Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2020. I'd like to make some general comments, firstly to deal with the bill itself. As the honourable shadow minister points out, this is a bill seeking to make some technical amendments to the legislation to enable a freer flow of some of the intended outputs.

I have some small degree of personal experience with respect to social services that I'd like to come to in a moment, but firstly I'd like to speak about the principles under which this government continues to operate. The first principle is that we want to support all Australians, including people who are already employed in the workforce, and we can support them by seeing them paying less tax and having a more fruitful life, better able to support their families and reach their personal objectives. We as a government are also focused on providing a safety net, and I note the Prime Minister's comments this morning in speaking about the extension of the JobSeeker payments through to March next year. The Prime Minister made the point that we've always had a safety net but that we have had to—and rightly so—expand and strengthen that safety net commensurate with the blow that coronavirus has inflicted. Right across both sides of this chamber and both houses of this place, I haven't heard anyone suggesting that it has been wrong for this government to invest in expanding and enhancing that safety net, and I know that all of us in this place feel very strongly for those people who are impacted. We know what it means to not be able to provide for one's family or, indeed, even for oneself, and that brings us to the importance, obviously, of the social safety net.

I would just like to share briefly my own personal circumstances from some time ago now. I separated from the regular Australian Army back in January 2005 and had a period of time when I was working in a family business that was commenced by my parents on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. It was very rewarding work, and I was certainly enjoying that role. My wife was originally from Western Australia, and we had always had a plan to live in Queensland for about five years and then to sort of share ourselves and the grandkids around by moving back to Western Australia. We were about a year into that plan and all seemed to be going well when my wife got information that unfortunately her mother's cancer had resurfaced and that she was given, by the doctors, about 12 months to live. This naturally came as quite a shock to us at the time. We had no immediate plans to uproot ourselves and move right across the country, but we needed to quickly formulate one. Quite understandably, my wife wanted to be with her mother for what was expected to be the last months of her life. Accordingly, quite rapidly, my wife picked up and moved with our three children across to Western Australia.

I kept going in the family business for a time, but naturally enough, and particularly at that very difficult time, I wanted to be with my wife and children and able to provide support to them. However, the challenge was that I had no employment ready to move into in Western Australia. So, naturally enough, I began looking for and applying for jobs, but there is, understandably, a bit of a challenge when you are based on one side of the country and seeking employment on the other. So I made a decision to move across to Western Australia and then to seek employment once I was already over there.

Even though I had a professional skill set, having been an officer in the Australian Army and a consultant as well, as anyone who has transitioned from one type of employment to another will know, there was still a period of challenge in finding a new role. I have to confess that the idea of relying on any form of welfare safety net had actually not even crossed my mind. It was a friend who suggested to me that I find out whether or not I was eligible for what we commonly referred to then as 'the dole'—a payment that is still sometimes referred to that way, although it has changed names a couple of times since then.

I have to confess that I felt a bit conflicted. On the one hand, I'd always been a taxpayer. I'd served as an Army officer and moved into a professional career, and I have to say that I felt an initial reluctance to reach out for financial help via government means. But then I reflected on the personal circumstances. My wife was trying to support her mother who had terminal cancer and I had three young children, for whom we were providing, and needed to continue to provide with accommodation, education and all of the other accompanying living expenses. So I made the decision to apply for the dole. Even though it was only for a very short period—because I was then able to move into part-time employment with the Army Reserve and then on to further work—I have to say that it was a very welcome filler at a time when my family and I definitely required some assistance.

This is a message to those Australians out there at the moment who are relying on a safety net. All of us seek to work hard and contribute in our communities, but all of us also recognise that there are times when that becomes challenging, either through personal illness, a change in work circumstances or an employer whose business is not as viable as it was. My personal message of encouragement is don't feel shy, don't feel nervous and don't feel guilty in relying on the safety net. But I'm sure everyone in this House would provide the encouragement that, as soon as we can, we all need to move back into the workforce whilst we are fit and able, and that is a way in which we all contribute to our great nation.

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