'There will be voices that will set young people against older people – they are the voices of division'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has addressed concerns from the public who claim that the Federal Budget gives priority to younger Australians at the expense of older workers.
Morrison hit back at critics who are pointing to the budget’s supposed lack of support for the unemployed who come from an older demographic.
“There will be voices that will try and set young people against older people, women against men, jobs in one sector versus jobs in another sector – they are the voices of division that will undermine the future economic prosperity of all Australians,” he said at a news conference on Thursday.
Read more: 2020 Budget: What HR leaders need to know
The prime minister downplayed fears that workers aged 36 and above who aren’t covered by the JobMaker hiring credit will lose employment opportunities to younger JobSeekers.
The JobMaker credit, announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week, incentivises businesses that will hire younger workers. It gives employers a credit of $200 a week for employees under 30 and $100 a week for those between 30 and 35.
Helping younger Australians get a good start in life – in an economy recovering from the pandemic – is “exactly what the hiring credit is designed to do,” Morrison said, considering how the “youth unemployment rate is more than double what the national unemployment rate is”.
Read more: JobMaker credit open to employers hiring younger workers
But critics are concerned that companies might resort to giving younger workers preferential treatment for a share of the $4bn wage subsidy scheme.
“If you’re over 35, you’ll be competing against people who are being given some wage support. So, you’ll be at a disadvantage,” Labor leader Anthony Albanese said on AM.
Dr. Cassandra Goldie, CEO of Australian Council of Social Service, said the new subsidy gives younger people a “glimmer of hope”. But she is calling for the program to be extended to “people of all ages who have been unemployed for a year or longer”.
“While we welcome the wage subsidy for under-35s who are badly impacted in this recession, the budget lets down 900,000 people on JobSeeker who are over 35,” she said.
The goal of JobMaker is to generate 450,000 new jobs – not to edge out those already in the workforce, the prime minister said.
“The way this works is that it’s got to be additional jobs,” Morrison told Oliver Peterson on Perth Live. “It’s about getting more people into jobs.”
Frydenberg assured those above 35 of continuing support. “We’ve got a series of other programs. This should not be seen in isolation from the broader context of measures that we’ve undertaken,” he said.
“We’ve got record investments in infrastructure, which are designed to boost job creation across the economy.”
