Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I'll treat the first part of Senator Whish-Wilson's question as a monologue rather than a question. Senator Whish-Wilson did touch on the issue of Newstart. Let me make clear that I think, for anyone who finds themselves out of work, it is an extremely difficult situation which none of us would want to be in. We do have Newstart as a transitional measure to assist people back into work. The good news is that around two-thirds of those who are granted Newstart find themselves exiting that and in work within 12 months.

One of the reasons why we have one of the most generous social safety nets in Australia is that we do run a strong economy and we are able to fund it from the budget. (Time expired)