Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend those who have been on the backbench since long before me—the member for Herbert and the member for Forde—who have worked long and hard over recent years arguing and advocating on behalf of their constituents for some of the changes in the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (2006 Budget Measures) Bill 2006 that we are talking about today. This bill gives effect to a number of measures announced in the 2006-07 budget, including changes to the social security means test and amendments to crisis payment, and will introduce new search and seizure powers to officers under the social security and family assistance laws.

The measures in this bill will assist pensioners, carer payment recipients of pension age and qualifying service pensioners who live on farms and rural residential blocks of more than two hectares and who are currently excluded or receive a reduced pension because of the current assessable asset value of land adjacent to their home. As the member for Herbert has already acknowledged, this is going to have a huge financial impact, of around $42.1 million in 2006-07 and $41.7 million in 2007-08. So I want to acknowledge and thank the government for listening to the people of outer urban Sydney and rural areas across this nation and committing this kind of assistance to them.

Currently, only a person’s individual home and adjacent land of up to two hectares is exempt from the assets test, even though land in excess of the two hectares may be held on the same title document. This can affect people living in rural and also semirural areas, who may be forced to sell and move from their long-term family home to support themselves financially because they have substantial assets in the form of excess land which is assessed as an asset for social security purposes.

In my electorate there are many families, indeed a substantial Maltese population, who have contributed to providing most of the Sydney region over recent years with our fruit and vegetable produce. These families have worked hard and paid their taxes. At a time when they are no longer earning an income but want to keep residing in their family home, they now have to go to welfare agencies. I have had a number of families in my office over recent years who have come for emergency payments and who have had to go to their children for help to pay their electricity bills and so on. This cannot continue, and this bill will indeed bring change for them.

The changes, which will come about from 1 January 2007, will mean that, where the land is two hectares and under, the person will have to satisfy the private land use test. That means that the land primarily has to be for private and domestic purposes. This exemption will be available to all income support recipients. Where the principal home and land is greater than two hectares, the pensioner will have to satisfy the ‘extended land use test’. The pensioner must also prove that he or she qualifies for the age pension, carer payment or DVA service pension and has a long-term, minimum 20-year, continuous attachment to the land and that effective use is being made of productive land to generate an income.

These amendments will counter the concerns that have grown over recent years about the increasing inequality between city and rural areas in the treatment of pensioners. There is no reason why older Australians on such properties and in rural residential areas should be forced to move from their principal homes. I know in Western Sydney, particularly around my electorate of Greenway, around Riverstone and Marsden Park, there are challenges because of the state Labor government’s decisions about land, green zones and so on that are affecting the capacity of these people to sell their land. So, even if they did want to sell their land at this point in time, that would not be a viable option for them.

This bill also encompasses changes to the crisis payment. Having worked for 25 years with families in Western Sydney that have faced issues surrounding domestic violence, I am very pleased to see these measures introduced. This measure establishes further grounds upon which to qualify for crisis payment. From 1 January 2007, people who have been subjected to domestic or family violence and who are receiving a social security income support payment may be paid a one-off crisis payment without having to establish a new home. Children and young people who are the silent victims of domestic violence will benefit from this.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2005 found that violence which occurs between partners may affect the children who also live in those homes. The survey found that 49 per cent of men and women who had experienced violence from a previous partner had children in their care, and 36 per cent said that their children had witnessed violence. In New South Wales, domestic assaults account for 35 per cent to 40 per cent of all assault incidents each year. The majority, 86.1 per cent, of domestic assaults in 2004 occurred on a residential premises.

Adults’ and children’s safety and protection are vital, so it is critical that appropriate policy that can assist parents with providing that safety both for themselves and for their children is created. This new payment will do that, since it will help to fund the cost of securing the individual’s home and other related expenses. This new payment will be practical and will enable individuals to secure safety for themselves and their children in their own homes. This measure will have an initial financial impact of $1.1 million over 2006-07 and a further $1.7 million up to 2010.

Finally, this bill will also encompass new search, entry and seizure powers for authorised officers under the family assistance law, social security laws and the Student Assistance Act 1973. This has come about to further prevent defrauding of social security. Even though Centrelink’s capability to better detect cases of fraud and routine non-compliance has greatly improved, there are cases of more serious abuse. While they are in the minority, Centrelink does require further enhanced powers. This new law will enable Centrelink to have those powers so that government agencies can better detect cases where social security payments have been incorrectly paid. This bill will bring about necessary assistance and support to key communities in our society.

Can I say finally that I am delighted that I was able to contribute towards the changes in this amendment, particularly the change to the curtilage rules. I know that many people in my constituency who are on semirural and rural properties will benefit from this. In recent weeks I have had the pleasure of being able to talk to some of those families who have come through my office in the last few years and who have been affected by this, and they are delighted with this change. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context