Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Human Services, Senator Kim Carr. I premise this question on the basis of some of my experiences in my five duty seats in respect of dumping of responsibilities, struggling single mothers, charities and food banks. How does the government respond to claims that it is dumping its responsibilities for struggling single mothers onto charities and food banks?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his question and the fact that he is responding so well to his constituents' concerns. I am aware that claims have appeared in the press that have said that the Department of Human Services has been phoning affected parents and referring them to charities. I asked the department about this, and the department has advised me that it is not true. I have directed that officers contact every single person affected by the decision by the government—that is some 84,000 people who are affected by the decision on parenting payment—because I want to make sure that every one of those persons is aware of their rights and their entitlements and to ensure that they are treated properly and fairly, and that is what is going on.

The purpose of those calls was not to push people off onto charities but to ensure that they received every possible support from the government. New payment options are obviously critical in this regard. There is Centrepay, there are new financial information officers available and there is also the option of follow-up consultation with the department's social workers. When all of these options are exhausted, a social worker may also connect the parent to a state or local community support. Our aim is to ensure that no parent is left alone. We want to ensure that parents have no need to resort to these measures. So I am pleased to report today that 99 per cent of the 84,000 people have been contacted, and 69 per cent have been approved for Newstart and 25 per cent have started their Newstart applications and we anticipate another 3,000 will be eligible for carers or disability support. So parents will be applying for other programs such as child-care benefits, job service benefits and tax benefits. (Time expired)

Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for that response and in particular for those statistics with regard to what we are doing as a government. What role do referrals play in the government's services delivery model in these particular areas?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Furner. We want to make sure that people take advantage of the professional support teams that are available through the Department of Human Services. In no way do I want to imply that we do not appreciate the importance of partnerships. They are critical to our work. It is a core principle on which the new Department of Human Services is based.

I want to make sure that this is not misunderstood either, because Australia is not Tory Britain. Australia is not the sort of Tory Britain that we see those opposite pine for: where we see privatisation by stealth, where we see the quite explicit presumption that the workhouse is, somehow or another, an alternative to a modern social security system. We have to ensure that we are not pushing people off as the responsibilities of others. We are in the business of building the community sector by building a strong public sector that works in partnership with the community sector. We are about making sure we put more social— (Time expired)

Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I once again thank the minister for that response, in particular a greater understanding of the issues that we are facing on many occasions of those that are being put on our systems as a result of Liberal state governments. Is the government concerned that these investments will be compromised by the savage cuts to community and public programs by the Liberal state premiers that we are seeing out there in each of our states around the countryside in respect of those significant and severe cuts? (Time expired)

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our approach is built on partnership. Those opposite's approach is built on cuts. We see in Queensland what is happening with the Campbell Newman government; we see that it is misguided to the point now where some of his own MPs are walking away. It appears that one in four voters want, of all things, Clive Palmer to take the wheel, so it does show you just how desperate things have become in Queensland. This is the same Mr Palmer who wants to build a new Titanic. We know he does not have to look far beyond the Liberal Party for that.

We also know that the Nationals in Queensland are reaching for the lifeboats. We see the Red Cross workers are being defunded. We know that AIDS prevention programs have been cut. We know that rehab for women in prisons is gone. We know that the BoysTown job placement scheme has been shut down. And we have seen the employment assistance for people with special needs cut by $7 million. (Time expired)