Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank honourable senators for their contributions and especially Senator Judith Adams for the very well considered contribution that she has just made. I understand that Senators Evans and Stephens were in fact on the speakers list but kindly dropped off to assist the management of time in this chamber, and I want to place on record my thanks and the government’s thanks for that.

This Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2006 will ensure that the policy intention of the welfare to work changes contained in the Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) Act 2005 are fully realised and consistently applied. Terminology and provisions in the social security law need to be replaced, amended or repealed to clarify the policy intention in relation to certain welfare to work measures. These measures build consistency across working age payments. These include allowing partner allowance recipients who have a temporary incapacity exemption to have access to the pharmaceutical allowance and allowing single principal carer parents who are bereaving the death of a child and are receiving Newstart allowance or youth allowance to continue to receive the same rate they were receiving before their child died for another 14 weeks after the death of the child.

This bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to giving people of working age every opportunity to move from welfare dependency into work. These reforms recognise the fact that the best form of welfare is a job. For the first time the Social Security Act will provide for the assessment of people based on their capacity and availability to work. This is a significant shift from the old paradigm where people were assessed first and foremost on their incapacity or lack of availability to work. This approach has led to a situation where many Australians of working age have been condemned to a life on welfare. Our community should never presume that working age people on income support do not have the same desire that other Australians of working age have to succeed in life and participate in our nation’s prosperity when, in fact, most people on income support are keen to work and to find a job to match their capabilities. The government will preserve a well-targeted social safety net while at the same time encourage working age people to find jobs and remain employed. The government is strongly committed to these principles. With record economic and employment growth, there has never been a better time to provide the necessary assistance and support for people of working age to enter the labour force and secure paid employment.

There are also a number of important reasons for seeking to increase labour force participation. These include the need to address the issue of a rapidly ageing population and the current skilled and unskilled labour shortages in which business is struggling to fill vacancies and satisfy demand for goods and services. Without action now, Australia could face a shortage of nearly 200,000 workers over the next five years. With a record unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent—and that is a record low, the lowest rate in 30 years—there is now an increased opportunity for all to participate in the economic and social life of Australia.

The challenge of implementing welfare reform is to obtain the right balance between obligations and support. This must be accompanied by appropriate incentives and support mechanisms to ensure that job seekers continue to be able to be provided with services and support. These will go a long way to helping job seekers prepare for work, find a job and stay employed. The government believes that its reforms strike this balance. The majority of Australians would agree that it is not unreasonable to expect those people who are available and capable of work to participate in the workforce. The economic and social arguments for such reform are both compelling and necessary. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.