Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to speak about the Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2006. This is a part of a very important step forward for modern Australia. The government is continuing to strengthen Australia’s economy as part of a long-term plan for the future. Figures released last week show that over 1.8 million jobs have been created since the coalition was elected in 1996, with unemployment falling to 4.9 per cent, the lowest level since 1976. There are now a record 10.1 million Australians in work.

These increased opportunities have not happened by accident. They have occurred as a direct result of the coalition’s disciplined economic management over the past 10 years. I have previously given my support to this bill and was pleased when it received passage through parliament as I believe that these changes are crucial in building a progressive and responsive social wage system for this nation. To ensure the changes contained within the bill are applied in a consistent manner and the intention of the changes are realised, a few additional amendments are required to take place. These amendments are of a technical and somewhat minor nature but are imperative to achieving the outcome this government has worked so hard towards implementing.

These amendments include terminology changes and changes to ensure consistent treatment of similar groups of income support recipients, most notably principal carers. Principal carers can be parents with a dependent child, registered foster carers, registered distance educators, recognised home schoolers and those caring for a disabled child. From 1 July 2006 people claiming parenting payment will only be able to qualify for payment if they have a child under eight years of age if the person is single, and six years of age if the person is partnered. After this time, people will be able to claim and, if eligible, receive another income support payment such as Newstart allowance or youth allowance.

To ensure consistent treatment between principal carers receiving parenting payment, Newstart and youth allowance, this bill amends the Social Security Act so principal carers who qualify for youth allowance or Newstart allowance will be exempt from the newly arrived resident waiting period of 104 weeks. A person will not have to meet the 104-week rule if the person: is the principal carer of one or more children; is not a member of a couple; is not undertaking full-time study; is not a new apprentice; and, at the start of the person’s current period of Australian residence, was not a lone parent. To clarify further: a lone parent is a person who is not a member of a couple and who has a dependent child. This rule is similar to the exception provided to newly arrived resident parents who qualify for parenting payment when, following their Australian residency, they become single.

Single principal carer parents who are in the unenviable position where they are grieving the death of a child will continue to receive the same rate of Newstart allowance or youth allowance, whichever they are currently entitled to receive, for another 14 weeks. So, for 14 weeks after this sad event has taken place, when the parent is going through the difficult task of informing the rest of the family and making funeral arrangements, they will be able to access benefits and concessions and their rate of payment will not decrease or cease altogether. These concessions include the telephone allowance, which I am sure all senators understand would be a necessary tool during this uneasy time. They would also still have access to the pensioner concession card.

If a partnered parenting payment recipient is incapacitated due to illness or injury, for example, they may be eligible for temporary exemption from their participation requirements, which from 1 July 2006 will be 15 hours per week. During this time, where they are still looking after their family and trying to get themselves back on track, they will have access to the pharmaceutical allowance. The extension of the pharmaceutical allowance will provide a consistent approach between all activity tested income recipients. This is an example of a government which understands the special circumstances some parents find themselves in. The parents want to engage in the workforce but circumstances beyond their control mean that they cannot fulfil their obligations.

Similarly, individuals who are caring for a child, or children, or a relative are to have no participation requirements for up to 13 weeks. This is not based on whether they are a parent but the fact that they have special circumstances that temporarily limit their capacity to look for work. Under Welfare to Work, the existing rules around foster carer exemptions will make some allowance for family carers who are principal carers, be it of their child or the child of a relative. This allowance will be made through the guide to the Social Security Act and will identify the circumstance where a family carer may be treated as a foster carer.

From 1 July 2006 a new higher rate of mobility allowance will be available to certain income support recipients with disabilities to assist them to participate in the workforce. Currently, people receiving Newstart allowance, youth allowance and disability support pension can qualify for an advance payment of mobility allowance. This advance is for a period of 26 weeks. During this period no further mobility allowance is payable. This bill makes amendments to ensure that people who qualify for the new, higher rate of mobility allowance during the time when a lower rate advance period is being paid can acquit the advance period earlier. The number of days that remain of the 26-week advance period would be offset against those already incurred to find the new, correct rate of payment.

I would like to reinforce the three principles that underline the welfare to work measures: people who have the capacity and are available to work should do so; the best form of family income comes from a job rather than welfare; and services provided to people who have an obligation to seek work should focus on getting them into work as soon as possible. It is important that we support those people who find themselves temporarily out of work and help those who want to work find employment. It is important that we iron out these technical issues now to ensure that the welfare to work measures achieve the twin goals of lifting workforce participation and reducing welfare dependency while maintaining a strong safety net for those who need it. I support these necessary amendments contained within the bill.

