Scott Morrison’s proposal to allow teenagers to drive forklifts dropped

Scott Morrison’s proposal to allow teenagers to drive forklifts has been dropped after it was widely mocked on social media.

Scott Morrison’s proposal to allow teenagers to drive forklifts has been abandoned after taking the states by surprise.

The Prime Minister’s suggestion was greeted with widespread ridicule on social media on Thursday after he raised the idea ahead of a National Cabinet meeting.

He said he wanted to reduce regulation in the transport and other sectors to help address a staffing crisis, which has crippled supply chains and seen supermarket shelves stripped of staples including chicken, pork and some vegetables.

“There are other changes that need to be made and they’re at a state level, and I’m continuing to pursue those with the states,” Mr Morrison said.

“There are changes that we need to make around the age of forklift drivers, to get quite specific.”

However the Queensland, Victorian and New South Wales governments have all said they have no plans to lower the age, which is currently set at 18 years old.

Mr Morrison did not initially say how much lower the age should be but later referred to 16 year olds.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s idea to allow teenagers to drive forklifts has been dropped. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

However, those who have driven forklifts immediately raised concerns about the proposal.

“I worked in warehouses at Uni. Had a forklift licence. I organized in warehouses for more than a decade. Letting kids whizz around on forklifts is insane. They are not dodgem cars. The kids are very likely to kill or injure themselves or someone else,” former assistant secretary of the Austrailan Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Tim Lyons wrote on Twitter.

This. 👇👇👇👇😨😨😨😨
A simple miscalculation produced this result. Fortunately no one was killed. Yes, this happened in Australia. Children should not operate forklifts for obvious reasons. Anyone suggesting otherwise does not understand workplace health and safety. #auspolpic.twitter.com/87Uynysiyo

— Sonja Terpstra 🐓 (@TerpsMLC) January 20, 2022

Following the National Cabinet meeting, Mr Morrison confirmed the idea had been dropped.

“We agreed to proceed no further with the issue of 16-year-old forklift drivers,” Mr Morrison told reporters.

“We had a good discussion about today and is not something that we believe, collectively, that is something we should be pursuing at this time.”

Labor deputy Richard Marles also criticised the plan saying “Scott Morrison is always looking for the quick-fix and it is never there”.

It seems many on social media agreed, with the proposal widely mocked.

“If you have a go, you get a go” pic.twitter.com/mzWUpIgtGN

— Blake Johnson (@BlakeJohnson) January 20, 2022

Why stop at forklifts? pic.twitter.com/0s14F1njTo

— James Jeffrey (@James_Jeffrey) January 20, 2022

Seems accurate #forkliftspic.twitter.com/NhHh6bmAXF

— David Appleby Esq. (@davstorm75) January 20, 2022

It’s at this point we learn the government hasn’t ordered enough forklifts.

— Mark Humphries (@markhumphries) January 20, 2022

Man who can’t hold hose suggests children drive forklifts. #auspol

— Van Badham (@vanbadham) January 20, 2022

Get in loser we're going forklift driving pic.twitter.com/WJgaLGTWMc

— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) January 20, 2022

Originally published as Scott Morrison’s proposal to allow teenagers to drive forklifts dropped