Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to voice my concerns on behalf of those people who are not easily categorised within the government’s welfare system. These are people who are required to register on Newstart. They are seeking employment, yet they are not job ready. This is through no fault of theirs; it is the system which is letting them down. The system does not allow for exceptions and the individuals I refer to fall outside the system.

Perhaps I can best explain by way of illustration. I have one constituent who visited my office seeking assistance. In my 10 years in the law and in my 17 years in parliament, I have never seen a person so in need of special assistance. This person had the shakes and was obviously incredibly stressed, yet he was still required to look for work. He has a major depressive illness as well as other problems. In my considered view, he was more than entitled to a disability pension, yet he had fallen through the cracks. His application was rejected and he is now in the process of appealing.

What sort of system do we have in this country if it allows this person to suffer so much? This person was by any definition obviously unable to work. I cannot understand why there is no discretion for the key decision makers within the Department of Human Services. I have several constituents—you might call them regulars—who desperately want to work. They visit my office or phone in at least once a week—sometimes even four times a day. In some cases, they are not work ready, perhaps suffering from an illness that they do not acknowledge, yet they are required to conform to Newstart rules and to look for work. They do not understand the process they are required to go through and they experience extraordinary frustration and grief.

I am reminded of my time as a legal aid solicitor and barrister. There were often people with mental health problems who did not fit the profile and fell outside the system. They suffered because of it. Jail became the only alternative. There are still many people with mental problems in jail today who should not be there. I read through the material on the department’s website. On paper it seems that there is provision for these unique individuals. The sad fact is that the reality is completely different. We must and should have a welfare system which has the ability to recognise and act on individual circumstances. We should have a system that caters for those who have specific difficulties and who face unique barriers to working. There should be more discretion within the system for the competent officers that work within the department; it is needed. People are falling through the cracks, and it is creating great problems for particular individuals who are the most vulnerable in our community. (Time expired)