Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise today in support of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Connecting People with Jobs) Bill 2010. I think we would all agree that there is no dignity in unemployment and there is no dignity in welfare dependency. Dignity comes from work and a sense of achievement. I think it is interesting that, when you look at wellness rankings around the world—studies that are undertaken into health—one of the central determinants of a person’s health and wellness is whether they have a job. So it is really central to our society that we have people in work and who benefit from the intangible benefits that work provides, not just a pay packet. Australia has enjoyed 20 years of economic growth; however, not everyone has been able to benefit from the prosperity that this growth brings. It is something that bothers me greatly in other areas of society—the divides that emerge in our society.

One area I am particularly concerned about is the digital divide. Now that we are in the information age, the digital divide becomes so much more relevant to everything we do, from education to work to the ability to actually have a job and have long-term employment.

It is interesting to note that, in 2007, the professor of social work at UNSW, Tony Vinson, released a study of disadvantaged communities across Australia. The report, entitled Dropping off the edge, highlighted that disadvantage had become entrenched in many communities across Australia. It revealed that an individual’s postcode still plays a major role in shaping their lot in life, and I personally believe that is something we must all address.

Everyone in this parliament must make it their own mission to destroy once and for all the cycle of poverty that exists in communities across Australia. There is no silver bullet, unfortunately, when it comes to tackling the cycle of poverty. It is a falsehood to argue that one policy measure is enough to successfully wage war on the scourge that is poverty. Nevertheless, you cannot effectively tackle poverty unless you address its fundamental causes. The Vinson report emphasised the way in which low levels of educational attainment and high levels of unemployment have a direct effect on poverty.

This government understands the importance of education in tackling poverty and ensuring Australians enjoy the best quality of life. Central to this is education. It is the great enabler. It empowers individuals to overcome intergenerational unemployment, poverty and crime. For instance, in 2006 the OECD released a report entitled Starting strong II: early childhood education and care, which found that there is a direct correlation between an individual’s level of early childhood development and their entry into employment. That is why this government is undertaking important reforms to the early childhood education sector, to provide health checks for young children and guarantee universal access to high-quality preschool. I commend the minister for that. That is why we are committed to making every school a great school through measures such as trade training centres and the computers in schools program. That is why we set a national target that, by 2020, 20 per cent of higher education enrolments at undergraduate level will be of people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds.

Tackling unemployment is also central to our fight against poverty. Fifteen per cent of Australian families with children under 15 are jobless families. In more than 128,000 of these families the parents have not worked for the past three years. The 2009 OECD Employment Outlook highlights the implications of unemployment, particularly to Australian society. The report warns that in Australia unemployment is a far greater cause of poverty than in most other countries in the OECD. According to the OECD, in 2009, 55 per cent of jobless households in Australia were relatively poor, compared with an OECD average of 37 per cent. I think those statistics alone should make us all think that our mission here should certainly be to address that. The report also highlights the importance of employment in the fight against poverty. For instance, according to the OECD only three per cent of households with at least one person working are poor, and the working poor represent 15 per cent of the poor population, compared with the OECD average of over 60 per cent.

The University of Sydney’s Workplace Research Centre has published a significant amount of research into the issue of long-term unemployment. These reports consistently concluded that the longer an individual is unemployed, the harder it is for them to secure employment. I am sure we have all seen constituents for whom that is true. It is a double-edged sword: the long-term unemployed suffer a loss of confidence that makes it harder for them to find a job, whilst employers can be reluctant to hire people who have been out of work for a long time. Again, you can see why this leads to a cycle of poor economic and social health for our society.

In the current global economic climate, long-term unemployment continues to pose a major challenge. Although Australia has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the developed world, that is no cause for complacency. The economic stimulus helped shield many Australian jobs from the worst of the recession. In fact, it saved 200,000 Australians from losing their job and their financial security. However, we must remain vigilant. We must not forget there are still many people across the country who are doing it tough—indeed, I am sure, in our own electorates.

Data published by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations revealed a growth in the number of people who have been receiving Newstart allowance payments for over 12 months. The longer an individual is unemployed, the more likely it is that they will become a discouraged job seeker who will eventually give up on finding a job and become dependent on welfare payments. That is why this bill is so important. It is about tackling unemployment, particularly the long-term kind. In doing so, this bill is an important component of the government’s commitment to destroying the cycle of poverty. The Connecting People with Jobs initiative is a two-year relocation trial that will encourage job seekers in areas of high unemployment who have been unemployed for longer than 12 months to relocate to take a full-time job, including an apprenticeship. As part of this package, job seekers who relocate to metro areas will be reimbursed $3,000, whilst job seekers who move to regional areas will receive $6,000. Job seekers who relocate with their dependent children will receive an additional $3,000. As an incentive for employers to take part in this program, a relocation wage subsidy of $2,500 will be offered.

The bill also creates an incentive for individuals to stay in their new location. This bill amends the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to extend to 12 weeks the period of nonpayment of income support should a relocating job seeker leave their job within the first six months without good cause. I note, however, that Centrelink will have the discretion to reduce or not impose this 12-week unemployment non-payment period on a case-by-case basis, as it should be, such as when it would place a vulnerable job seeker in great financial hardship. As a result of the Fair Work Act we can also be sure that individuals who find employment as a result of this scheme will enjoy a decent wage and fair working conditions.

The Connecting People with Jobs initiative will have a number of important economic benefits by increasing our labour force participation rates. As our population ages we need to increase the level of employment participation in order to remain competitive and maintain our economic growth. By assisting the long-term unemployed to find work this bill is part of the government’s plan to increase Australia’s participation rate and boost our international competitiveness. Importantly, this bill ensures that people across Australia who have not enjoyed the benefits of the past two decades of economic growth will now be in a position to do so because they have a job.

I strongly support this bill because I believe it will help transform the lives of some of the most disadvantaged members of Australian society—the long-term unemployed—and in doing so it will help to tackle the vicious cycle of poverty. It will boost our labour force participation rates and, by helping the long-term unemployed find work, we can ensure that everyone benefits from the prosperity created by Australia’s economic growth.

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