Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also wish to take note of the government’s response to the report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into poverty and financial hardship in Australia. I want to reiterate that it is nearly two years since the committee brought down this report. I remind senators that there were 250 submissions and 17 days of hearings throughout the country, during which a lot of Australians had an opportunity to put before their elected representatives what they thought some of the difficulties were for men and women and children in this country.

One group that came and gave evidence before us in Sydney—and Senator Humphries may recall this—were the Country Women’s Association. The Country Women’s Association would hardly be full of bolshies or Australian Democrats or Greens. They came and gave us evidence about their views about what was happening in country New South Wales. They told us about the degree of rural poverty and the difficulties that people were having in maintaining a roof over their heads. These were not the types of public service sector people that the government says are out there all the time and tries to lampoon. These were women who were concerned about what they saw as a growing level of poverty in this country.

It is an insult to have this report responded to two years after we brought it down. It is a very cursory and, in ways, childish dismissal of our report. Most of the first part of the government’s response is telling us how good the government is in terms of its economic policies. You would have to look and see whether it is actually referring to the report or to a compilation of government press releases. That is what most of it seems to be.