Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. Can the minister please advise the Senate how a strong budget is helping to deliver stability and certainty for jobseekers through a number of initiatives aimed at removing barriers to employment?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bragg for his question and his ongoing interest in assisting Australians in being able to get back into the workforce. We know that there are many different barriers that Australians face when it comes to getting a job, but one of the most prevalent of those barriers is drug addiction, and that is why the Morrison government is seeking to pass legislation so that we can trial, with 5,000 new recipients of Newstart and youth allowance, to demonstrate that we absolutely have a commitment to breaking down the barriers that people find when it comes to getting a job.

With over one-third of the Commonwealth budget being spent on social services and welfare, we believe we have an absolute obligation—it is absolutely incumbent on us as government—to make sure that our social safety nets are totally targeted, sustainable and efficient. People using their income support for drugs are actually disrespecting their fellow Australians, because we know that the taxpayers don't have a problem with supporting people in their times of need. They don't have a problem with helping out other fellow Australians. But we need to make sure that our welfare system is not just fair to the people who receive welfare but also fair to the people who pay for it. As I said, the taxpayer has every right to expect that the money that they make available to a taxpayer funded welfare system is being used to assist people in their time of need on things like food, shelter, accommodation and going about their everyday lives. It is not about funding drug addiction; it is not about providing assistance to them so that they can take drugs. What it is about is making sure that we are putting them on a trajectory to enable them to get on with their lives free of drugs, because without drug addiction resolution, they won't be able to get a job.

Scott Ryan (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Ruston. Senator Bragg, a supplementary question?

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister update the Senate on the prevalence of the issue of drug use, which imposes barriers to employment?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the things that I think we do need to be very clear about is that illicit drug use is a barrier to employment. It's a very significant barrier to employment and it's a barrier to employment not just in being able to get a job but also in being able to retain a job. Anybody who believes otherwise should take a very clear reality check on what the implication of drugs is on a person and their ability to participate in society.

Evidence from the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, undertaken by the AIHW, shows that when somebody is unemployed they are more than three times more likely to use methamphetamine, more commonly known as ice, than somebody who is employed. They are 1½ times more likely to use cannabis than somebody who is employed. Further evidence released recently by Monash University shows that Newstart recipients are four times more likely to use drugs.

Scott Ryan (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bragg, a final supplementary question?

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister advise the Senate on comparable practices in the business community?

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Bragg. Drug testing is absolutely a common and consistent feature in Australian businesses all around this country. If you have an issue with drugs, it impacts on your function at work, it impedes your ability to take up a job and it will prevent you from being able to take a job that requires drug testing. Hundreds and hundreds of Australian companies currently require drug testing and alcohol testing of their employees, most particularly because of safety in the work environment—obviously, you can't use machinery; you can't drive a vehicle. Companies like Linfox and Qantas constantly require their employees to undertake drug testing. Many Commonwealth agencies also require drug testing and, at the risk of channelling somebody that I don't particularly want to channel, even the CFMMEU called in 2015 for a blanket drug and alcohol test for worksites right the way across Victoria, and this is commonplace.