Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Safety Net) Bill 2023. Of all the ridiculous pieces of spin we've seen come out of the Liberal and National parties, I don't think anything compares to the Leader of the Opposition saying earlier this year that the Liberals and the Nationals are the parties for the working class. These are the parties that have voted against lowering energy prices, voted against a $10 billion investment in social and affordable housing and voted against laws for secure jobs and better pay. And, today, when Labor has come to Canberra to pass laws that will increase JobSeeker, youth allowance, parenting payments, Austudy, Abstudy, the youth disability support pension and Commonwealth rent assistance, delivering real cost-of-living relief for the most vulnerable in our community, the Liberals and Nationals are saying that they oppose this.

It was reported in the Australian today: 'The opposition leader on Monday will commit to scrapping Labor's $40 a fortnight increase to the JobSeeker rate.' How out of touch can you be, to cut $40 from the most vulnerable people in our community? They aren't there throwing parties with the money. They aren't there using the money to fly in fancy au pairs. People depend on this money to pay for their rent, heating and food. That is what Mr Dutton is proposing to take away from people—rent, food and heating. Which one of these things should people cut if Mr Dutton cuts their payment? Should they save money on rent by sleeping in their car? Should they save money on food by only having dinner every second night? Should they stop using heating or turning the lights on in the evenings? These are the decisions that Mr Dutton and those opposite will force people to make if these payments are cut.

Here I was thinking that we had all agreed, many decades ago, that all people deserve these basic human rights. But clearly those opposite feel differently. But fortunately Mr Dutton is not the Prime Minister, and those opposite are not in government. On this side, the Labor government are here to fight for a stronger safety net. The Liberals and Nationals oppose that. We're here to create more secure jobs and increase wages. The Liberals and Nationals oppose that. We're here to fight for more affordable housing. The Liberals and Nationals, and the Greens, oppose that. We're here to protect Medicare and the NDIS. The Liberals and Nationals want to tear them down. We're here to deliver cost-of-living support for Australians doing it tough. And the Liberals and Nationals oppose it.

This $40 per fortnight increase will support 1.1 million people. Together with the other measures in this bill, like the increase to Commonwealth rent assistance, this bill provides urgent cost-of-living support for two million people across the country. To those two million people I say that Labor is here to fight for you. A Senate community affairs committee inquiry into this bill said that antipoverty campaigners supported a strong increase to working-age and student payments. Many said the increase needed to be higher, and I understand those calls. But who agreed with Mr Dutton's opinion that the rate shouldn't be increased? The only organisation the Liberals and Nationals could find to support their view was the Institute of Public Affairs, an organisation that exists to promote the selfish interests of Gina Rinehart and a select number of other billionaires at the expense of everyone else. What did they say about the $40 a fortnight increase? They said it's 'unlikely to succeed because it will disincentivise social security recipients from seeking the best form of welfare—a job.'

That's the position of the IPA and those opposite: if you're poor and you're doing it tough, it's your own fault; get a better job. The Liberals' and Nationals' party line is that, if you don't have a job, it's because you are not destitute enough yet. Their party line is that every unemployed person needs to be crushed and ground down by abject poverty, and then miraculously they will find a job. It's a ridiculous position that is not supported by any evidence or reason. It's a position that is rooted in a sneering sense of self-superiority. Mr Dutton's looked at those in poverty and said, 'It's your own fault.' Many Liberals and Nationals look at people who live in poverty and think to themselves that it could never happen to them. They are too brilliant, too clever, too hard-working. The reality is that any person—it doesn't matter how clever or brilliant you think you are—can find themselves living in poverty. It's a question of luck and circumstances.

How can anyone look at people doing it tough and think to themselves that they deserve to live in poverty? It's a disgusting worldview. Between the increases in this bill and the indexation changes under this government, the JobSeeker rate has increased by 14 per cent over the last year. That's $90 more per fortnight or over $2,300 per year. It is a meaningful increase, and my hope is that we will continue to do more. I'll never share the worldview that people who are unemployed, who are studying or who are on a disability pension deserve to live poverty. I oppose that view with every bone in my body. Working people deserve a living wage, and those unable to secure work deserve a fair standard of living that does not leave them in abject poverty. Mr Dutton's promise to cut $40 a fortnight from welfare recipients is a disgrace, but sadly it's what we've come to expect from the Liberals and Nationals since the Howard era. When the most vulnerable people are used as a political punching bag, that is something I will never support.