Greens to propose Bernie Sanders-style youth jobs guarantee

A Bernie Sanders-inspired youth jobs guarantee will be proposed by the Greens to help boost the Australian economy after the pandemic in a plan designed to help young people and women recover from job losses.

Sources close to the Greens who did not wish to be named as the plan has not yet been finalised, said the model would be "similar" to the former US Presidential candidate's promise to give every American looking for work a $15-an-hour job on major infrastructure, environmental and education schemes.

Greens leader Adam Bandt wants support for young workers.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The Greens' plan will push for the government to borrow heavily and invest in nation-building programs to switch the country to 100 per cent renewable energy sources, rehabilitate areas affected by bushfires and give those needing jobs roles in those projects.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the financial burden on young people was the "biggest single economic impact" of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia, and while he was supportive of the federal government's wage subsidy program and unemployment support, he said the youth still were disproportionately affected.

"Of the 1.1 million casuals who were excluded from JobKeeper, half of them are young people," he said. Casuals who have worked for less than 12 months in their role are not eligible for the wage subsidy support."

Hard-hit industries such as hospitality, retail and the arts employ a higher than average proportion of young workers.

Those aged 20 to 24 currently starting their first job are expected to be $34,000 worse off over the next decade due to a shrinking pool of jobs and a growing likelihood to accept lower paid roles during the pandemic, University of Melbourne research modelled by the Greens shows.

"Young people are now staring down the barrel of decades of debt and un- or underemployment," Mr Bandt said.

"Not only will it make it harder for them to find work but they’re also potentially going to be saddled into the cost of recovery as well."

He said the government should be planning to "invest our way out of this crisis", adding it was now cheaper than it ever had been for governments to borrow money and it was incorrect to say it was unaffordable to spend more on stimulus.

"Now is the best time to borrow to invest in programs and infrastructure that will tackle the climate crisis, the inequality crisis and the corona crisis," he said, adding that after World War II, Australia's debt reached 120 per cent of GDP.

"If we simply snap back to normal as the Prime Minister wants, we’re going to exacerbate the crisis that existed before and young people are going to suffer."

"We have got a devastated natural environment that is in dire need of rehabilitation [after the bushfires]. We have got to get off coal and onto 100 per cent renewables within a decade.

"And we’re going to have a lot of people with time on their hands who want to contribute. We need to match the two together through those nation-building programs," he said.

"Our starting point is that Depression-era job figures demand a Depression-era response."