Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In concluding my remarks in respect of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009 can I say that I know the minister is committed to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and I commend her for the work she has already undertaken to date in respect of doing just that. But I simply point out to the minister that, from my discussions with members of the Aboriginal community and the concerns that they have expressed to me, this is a measure that should be closely monitored—and I am sure it will be—and regularly evaluated so as to ensure that there are not any unforeseen negative consequences. It is one of those measures that I am sure we will all learn from in years to come. To some extent I expect there will be a degree of trial and error as you go with it. For those reasons I think it is one of those measures that needs to be closely monitored. Having said all that, as I said earlier on in my speech on this matter, I believe, given that it is being undertaken in conjunction with all the steps associated with closing the gap, it is a measure that is worth supporting, and I commend the bill to the House.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009 is a very important bill for the House to consider, and I certainly join with the member for Makin in supporting it. This bill irons out the harshness of the previous government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response. It irons out all the nastiness of it. Secondly, and most importantly, I think it launches a quiet revolution in our attitudes to social security and welfare. This quiet revolution, which has gone on largely beneath the radar of the media and to some extent the community, really does reflect the values of this government and the values of the great majority of hardworking Australians. It is a tremendously important bill and the minister should be commended for bringing it before the House. It is far reaching and will have a great positive effect on all of Australia’s communities, in particular its poorest communities.

I would like for a moment to talk about ironing out the harshness of the previous government’s Emergency Response. It is not unreasonable for everybody to expect equal treatment before the law, and it is not unreasonable for citizens to expect equal treatment from their government. This is important both for the people who have been affected by the previous government’s measures—those people who were affected by the laws that were implemented through the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act—and for those who were not affected by those laws but perhaps should have been. That is important because we do not want to set up a double standard for the people. We do not want to set up a situation where a set of rules applies to one group of people but not to another. It is tremendously important that rules apply fairly and consistently across the board. It is a very Australian notion. To maintain the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act would be both unfair and unsustainable. So I commend the minister for taking the action that she has.

In terms of income management, there are often a lot of reactionary headlines whenever welfare is discussed within the community—often some rather intemperate calls for harsh acts or measures to toughen up on people. In my experience, most people want a better life for themselves and an even better life for their kids. Recently we had a jobs expo run by Centrelink at the Playford Civic Centre in the heart of my electorate in Elizabeth. Before it was opened there was a line-up. There was a line-up to get into a jobs expo. Once you got in, it was like going to the Royal Adelaide Show. All of the stores were full. All of the corridors were packed. You could not move in the place. There were 2,500 people through in no time at all. There was a queue five deep in front of the jobs board. That is a tremendous sign that working-class communities, communities that have been damaged by previous recessions and damaged by intergenerational unemployment, want to work. That is what they want to do. They want to do work. Often they just need the opportunity. I would like to thank Annie White from Elizabeth Centrelink for helping to organise that event and also Pippa Webb, their local employment coordinator. They are doing great work on the ground. I did think to myself what good might have been done if we had done a jobs expo during boom times. We might have done a lot of good, and we might not have been behind the eight ball so much.

Most people want to work. Often they do not get the chance. Sometimes they fall into a cycle of hopelessness and despair, and other issues begin to intrude on their lives—injury and ill health, poor decision making, poor budgeting, poor lifestyle choices, bad behaviour, lawlessness, antisocial behaviour, homelessness, domestic violence, drug abuse and that sort of thing. Often it only takes one damaged person or one damaged family to disrupt a street, a school or a community. Often not much gets done about such behaviour, tragically. The local community watches, sometimes aghast, often powerless to intervene. Often there are only sporadic, incoherent or inconsistent interventions from the three levels of government.

Under the previous government we had big cash payments for baby bonuses and the like, which came without any obligations. We are talking about $4,000 in one hit going to families which were on very low incomes and had very low earning capabilities. Often the money was spent responsibly. I met many people who spent it responsibly. But we heard plenty of stories about when it was not, when it was spent on drugs or given to boyfriends. Sometimes people were fleeced out of it or they made poor choices. That offended many of the hardworking families in my electorate. It made people quite anxious about the integrity of the social security system. This bill begins to put the government’s values and the community’s values back into social security. In that respect it really does represent a great leap forward. It says that if you are on the wrong track, if you are making the wrong choices, if you have lost hope, if you are letting your kids down or if you are vulnerable then the community, through the government, has both a right and an obligation to intervene.

This bill will send a consistent message to the entire community that if you get social security you have an obligation to be a good citizen and a good person, to have good values, to seek help if you are in trouble, to try and get work, to make sure your kids go to school, to make sure they are fed and safe and to make sure that you are, as best you can, making the right choices. These are pretty basic Australian values, but for too long they have been absent from the social security system. This bill is probably one of the most important bills to come before this parliament. I think it really will change Australia and, in particular, some of the communities I represent, communities which for too long have really worried about the integrity of the social security system and the open-ended and sometimes valueless assistance people get and which wanted the system to respond. Today the minister and the government have responded to that desire.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank all of the members who have contributed to this debate, particularly the member for Wakefield. His contribution right at the end of the debate really encapsulated what this bill is all about. TheSocial Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009 is a very significant piece of legislation. It is landmark reform to the social security system. I know that the member for Wakefield, in representing his constituency, understands that this can help us work with people who are not only very disadvantaged but often very disengaged to really confront the difficulties that they find themselves in. The principles behind this legislation really do go to the heart of what we are on about. It is about doing everything we possibly can to see people engaged in work, caring for their children, participating in their communities and, above all else, being responsible citizens, being responsible for their children and making sure that the purpose of the welfare system is honoured.

