Interview with Kim Napier, ABC Northern Tasmania

KIM NAPIER, HOST: Well, there are currently around 10,000 Northern Tasmanians seeking work through Workforce Australia's employment services, but the federal government is now delivering what it says is a once-in-a-generation reform of this sector. It's all about making the system more effective and personalised for people seeking work. So, what does it mean for people here in the north?

I'm joined now by the federal government's Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Amanda Rishworth. AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Good morning, great to be with you. KIM NAPIER: Thank you for your time.

And before we turn to employment services reform, a major blow for Northern Tasmania yesterday with news Liberty Bell Bay will close immediately. Minister, there are over 200 jobs that have been lost there. How is the Federal Government going to support these workers and their families?

AMANDA RISHWORTH : Look, it's a really important question and I just wanted to say first and foremost, it is an incredibly sad day for those workers, their families, but the wider community. And so, obviously many workers will be processing this, but our government, along with the Tasmanian government, stands ready to support them. I wanted to very clear that from Monday, there is going to be a physical transition hub that will be stood up in George Town that will be available for workers that might have questions about part of the process, about their redundancy, about financial well-being and financial literacy, but also importantly, support to help them find another job, so resume support.

Now, that transition hub will be available for as long as workers need it, and for some workers, Monday will be too soon, but it will be there available to provide that support going forward. And some encouraging news I heard on the ground yesterday, that there are employers that have been in contact with some of the transition people to actually indicate that there are jobs that they've been wanting to see if some of these workers would be suitable for.

But it is really difficult news, and I wanted to really say my heart goes out to all those workers. KIM NAPIER: Well, Ben Manion is one of those workers. He's an IT worker at the smelter, a skill you would think would be in demand.

This is what he had had to say yesterday. It is in demand, but it's also not very in demand in Northern Tasmania by the looks of it. I've been keeping an eye on SEEK and various job sites over the past few months because I have a family and you've got to prepare for the worst or look at your options, and it's been pretty dry. [End of excerpt] KIM NAPIER: Yeah, Minister, it feels like blow after blow for workers in Northern Tasmania when you add the positions lost with the closure of Boag’s.

Where are the new jobs going to come from? AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I think of course we continue to work with the private sector and so does the state government in terms of economic development, and there will there will be hopefully new jobs arise. But importantly, as I said, on the ground, there have been employers saying that they are looking for people.

So, that job matching that you sort of described is really, really important. So, getting that support on the ground with resumes, with connections is also really important and that's what the transition hub is designed to do, and that will be stood up on Monday. But we are focused on creating more jobs, but also importantly, connecting people with the right jobs as well.

KIM NAPIER: And outside of that Jobs Hub you're talking about Monday, will you be meeting with the workers? AMANDA RISHWORTH: I understand that Jess Teesdale has met and was at that community forum with the workers, and she's been there providing support. My department has been on the ground.

I think a number of the workers, if they want to meet with me, I'm always available to meet with, as I'm sure state government is as well. But my focus is making sure that there is practical support on the ground to support those workers when they need it because this a lot to process. So for some people it may take some time, for others they might be ready to get right into it, and I want to make sure that support is on the ground and it will be there from Monday.

KIM NAPIER: Well, you're in town to explain reforms in the employment services sector. Why did you choose to come to Northern Tasmania? AMANDA RISHWORTH: So Northern Tasmania is a really important place because we know that often while there are jobs available, particularly as I was hearing yesterday, for young people it's often hard to get into those jobs.

And in fact when we look at the Workforce Australia data, close to 50 per cent of people on the Workforce Australia caseload have been there for more than two years. So, that is a long time not connected with work and not getting the opportunity. So really we need that connection piece that I mentioned before, make sure people are getting the support and the skills to connect with jobs.

And it was really wonderful. I met some young people yesterday who are getting that type of real wraparound support to support them to think about a career, think about getting some work experience. But that is not happening across the board when it comes to the support provided by the government.

So, we want to see better support. And yesterday we were having a forum to really talk about what some of that extra support could look like. KIM NAPIER: And what's been some of the feedback that you've heard from service providers and community groups here?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: We've heard some great feedback. First, that we need to incentivise building relationships. That was a really key element, whether it's relationships between the service and the person looking for a job, or indeed between services.

Often the current system is very competitive, and at times compete services against services. So, having a much more collaborative approach was really important. But I also heard about making sure we support different pathways into work.

There are some great social enterprises down here in Northern Tasmania. How do we support them as a pathway to work for young people? Because they're getting really good results.

So what do those different pathways look like? How do we support them? And how do we have a much better joined-up approach so that a person in a very overwhelming situation of being out of work actually has a much easier support through that process.

So, that's some of the feedback that I got yesterday. KIM NAPIER: Now, you mentioned young jobseekers. Northern Tasmania has an ageing population.

What targeted support will older workers receive if they're looking for jobs? AMANDA RISHWORTH: Yeah, look, that's a really important question because some of the barriers that people do find for young people, it can be not enough skills, but often your older people may find themselves with a gap in digital literacy perhaps, or indeed face discrimination. I hear that a lot.

So the work that we want our service providers to do is much more tailored focus on breaking down some of those barriers and supporting a person into work. And so particularly when it comes to older jobseekers, making sure that, you know, in some instances it's supporting their confidence, but also looking at how we and how our services work with employers to break down some of the stigma and discrimination that comes with being an older worker.

KIM NAPIER: Now, we know these reforms have already been announced, but when should Tasmanians expect them to take effect? AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, the framework's been announced, but what we've been consulting on is the detail. There's a lot of detail to get right.

There's a lot of financial incentives for providers. There's a lot of design work to be done. So look, we've extended the Workforce Australia contracts for 16 months.

So this is a long-term reform, but we're getting in early to make sure that we're getting the feedback and information on the ground. so that we can design it to get it right the first time. KIM NAPIER: Well, enjoy your time in Northern Tasmania. Not quite as cold as Canberra, I'm guessing, Amanda?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: It's pretty cold. KIM NAPIER: It is. Thank you for your time this morning.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: KIM NAPIER: Amanda Rishworth there. She is the Federal Government's Employment and Workplace Relations Minister.