Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to add my support tonight to the concept of income management. The reality is that right around this country, from different groups, different communities, different places, there are parents who are making decisions that are not always in the best interests of their child. Whether that is through human frailty or an intent to put their own priorities first and above that of their children, the outcomes can be the same. The children finish second, and that is a tragedy. It is something that we need to guard against.

I have said in the past that I believe there should be more times when, if a child is in danger or is in circumstances of such negativity in the home, children should be taken from their parents to protect them, to make their lives a better opportunity for them in the future. But it is the case that after times of crime or drug use or abuse of various substances, in circumstances where the parents are not making good decisions, then there is that place for income management. When the agencies have identified the families, the parents or the carers who need to be assisted then that is certainly the case and that should occur.

I welcome the fact that income management started as part of the Northern Territory intervention and continues today. I hope to see it rolled across the whole country, not only where we just say a particular area needs support and everyone in that area should be on income management, but also in those circumstances where state agencies have identified the opportunities for families to be assisted under an obligation, if nothing else. If they have identified those families then it does not matter what colour their skin is or what race or from what background they are. The important thing is that we have the will in this place to step in and do what needs to be done for the sake of the children. I certainly appreciate that there is wide bipartisan support for exactly these sorts of measures.

As part of this scenario, we know there are times when people will go out there and decide what the priorities are for their family. Sometimes it can be cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or maybe it is gambling. There are a lot of different vices in many respects that demonstrate that a person has a skewed view of the world. Those vices are the high priority and the needs of the child, whether it is good food on the table or clean clothes on the children, tend to come second. That is a tragedy and again it goes to the point that, in all the cases when families are identified as being in need of assistance such as income support, this is where it comes in.

We know that here has been success. There have been people who have embraced the obligation put upon them and have risen above the old circumstances under which they lived. But we need to be careful as well. People need to never forget that in these cases of adversity or when things are going wrong in their lives, the first thing they should do is look in the mirror and decide what part they have played. We need to be very careful in this country that we do not always look for someone who has failed or has these sorts of issues. What has society done wrong? The reality is that we need to look at ourselves first. We need to have that sense of personal responsibility before we look for others to blame. So we need to be careful that the victim culture in this country does not let people off the hook, so that they do not embrace their own weaknesses, so that they can work on improving themselves to get themselves out of trouble with the help of society.

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