Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

My questions relate to both, with a bit of a crossover, if that is okay. My question is about the Newstart measures for the under 30s, how they are to apply and what is going on with this measure. I am particularly concerned about the revelations in Senate estimates where the social services department confirmed that, with penalties, some people will actually be up to 11 months with no payment whatsoever. Can the minister confirm that that is the case and explain to me how those penalties have come about and how we end up with 11 months with no payment?

I am also very particularly concerned about how this would apply to, say, a young woman under 30 who does not meet one of the exemptions but who finds herself in the early stages of pregnancy. Will she be exempt or will she face somewhere between six and 11 months of no payment whilst she is pregnant? What sort of analysis has the department or the government done of services that these people will need to rely on? I understand that there is some emergency relief money that has been quarantined but that this is not new money or additional money; it is actually existing money within the budget that has been put aside. What sorts of services and support are in place for these people to survive from six to 11 months with no money, particularly pregnant young women who may be caught up in this measure? We are very concerned on this side of the chamber about how this will apply and I would appreciate the minister giving a detailed and frank answer.

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