time during parliamentary sittings for debate and to be voted on so the signatories know where their representatives stand.”
Greens candidate for the new seat of Canberra, Tim Hollo, who has been running a series of participatory democracy meetings across the electorate, said “On climate change, refugees, planning, and so much more, our politics has been failing us, because governments are listening to their corporate backers instead of the people. We absolutely have to turn that around, and fast.”
“Involving a broad range of people in decision-making, and giving them space and support to discuss the ideas, consistently leads to better decisions,” he said.
“What’s even better is that people love the opportunity to get involved. At our community meetings, people have been having a great time, and really appreciate that their views and ideas are being taken seriously.
“We need our politics to work for people and planet, not just profits, and to do that we have to get corporate money out and bring the people back in.
The Greens policy will:

• legislate to require a formal and meaningful parliamentary debate on issues for which a petition reaches a threshold of 100,000 signatures;
• work with the government to select a mutually agreed key issue on which to run a national Citizens’ Jury and a trial of participatory budgeting; and
• legislate to ensure that government decision-making bodies include citizens in a meaningful way.

The Coalition Government will help even more young people improve their work-readiness and get a job by expanding eligibility for the successful Transition to Work employment service.
Transition to Work provides intensive pre-employment support for young people aged 15–21 years to improve their work-readiness and help them into work (including apprenticeships and traineeships) or education.
The expansion of the eligibility age for Transition to Work will allow disadvantaged young people aged 22–24 to also benefit from the service.
Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, said expanding eligibility for Transition to Work will give even more young Australians the opportunity to get a job.
“Under the Coalition we have seen more than 1.2 million new jobs created, but we want to see even more Australians in work,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
“Whilst we have made progress, youth unemployment remains too high and some young people need targeted and intensive assistance to help them move into work or education.”
“Over the three years it has been operating, more than 79,000 young people aged 15–21 have commenced in Transition to Work, achieving over 32,300 employment and education outcomes. We want to see more disadvantaged young people benefit from the intensive support offered by the service.”
Transition to Work will remain voluntary, with young people able to choose to participate in jobactive instead. The eligibility change is expected to benefit more than 2,000 young people aged 22-24 annually and will better align the service with the Government’s broader suite of youth-specific programs, including Youth Jobs PaTH.
“Importantly, this new measure does not change other aspects of Transition to Work eligibility, which will ensure the service remains targeted to young people who will benefit from the intensive service provided,” Minister O’Dwyer concluded.
Funding for this measure was included in the New Employment Services pilot and transitional arrangements measure announced in the 2019–20 Budget. It will commence from 1 January 2020.
For more information about Transition to Work, visit www.jobs.gov.au/transition-work

Bill Shorten has been caught lying on hospital funding.
Despite the desperate attempts from Bill Shorten to run another Medi-hospital scare campaign, the facts on hospital funding are clear and show record funding each year, every year under the Coalition.
At the same time as Mr Shorten refuses to address why he stopped the listing of new medicines as Assistant Treasurer.
Federal funding has increased for public hospitals by from $13.3 billion in 2012–13, to $23 billion, $24 billion, $25 billion and $26 billion over the course of this Budget.
By 2024-25, funding will have more than doubled to $29.1 billion per annum under the new national hospitals agreement with the states and territories.
The new national hospitals agreement will provide an additional $31 billion in public hospital funding from 2020-21 to 2024-25, taking overall funding during this period to $131 billion.
Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales have all signed the new agreement.
Bill Shorten’s hospital proposal does not mean more money for hospitals.
As we’ve seen over the last 3 years, the extra Commonwealth funding has meant the states and territories have reduced their funding to hospitals.
An independent report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed Commonwealth funding growing by 6.2% and state and territories 0.1% in 2016-17 compared with the previous year.
The Coalition has also delivered record bulk billing for people visiting their GP, rising from 82 per cent under Labor to 86 per cent under the Coalition.
In addition the Liberal National Government is providing $1.3 billion to fund projects and services in every state and territory, supporting patient care while reducing pressure on community and hospital services.
We have also invested $1.6 billion in primary care services.
When it comes to health, you can’t trust Bill Shorten, whose track record shows he stopped listing medicines on the PBS as a direct result of his financial mismanagement.
It is a strong economy, delivered by a Morrison Government which is guaranteeing the essential health services Australians need.

The Morrison Government will invest more than $58 million in 10 Industry Training Hubs in key locations across regional Australia to create more jobs for young people.
The investment will also include 400 Vocational Education and Training (VET) scholarships and is part of our plan to address youth unemployment in key parts of the country.
“Our plan will ensure more young people have the skills they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow,” the Prime Minister said.
“In the last financial year alone more than 100,000 jobs were created for young Australians under our government.
“These Training Hubs and scholarships are about setting up even more young Australians on a long-term quality career path, and giving them the skills to be more than competitive into the future.”
Ten locations of elevated youth unemployment across Australia have been selected to host an Industry Training Hub, which will strengthen partnerships between local schools, employers and industries, and ensure that vocational education programs are tailored to meet local workforce needs and skills demands. The selected locations are:

Young people, aged 15-24, in these 10 areas will also be eligible to apply for a scholarship to undertake an eligible VET Approved Program of Study.
Four hundred scholarships, valued at up to $17,500 each, will be made available from Certificate III to Advanced Diploma level.
“These Industry Training Hubs and the scholarships will provide a pathway for young Australians, in regions with persistent youth unemployment, to gain the skills they need for a successful and rewarding career” the Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education Michaelia Cash said.
“Our youth training plan is part of our plan for a stronger economy and builds on the 1.2 million jobs that have been created since we were elected.
“Only the Morrison Government can be trusted to build our economy and secure your future without increasing taxes.”

The Coalition Government is helping even more young Australians to secure a job by boosting the Youth Jobs PaTH program.
Starting from 1 January 2020, $10 million will be available for industry organisations to work with employment service providers to create new pathways for young people to gain work experience and employment in their industry.
Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, said PaTH, which has so far assisted over 43,000 young people get a job, will be expanded so growth industries can directly engage with young job seekers, giving them opportunities to access industry-led pre-vocational training and work experience.
“While the jobs figures show us that more Australians are in work than ever before – and a record 100,000 young job seekers found work last year, we want to see even more young Australians in work,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
“The evidence shows us that employability skills training and work experience help disadvantaged young people gain the skills employers’ value. PaTH is giving young job seekers the assistance and encouragement they need to learn new skills, become job ready and find, and keep, a job.”
“The PaTH Industry Pilots will build on the success of PaTH by directly connecting job seekers with industries experiencing high labour demand, such as the disability and aged care sectors.”
The Pilots will directly address the barriers that hold young people back from entering the workforce, including lower skillsets compared to more experienced job seekers and lack of work experience.
“Youth Jobs PaTH is giving young people the employability skills and real work experience they need to get a job. It has already helped thousands move from welfare to work,” Minister O’Dwyer said.
PaTH Industry Pilot providers will facilitate training and work experience opportunities and support job seekers through a flexible, tailored pathway towards employment.
The PaTH Industry Pilot builds on the Government’s MYEFO 2018–19 decision to reduce waiting times so that young people have earlier access to internship opportunities.
Funding for this measure was included in the New Employment Services pilot and transitional arrangements measure announced in the 2019–20 Budget.
An open tender will be conducted in the second half of 2019. For more information about Youth Jobs PaTH, visit: www.jobs.gov.au/youth-jobs-path