Taxpayers to fund Gen Ys in Abbott Government's national Green Army project The Green Army will plant native seedlings, undertake weed control, revegetate local parks and reserves, restore foreshores and beaches, and improve signage to interpret heritage sites. SCHOOL leavers will be paid up to $500 a week by taxpayers to pull out weeds and plant seedlings under an Abbott Government plan. The multimillion-dollar Green Army to help combat air and land quality will start from July with a workforce expanding to 15,000 by 2019. Designed with Gen Y in mind, participants will work six hours a day, five days a week, take morning and afternoon rests of at least 15 minutes and a lunch break of at least an hour. The Courier-Mail can reveal new details of the Green Army, which is open to 17-24 year olds, including school leavers, gap-year students and those on Newstart. Participants will be paid an allowance of between $10.14 and $16.45 an hour for 30 hours - which will be considered full time. The national project will be outsourced to service providers, who have been told to have no less than $10 million in public liability insurance. Taxpayers will subsidise a uniform for the green thumbs, who will be given one pair of steelcap boots, one broad-rimmed hat, one pair of work gloves, one pair of heavy duty long pants and at least two long-sleeved shirts plus wet weather protection and jumpers or jackets in cold climates. In teams of nine they will plant native seedlings, undertake weed control, revegetate local parks and reserves, restore foreshores and beaches, and improve signage to interpret heritage sites. Service providers have been told they must hold cultural awareness training and accommodate the legitimate needs of participants, including needs arising from cultural sensitivities and family responsibilities. The project will run for up to 26 weeks and provide youth with educational courses that could lead help them get into tertiary education. A spokesman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the program could help reduce carbon emissions. The Green Army falls under the Clean Land plan and will complement initiatives under the Clean Air plan. It may support carbon reduction activities through, for example, revegetation projects," he said. Service providers will be required to supply all Green Army team members ... with work clothing and other appropriate personal protective equipment to help ensure the work health and safety of teams while they deliver on-ground projects. He said the project could count towards helping youth continuing their education. Participants will be provided with training opportunities ... to increase their skills and qualifications. This includes the opportunity to complete a Certificate I or II (or part thereof) qualification, or skill sets from a Certificate III, IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma. "This may provide participants with an opportunity to explore alternate pathways into university," he said.