[Greens-Media] Green Army regime exploitative and ineffective

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

 14 May 2014
 
Green Army regime exploitative and ineffective

The Australian Greens said today that the Government's proposed Green Army scheme is exploitative of participants and will not deliver meaningful employment or environmental outcomes.
 
The Greens tabled a Dissenting Report as part of the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee's inquiry into the legislation.

"It is nothing short of exploitative to direct tens of thousands of unskilled young people into short term projects which will not lead to permanent employment, simply to cover up the fact that this Government is not prepared to take genuine action on environmental issues," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on family and community services said today.
 
"The Green Army program offers no genuine pathways into ongoing employment, due to the voluntary nature of the individual training component. Participants under this regime will be denied a guaranteed number of hours and basic employment protections that other trainees receive. With no minimum hours guarantee, people could be worse off than if they were on Youth Allowance, which is already one of our most inadequate income support payments.
 
"This is an  ill-conceived response to the enormous environmental damage our community faces and does not adequately address the most important environmental challenge of our time - climate change. The Government should be investing in environmental services and expanding, rather than cutting current programs such as Caring for Our County, Landcare and the Biodiversity Fund.
 
"If passed, this legislation is very likely to entrench young people in unemployment and poverty, while diverting energy and resources away from more effective environmental programs. 
 
"The Green Army program is set to be just as ineffective and degrading as previous incarnations such as Work for the Dole. The Greens do not support this flawed approach," Senator Siewert concluded.


The Committee Inquiry report & recommendations are available online: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/Green_Army/Report/index 



The Australian Greens have made a number of recommendations:
 
Recommendation 1: That beyond the initial WHS and cultural awareness training, accredited training with a registered provider is implemented as a core element of the Green Army Program rather than an optional extra, and that service providers and team supervisors are contractually obligated to ensure that participants are fully informed of their training options. 
Recommendation 2: That participant program plans include a built in periodic review of individual Participation Agreements and that all training options are presented to the participant as part of this review. 

Recommendation 3: That the Green Army Program either be considered as ordinary income and participants remain eligible for income support OR there is a mandated minimum number of hours per week that ensures that the amount received by the participant is not less than the amount they would have received under Youth Allowance. If the age limit of the scheme is expanded, this guarantee of income should be pegged to the amount received under Newstart for those eligible for the Newstart payment. 

Recommendation 4: That the failure to provide adequate legal protections be addressed in the Bill.
Recommendation 5: That administrative funding be included in the program funding to sponsor organisations. 

Recommendation 6: That the interaction between participation in this program and access to ongoing support from a job service agency be clarified and strengthened 

Recommendation 7: That there is a clear exit pathway from this program back to a job service agency and access to stream 2 or higher levels of support that ensure participants are quick transitioned to employment or study. 

Recommendation 8: That this Government invest in environmental services and expand rather than cut current programs such as Caring for Our County, Landcare and the Biodiversity Fund. 

Recommendation 9: That this Bill not be passed, until such time as participation in environmental training programs is backed up by long term ongoing funding in natural environment and heritage projects that would generate employment pathways for those who complete appropriate training programs that have been designed in partnership with the environment and job services sectors.