Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this important bill before the House, the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Income Support) Bill 2021. I want to raise my voice regarding what the government is proposing—and, obviously, what my community has been concerned about for some time—regarding the issue of Newstart and the associated reforms that we are dealing with today.

The first thing I want to do is place on record my thanks and gratitude for the many service and community organisations that work across the south-west suburbs of Brisbane and the Ipswich regions who provide critical support for families and individuals who are in need. I've had the privilege and honour of working alongside many church community organisations and frontline workers, particularly during the COVID crisis, who have been there at the end of a phone call or have been running services to support some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in the community. The work that they do and the support that they offer is truly uplifting. Sitting and hearing their stories of, day after day, dealing with some of the most complex social needs and support services that are required by so many in my community—with rising poverty rates, and, particularly rising children's poverty rates—is one of the great privileges that I have as a member of parliament. Hearing their concerns and understanding the pressures that they deal with—not only the people who work in the sector but also the many, many families across the Oxley electorate that are desperate for work and desperate for income support—I understand that they are concerned and fearful for the future. With over one million people unemployed and more than two million people looking for additional work in one of the worst recessions that our country has faced, I think it is time that the government heard those concerns.

I want to talk a bit about some of the provisions that are in the bill and what this will mean as impacts for my community. I want to remind the government, who are patting themselves on the back about increasing the base social security rate, that once the coronavirus supplement ends unemployed Australians will actually face a $100 a week cut to their household income. We're not going to stand in the road of anyone keeping the previous increase, because people are doing it tough now; they are struggling.

I want to put this in perspective. Once this measly payment is implemented, 1.3 million Australians or more will have just $3.57 extra to spend each day. You can't buy a return bus ticket with that, so what can you buy? A tin of soup or a tube of Colgate toothpaste or a pack of soap, but you can't have it all—not for $3.57 per day. These are the choices facing 1.3 million people right now. When JobKeeper ends, there are around 5,000 people in the Oxley electorate alone who will be cut adrift by the Morrison government. I've spoken to a number personally. They say they may not be able to keep all of the staff on their payroll. The businesses are concerned about what the government is planning to do with JobSeeker when they go over a cliff. So this will potentially mean even more people out of work. There are not enough jobs to go around, and the government know this, but they are simply making it worse. Well, I want to stand here and say that I hear what those concerns are, and I'll continue to fight for those residents.

While many Australians are or will be unemployed through no fault of their own, they're being punished by this government, which is putting in heartless measures attacking people who would never have been out of a job if better policy had been put in place to protect them. There are issues in this bill that I have concerns with, including the 'dob in a jobseeker' hotline. That has already raised concerns about the new reporting measures being so heavy-handed. Businesses have come out against those procedures, and I'm not quite sure that, from an ethical or employer standpoint, it is a good idea.

Whilst we won't be opposing this bill today, it is important to put on record the concerns that I have received from local businesses and local community organisations that have been working so hard alongside so many people to get them through the coronavirus pandemic. I'll always speak out for those who don't have a voice, and I'll always try to make sure that they have a suitable, decent living wage or at least income support to make their lives easier.

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