Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The reality is that this government has no plan for poverty elimination in Australia, and I deeply believe that poverty elimination must be our goal in this place. Here at home and abroad, and in this place, we hear so often that Australia is a rich, successful, multicultural country. So why does this government leave so many people behind?

This bill, the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Income Support) Bill 2021, does not lift people out of poverty; it simply makes them a little less poor. We just heard my good friend the member for Cowan talking about the need for all of us in this place to find the heart. She told us her personal story of actually having lived on these measly payments. I say to the people who are watching this debate—and, indeed, to many people who are on Newstart and have a deep vested interest in how this debate plays out—that we stand with all Australians who are on these payments—some 1,950,000 Australians who are on these payments. We know that there are many Australians who have a go but don't get a go. The Prime Minister's formula simply does not work for them. All they're seeking—again, as the member for Cowan said—is some economic security and a sense that they can do all the things that they want to do for their family. They do not wish for luxury. They do not wish for generosity. They simply want some simple economic security.

When I say that this government doesn't have a plan to lift people out of poverty, at least on that front it is very consistent. It doesn't have a proper jobs plan. It doesn't have a plan for the future of Medicare. It has no plan for social housing. It killed the Gonski reforms, which we know from David Gonski himself—

Debate interrupted.

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