Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, I rise to speak on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Further Strengthening Job Seeker Compliance) Bill 2015. This bill is a testament to the hard work of the member for Cowper, who invested a great deal of time as the Assistant Minister for Employment.

The changes that this bill introduces build on the successful no-show no-pay reforms agreed to by the parliament just last year. The coalition government has taken a responsible position in this bill, and taxpayers expect, I believe, that job seekers meet all of their mutual obligations. Unfortunately, legislation enacted under the previous government has facilitated a dodging of mutual obligation by a minority of job seekers. This bill seeks to address that legislative oversight by Labor and seeks to hold this disengaged minority to account for their mutual obligations as recipients of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. The current state of affairs is not sufficient, and those opposite so often blame the structures of our society and the inequality of outcome. Unlike the coalition, Labor does not believe in personal responsibility, and perhaps that is why the opposition leader can sleep at night.

This government takes a vastly different approach to personal responsibility. We believe in the agency of the individual. We believe in social mobility, and we believe in personal responsibility. This is not a radical position. In fact, it is completely in touch, I believe, with what most—the significant majority—of everyday Australians think and believe. Labor is not ideologically equipped to develop an effective and efficient job seeker compliance framework. The measures taken in this bill are fundamentally consistent with the coalition's longstanding belief in personal responsibility and the innate worth of the individual.

The ALP and the Greens are simply, in my opinion, unable to deliver positive outcomes in this very important public space. I do not doubt the intellectual faculties of the members opposite, but what I do doubt is that the ALP can deliver compliance frameworks that increase accountability for individuals whilst maintaining effective outcomes for job seekers. Hidden under all the spin delivered by those opposite is a fundamental belief that society is the problem—that the structures of society are the cause of the actions of our citizens. I categorically refute this belief. This perverse notion that the individual has no agency in their own affairs is primarily wrong and strikes at the heart of why the ALP and the Greens lack the capacity to deliver accountable and effective compliance measures across the social security space.

This bill seeks to provide better outcomes for all Australians. We, in the coalition, take our obligation to the taxpayer very, very seriously. We understand that our citizens work hard for the money we extract from them in taxes, and that is why we believe in lower, simpler and fairer taxation, something those opposite simply cannot maintain.

Part of our obligation to the Australian taxpayer is to get the most out of each and every dollar we collect. The taxpayers expect nothing less. This bill is utterly consistent with this undertaking. Whilst those opposite did nothing but write blank cheques, cheques they could not pay whilst they were in government, the coalition is committed to ensuring that our expenditure is responsible and delivers better outcomes for the taxpayer and in turn leads to the government providing a surplus for the people of Australia.

We are the party of the hand-up, not the handout, and that is why legislation such as this bill is crucial in delivering better outcomes for Australian workers and job seekers. This bill reflects the deeply held belief in the coalition that Australia's income support system is there as a safety net for people who genuinely cannot find a job. This safety net should be the last resort, not the first option. I repeat: the safety net that the taxpayers of this country provide should be the last resort, not the first option.

Whilst we on this side of the House fundamentally trust in individual enterprise and in smaller government, we also fundamentally believe in accountability. We believe in the responsibility of the individual to their obligations as recipients of the tax dollars of the working public. This bill ensures that the generous social welfare system that we have in place in this country receives due oversight and enacts measures that will preserve the integrity of our social security system.

The legislation that this bill is building on, the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Job Seeker Compliance Framework) Act 2014, saw attendance rates at reconnection appointments for job seekers increase from 65 per cent in 2013 to 90 per cent in June of this year. This is a really important point to note. Another important figure to note is that in 2009-10, when the waiver provision enacted under Labor was first introduced, only 45 per cent of penalties for refusing suitable jobs were waived. We are now faced with waiver rates of 78 per cent in the years of 2013-14.

It is evident that the status quo does not deliver sufficient deterrence to refusing to work. There are currently individuals exploiting the income support system provided to them by hardworking taxpayers, and this bill will hold that disengaged minority to account for their failure to adequately utilise the income support and job seeking program. In a fashion which is utterly consistent with our promises to the Australian people, we are committed to reinvigorating mutual obligation for job seekers in receipt of income support. Importantly, this legislation does not punish those who are doing the right thing by the Australian taxpayer; rather it targets the disengaged minority who choose not to engage with the workplace yet reap the dividend of the endeavour of their fellow citizens. This disengaged minority has for too long been unaccountable. We as legislators, elected by each of our regions across this country, have a duty to the taxpayer to ensure that we are spending their hard-earned money wisely and frugally.

