Senate debates

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Questions without Notice

Newstart Allowance

2:18 pm

Photo of Rachel SiewertRachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, my question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Community Services and, Indigenous Affairs, Senator Evans. Yesterday this Senate passed the Social Security Legislation (Fair Incentives to Work) Amendment Bill which will result in nearly 150,000 single parents being moved onto Newstart, hence reducing their income from 1 January next year. Given that January is a very stressful and expensive time for families with additional pressures from Christmas debts, back-to-school costs and businesses shutting down for the holiday period, has the government considered what impact the payment reductions will have on already stretched crisis and emergency services during this period? What steps is the government taking to address these impacts?

2:19 pm

Photo of Chris EvansChris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. I appreciate her ongoing interest in this issue and her concern for single parents. But I just make this point: the government has been very clear about this change. We are actually trying to do something about the cycle of disadvantage that children of single parents on welfare dependency experience. The evidence is that those children have fewer opportunities in life if their parent continues on welfare payment and does not get an opportunity to connect to work.

This is a serious attempt by Minister Macklin to try and improve the outcomes for both the women and children involved. It is the case, as the senator well knows, that there is a large cohort of people already on these conditions. To pretend that this has not happened before and that there are not people already on these conditions is, of course, not right. What this does is take one group who were grandfathered from the new arrangements and say,' That grandfathering is coming to an end and you will move onto the same conditions as the tens of thousands of other people already on those conditions.' So some of the drama about this, I think, is a little overstated. There is no doubt that this will impact on those people, but it is also the case that we have invested heavily in additional child care and in additional training and other opportunities to try and ensure these people reconnect with the workforce. What we were saying under the old conditions was that someone could stay on welfare until their child turned 16 without attempting to reconnect them with the workforce. Our experience and evidence is that is not a good thing for those people and it is not a good thing for their children. It will give results for both the parent and the child. (Time expired)

2:21 pm

Photo of Rachel SiewertRachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a supplementary question. Given that a significant proportion of the clients of these emergency services are already single parents, I ask: is the government going to give additional funding to emergency services to cope with the additional burden that single families may place on these emergency services, as their income is going to drop between $60 and $100 a week from 1 January next year?

2:22 pm

Photo of Chris EvansChris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | | Hansard source

The changes that come in for this cohort of parents will put them on the same conditions as a larger cohort already on those conditions. They basically say that, when your child turns eight, you will have to be transferred onto Newstart and you will have to engage more in both seeking employment and undertaking training. Associated with these measures is an extra investment in child care of more than $200 million to assist those persons—single parents—to either get training or connect to the workforce. We have also put in place another $100 million to support the states to provide extra training opportunities. This is a package of measures designed to try and get better outcomes for the parent and the children than we were seeing in a system where they were just left on welfare. (Time expired)

2:23 pm

Photo of Rachel SiewertRachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | | Hansard source

I take it that is a no to additional money for emergency services. Mr President, I ask a second supplementary question. Will the government be monitoring the impact of its decision to move this additional cohort of single parents onto Newstart? Will they be monitoring any impact on the demand for services from emergency and relief organisations and will they be helping these organisations monitor the impact on their services?

Photo of Chris EvansChris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | | Hansard source

I am happy to take on board, and on notice, the question of impact on emergency and relief services and ask the minister for any further advice. But I would make the point that these single parents will continue to receive Newstart. They will continue to receive the family benefits that are available. They will continue to receive the rent assistance that is available. They will continue to receive the other measures of a social support system—but they will also receive active engagement in seeking work or training. We will actually try and support them as we do the other parents, the larger cohort, already under these conditions. I have not had reports that those conditions have seen massively greater numbers of people seeking emergency help. I do not expect that to be the case here, but I am happy to take on notice any impact that might occur or any measures that might be in place and seek advice from the minister. (Time expired)