Face of Nation : Libby Coker is the lower house member for the Victorian seat of Corangamite after toppling Liberal Sarah Henderson in a close contest at the May federal election.
“There would be a cost to pilot a jobs guarantee program, but unemployment already has huge financial, social and health costs,” she said on Tuesday. “The benefits would be enormous. It would create a pool of job-ready workers with real skills and stimulate the economy, in turn feeding demand for more private sector workers.”
Her May election win was second-time lucky for Ms Coker, who also challenged Ms Henderson for the job in 2016. But the pair will remain in close quarters, with Ms Henderson to soon be ushered into the Senate to replace departing government minister Mitch Fifield.
The new MP became emotional towards the end of her speech while thanking her family for their support, and had to be handed a tissue from colleague Anne Aly.
Ms Coker also thanked Labor’s former leadership duo of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek. “(They) built a united team and a progressive policy platform that I was proud to campaign for,” she said.
Although Labor’s election policies are under review, Ms Coker expressed her support for them, including a living wage, increasing Newstart, restoring penalty rates and ending negative gearing. The Victorian says the world is facing a climate emergency, calling on the government to do more to reduce emissions and plan for a transition to more renewable energy.
She believes the government needs to support workers in the coal mining industry as the industry winds down. “We can’t pretend this change isn’t happening or that thermal coal has a bright future,” Ms Coker said.