The bill provides that from 1 July 2010 we will see a new scheme of income management rolled out, in the first instance, in the Northern Territory. This will be a first step in seeing it rolled out to other disadvantaged regions across the country. Very importantly, this scheme is designed to be non-discriminatory and is targeted at individuals at risk. The new arrangements will replace the current scheme of income management that applies only in prescribed Northern Territory Indigenous communities. This bill places income management on a new and now sustainable basis. The proposed scheme will extend the benefits of income management right across the Northern Territory. This is a very significant change and one that has been some time coming. We want to see the benefits of income management extended to people who live in the towns and cities of Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and, of course, those parts of the Northern Territory where it has not applied to date.

When we came to government there were only around 1,400 people on income management in the Northern Territory. But, as a result of our government’s commitment to continuing and maintaining the Northern Territory Emergency Response, the present income management scheme now applies to around 16,000 income support recipients in the 73 prescribed communities. The new scheme is estimated to apply to around 20,000 income support recipients in the Northern Territory, who as a result of this legislation are going to see the benefits of income management. The scheme will apply to a number of different groups of income support recipients, all of whom are at risk of social and economic disengagement—to income support recipients under the age of 25, to the long-term unemployed, to long-term recipients of parenting payment, to people who are assessed as vulnerable by Centrelink social workers, to those parents on income support who are referred by child protection authorities and also to those who seek access to voluntary income management.

One of the important changes in this bill is that it also provides a pathway out of income management for those who show that they do want to engage and be responsible, particularly for their children and for seeking work. The pathways are designed to provide incentives for those who are engaging in study or employment and, similarly, for parents who are able to demonstrate responsible parenting, particularly to make sure that we provide an incentive for parents to get their children to school.

There will be access to financial counselling, and money management services will be available to those who want to improve their budgeting skills. There will be a matched savings incentive introduced to encourage people on compulsory income management to establish savings. Those on voluntary income management will have access to an incentive payment to remain in the scheme and to access the benefits of income management. The reforms help to tackle the very destructive intergenerational cycle of passive welfare. This really is fundamental to what we are on about. The reforms are entirely focused on providing assistance to those members of our society who are the most vulnerable and at risk. They are, particularly, children.

The government has embarked on these very significant welfare reforms because the direct payment of all welfare moneys to individuals is not in many circumstances meeting the objectives that I think we as a society have set for our welfare system. It is the case—I agree with the member for Wakefield and I think most Australians take the view—that welfare money should be spent on the essentials of life, particularly when it is available for children. The essentials are things like food, rent, other essential bills and school uniforms. I think it is the case that the Australian people think that our children deserve no less than this.

This bill also contains a very important commitment that the government made to introduce legislation so that the Racial Discrimination Act and the state and territory antidiscrimination laws apply to the Northern Territory Emergency Response and to the Cape York welfare reform trial. Once the Racial Discrimination Act is reinstated, all of the Northern Territory Emergency Response measures will be subject to the requirements of the Racial Discrimination Act and must comply with its provisions. The bill makes a number of changes to the other Northern Territory Emergency Response measures, including restrictions on alcohol and prohibited material and the community stores licensing scheme, so that these measures are improved, made more sustainable and are more clearly special measures.

It will be necessary to make sure that there is an effective transition to the redesigned measures before the Racial Discrimination Act exemption is lifted. The new income management scheme is designed to be non-discriminatory. The Racial Discrimination Act will apply to the new income management scheme from 1 July 2010, when it is introduced. The Racial Discrimination Act suspension in relation to existing Northern Territory Emergency Response measures will be lifted on 31 December 2010 to enable an effective transition to the new arrangements. These changes complement the government’s focus on closing the gap; as the member for Makin emphasised, we are delivering unprecedented action and investment in education, health, housing, jobs and remote service delivery, with all of these areas receiving a very significant increase in investment.

All of these changes in the Northern Territory follow very extensive consultations with Indigenous Australians. These consultations were unprecedented in their scale and in their intensity. They were conducted in around 500 meetings over a series of months. The key message that we received from Indigenous people in these consultations is that they really want to accept a greater level of both personal and community responsibility, and the reforms contained in this legislation really respond to those calls.

I am concerned that the opposition has signalled that they intend to vote against this bill today. I hope that they will reconsider that position, because these reforms that we are proposing make the Northern Territory Emergency Response sustainable. They extend income management beyond the original 73 prescribed communities. The reforms provide very strong incentives to those on income support to engage and participate in study, training, employment and responsible parenting. They will extend the number of people benefiting from income management. They maintain and improve the other core measures of the Northern Territory Emergency Response, and the reforms bring the Northern Territory Emergency Response legislation into compliance with the Racial Discrimination Act. A failure to support this bill would put all of this at risk. More importantly, it would place at risk the lives of innumerable women and children as well as those other people who are disengaged in the Northern Territory in the first instance—people who are at risk from poor nutrition, financial exploitation or the effects of alcohol abuse. I call on all members opposite to give serious reconsideration to their position. I commend the bill to the House.

Question put:

That this bill be now read a second time.