By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash and Member for La Trobe Jason Wood visited Montague’s Apple Orchard in Narre Warren to spruik a new government employment program.
The Seasonal Work Incentives Trial targets people receiving Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) to undertake seasonal work in the horticultural industry.
Under the trial, people receiving these payments will be able to undertake seasonal work such as picking and packing fruit, and earn $5000 without it affecting their payments.
Ms Cash and Mr Wood met with Montague’s CEO Rod McQueen on Thursday 29 June to discuss how the program would assist his business.
“There is a definite need for labour here,” Ms Cash said.
“Montague’s had to leave some fruit to rot on the trees recently because they didn’t have people to get it off the trees and that is just unacceptable.”
“What we need to ensure is that we are incentivising, in particular, those who are in receipt of welfare to go out and undertake work.”
The new program trial begins at the start of the 2017-’18 financial year, will run for two years and will be capped at 3800 workers across the nation.
Mr McQueen said Montague’s orchards in Narre Warren and all over the country would greatly benefit from the program’s trial.
“We just want the numbers of people on the job and consistency in return to work,” he said.
“For us to have the same people coming to work week after week for a six or eight-week period means we are not retraining on a daily basis, so we have savings coming through that way.”
The Labor Party supports the program trial, with Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O’Connor saying the program presented a new pathway to work.
“This trial, which Labor supports, will give jobseekers an opportunity to gain short-term, seasonal work without the risk of losing their Newstart payment or other social security benefits,” he said.
However, Mr O’Connor was critical the Federal Government had not changed the amount of income people could earn while receiving a government payment.
Mr O’Conner said freezing the income-free area allowed to people on payments such as Newstart and Youth Allowance acted a disincentive for people to take on short-term jobs outside the program.
“It’s disappointing that the Turnbull Government is at the same time freezing the income-free areas for jobseekers, which will make life harder for people on Newstart who have a small amount of work,” he said.
“This is a change that will adversely affect around 264,500 Australians on the lowest incomes.”
