Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week another important step has been taken towards the implementation of budget measures targeting social disadvantage in Rockhampton. Yesterday the House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass the Social Security Legislation Amendment Bill, clearing the way for the extension of income management to our city. The bill specifically identifies Rockhampton as one of the communities where income management of welfare payments can be invoked by Centrelink to assist people in meeting their responsibilities as parents and job seekers. The change will take effect from 1 July 2012.

Rockhampton was included as one of those targeted communities in recognition of the pockets of entrenched disadvantage and high unemployment in our area. We do not want to see people being left behind at a time when our region is experiencing economic growth. That growth is creating demand for skilled employees and opportunities for local people if they are given the appropriate support and incentives to get into the workforce. To start with, income management will apply to three groups of people: those referred by child protection authorities when a child is considered at risk of neglect; people assessed by Centrelink social workers as being vulnerable to financial crisis; and people who volunteer for income management as a way of managing their budget to meet their basic needs.

Income management mandates that a proportion of a person's Centrelink payment be quarantined for use on essentials like rent, food, utilities and clothing. This is especially important in the case of families raising children, to ensure that welfare payments are meeting their needs. The government is confident that income management can be a positive tool for helping people to stabilise their lives. We know this because income management has been in use not just in the Northern Territory but also in suburban Perth. The evaluations there showed measurable improvements in school attendance, increases in the amount of money being spent on fresh food and corresponding decreases in spending on alcohol and gambling. The strongest endorsement is the fact that the largest group of people on income management are those who have chosen voluntarily to receive their Centrelink payments that way to help manage their family budgets and put their lives back on track. By supporting parents to provide stable and nurturing home environments we give children the best possible chance to succeed at school and follow a pathway into the workforce.

Income management is just one of the measures the government is funding in Rockhampton to overcome disadvantage and especially to make sure children are not condemned to lives of chaos and insecurity. A number of other initiatives are already well underway in our area. Firstly, and very importantly, our government action leader, Debbie Sear, has been hard at work since last July coordinating all the government and community agencies that provide support to disadvantaged families to make sure that people can get access to the support they need, whether it is help with accommodation, child care or training. That might not sound like such a big deal, but for years the question has been asked in Rockhampton: with all the money that seems to be spent on addressing antisocial behaviour or other issues, why don't we see results?

Too often there has been duplication and lack of cooperation and coordination between all the different agencies and levels of government, leaving big gaps for people to fall through. Debbie Sear is driving long-lasting change in the way our local organisations work together to make sure problems are identified. Then all the players bring what they can to achieving a solution—not just each doing their own thing in isolation without working to a measurable goal. In addition, since January Centrelink has been interviewing teenage mums to see how they can be supported to stay engaged with education or training and to help them link up with groups that can give them parenting advice or just some social connections with other mums. I have been told that this is proving to be very positive with most of the young mums eager to continue their education. Even those who are doing it the toughest are very motivated to take up the support that is on offer because they are like the rest of us—they want what is best for their babies. Meanwhile the Smith Family has started work on the other part of the program, called Communities for Children, which deals with early intervention for families with children up to 12 who are at risk.

I laid down the challenge to my ministerial colleagues two years ago. They heard that too many young people in Rockhampton had given up on themselves and were turning to lawlessness and even violence. Some might say that I should not have washed Rockhampton's dirty laundry in public but this package of welfare reform and community support is the direct result of those representations and I am proud to be associated with them.