I would like to continue and mention the latest figures which show the Australian government’s employment service providers have achieved a record number of jobs for the unemployed. Over the past year Job Network members have placed more than 640,000 people into jobs—30 per cent of those were long-term positions for disadvantaged job seekers. The coalition government has created more than twice as many full-time jobs in the last year than Labor did in the last six years. There has never been a better time to find a job in Australia, as unemployment has dropped to less than five per cent, and many of these jobs are in the retail, hospitality and manufacturing sectors where people can train on the job.

Our Job Network members have had an outstanding success finding jobs for single parents, the long-term unemployed and people with a disability, and we expect this success to continue. Over 90 per cent of those on parenting payments are women, many of whom have volunteered to go back to work even though they remain eligible for welfare. In the past 12 months alone there have been 44,900 jobs found for job seekers receiving a parenting payment, which is a new annual record. More than 11,000 job seekers receiving the disability support pension were placed in a job—a 45 per cent increase over the numbers of the previous year and a new annual record. Currently only those able to work for more than 30 hours a week in open employment are required to look for work. After 1 July 2006 those able to work at least 15 hours a week will be supported back to part-time work where suitable jobs are available.

In the past year, to April 2006, more than one million new vacancies were lodged on the Job Network national vacancy database, an increase of four per cent on the previous 12 months. We expect this figure to continue to increase as more employers become aware of the advantages of creating a flexible workplace and the availability of highly productive employees who have been long-term unemployed or are parents, people with a disability or mature age people. In the past year, nearly 100,000 people who have been unemployed for over 12 months were placed into a position and more than five per cent of these are long-term placements.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank honourable senators for their contributions and especially Senator Judith Adams for the very well considered contribution that she has just made. I understand that Senators Evans and Stephens were in fact on the speakers list but kindly dropped off to assist the management of time in this chamber, and I want to place on record my thanks and the government’s thanks for that.

This Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2006 will ensure that the policy intention of the welfare to work changes contained in the Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) Act 2005 are fully realised and consistently applied. Terminology and provisions in the social security law need to be replaced, amended or repealed to clarify the policy intention in relation to certain welfare to work measures. These measures build consistency across working age payments. These include allowing partner allowance recipients who have a temporary incapacity exemption to have access to the pharmaceutical allowance and allowing single principal carer parents who are bereaving the death of a child and are receiving Newstart allowance or youth allowance to continue to receive the same rate they were receiving before their child died for another 14 weeks after the death of the child.

This bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to giving people of working age every opportunity to move from welfare dependency into work. These reforms recognise the fact that the best form of welfare is a job. For the first time the Social Security Act will provide for the assessment of people based on their capacity and availability to work. This is a significant shift from the old paradigm where people were assessed first and foremost on their incapacity or lack of availability to work. This approach has led to a situation where many Australians of working age have been condemned to a life on welfare. Our community should never presume that working age people on income support do not have the same desire that other Australians of working age have to succeed in life and participate in our nation’s prosperity when, in fact, most people on income support are keen to work and to find a job to match their capabilities. The government will preserve a well-targeted social safety net while at the same time encourage working age people to find jobs and remain employed. The government is strongly committed to these principles. With record economic and employment growth, there has never been a better time to provide the necessary assistance and support for people of working age to enter the labour force and secure paid employment.

There are also a number of important reasons for seeking to increase labour force participation. These include the need to address the issue of a rapidly ageing population and the current skilled and unskilled labour shortages in which business is struggling to fill vacancies and satisfy demand for goods and services. Without action now, Australia could face a shortage of nearly 200,000 workers over the next five years. With a record unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent—and that is a record low, the lowest rate in 30 years—there is now an increased opportunity for all to participate in the economic and social life of Australia.

The challenge of implementing welfare reform is to obtain the right balance between obligations and support. This must be accompanied by appropriate incentives and support mechanisms to ensure that job seekers continue to be able to be provided with services and support. These will go a long way to helping job seekers prepare for work, find a job and stay employed. The government believes that its reforms strike this balance. The majority of Australians would agree that it is not unreasonable to expect those people who are available and capable of work to participate in the workforce. The economic and social arguments for such reform are both compelling and necessary. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.