Not only is there a strong economic demand for more accountability in the social welfare space; there is also a strong ethical case for a greater level of mutual obligation for job seekers in receipt of income support. Income support is an essential part of our social welfare system. It should be a hand-up to those who have fallen through the cracks. It is a mechanism which has delivered great outcomes for many Australians over many, many years. But it is not a blank cheque for a disengaged minority hell-bent on exploiting the system. Part of our civic obligation as citizens of Australia is that we contribute to the Commonwealth so that we all may advance together. Whilst it is true that we have an extensive social welfare system which acts as a safety net, it is not an infinite resource that we have at our disposal. In the same way as the government has an obligation to the taxpayer to spend their money wisely, so too do those job seekers on income support. No fair-minded Australian would have a different view to that.

This bill is not, as those opposite continue to suggest, an attack on the socially disadvantaged. No. It is in fact in defence of them. This bill defends the vast majority of Australians on income support. We on this side of the House have the backbone and the courage to make the right decision when it comes to welfare. We strongly believe that whilst we have rights we also, each of us, have responsibilities. We strongly believe that the disengaged minority, who should be proactively seeking employment, are in fact reneging on their responsibility as Australian citizens, and that is a situation that we, the coalition, will not abide. There is an obligation for the government to ensure accountability in the social welfare space. There is no question about that. This is a fundamental responsibility of government.

Let me just address some of the measures in the bill. There are some key measures in this bill that will enable government to deliver on our covenant with the Australian taxpayer. This bill will introduce financial penalties for failing to enter an employment pathway plan. This measure will aid in holding the disengaged minority to account for their actions. The coalition strongly believes in jobs and growth, and this measure will act as an incentive to engage with and utilise an employment pathway plan. The employment pathway plan is a mechanism which delivers better outcomes for job seekers and thus better chances of ultimate employment. This measure delivers accountability for the taxpayers.

This bill introduces financial penalties for failing to behave in an appropriate manner at an appointment—common sense and normal courtesy. We are the party of personal responsibility, and this measure holds the individual to account for their actions. This is targeted not at the majority of our income recipients, who overwhelmingly act in a responsible manner; rather it is an incentive for the disengaged minority to act in accordance with what Australians would call normal, responsible behaviour.

This measure delivers accountability for the individual. This bill delivers more immediate penalties in activities such as Work for the Dole or job interviews. The current arrangements do not facilitate or deliver immediate financial penalties. The lack of immediacy in penalties detracts from the incentive to work and, hence, substantially hampers the efforts of previous legislation. This provision increases more immediate penalties and thus ensures that penalties have the desired effect. Isn't that what legislation should be about—getting results and having the desired effect? Otherwise, it is simply a lot of words on pieces of paper. This provision substantially improves the effect of accountability mechanisms. This bill provides a more streamlined and simplified compliance framework. This bill seeks to make the system easier to navigate. This measure seeks to assist job seekers with understanding the often opaque social services space.

Through removing redundant provisions and through simplifying the language of penalties, job seeker compliance will be far easier to achieve. This is an important measure because it goes hand in hand with the more substantial accountability measures in the bill. This measure will ensure the system is easier to use and delivers the right outcomes for job seekers. It will ensure penalties are delivered to those who are disengaged with the job seeking process, but it will not interfere with those who are seeking it in the right way. A simpler and fairer system will benefit job seekers and taxpayers at the same time, while ensuring better rates of compliance through greater accountability.

This bill delivers on the coalition's undertaking with Australian taxpayers to reinvigorate mutual obligation for job seekers in receipt of income support. It is not an attack on our socially disadvantaged; rather, as I said before, it is a strong defence of them. It strengthens the integrity of our income support system. A more accountable system of income support will remove the unhelpful stigma associated with being a recipient of income support. At the end of the day, we all want more jobs for all Australians. Through preserving the integrity of the income support system, the government is taking steps toward a more sustainable, efficient and effective job seeker scheme. We remain committed to growth and jobs, and that is why this bill is so important. This bill delivers on our commitment to delivering responsible and fair government for all Australians.

We in the coalition strongly believe in giving each and every Australian a hand up, not a hand out, and this bill will deliver better outcomes for all Australians. It is of critical importance that each and every dollar spent in social security delivers greater opportunity. The system should facilitate employment, not promote disengagement with the workforce. This bill goes some way to bringing our job seeker framework back into balance and it is a bill that I firmly and proudly support. I commend the bill to the House.

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