Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Communications (Senator Fifield) to a question without notice asked by Senator Siewert today relating to carer and disability support payments.

I asked him about cuts to payments for carers and people with disability. This is national Anti-Poverty Week and also National Carers Week. In the very week where would we would expect a little bit more attention, support and commitment to the carers of this nation and to those living in poverty, what we have seen is the new Minister for Social Services start talking about further cuts in his portfolio. Not only has he talked about further cuts in his portfolio—as if that is not bad enough because that is the department that provides services to some of the most vulnerable in our community—but also he has specifically hinted at cuts to carer payments and payments to people with a disability. This is in the very week that we are talking about poverty. This is the very week that we should paying more attention to those who are living in poverty—the 2.5 million people who are living in poverty. The ACOSS report released last Sunday articulates that we should putting in place a national poverty plan to lift those people out of poverty. Instead, what we hear from the government is: 'No, we're not going to have a national poverty plan. We need jobs. Jobs are the answer and that is what we're working on.' Well, guess what, Minister? The evidence shows that poverty is a major barrier to finding a job. Shouldn't we be addressing issues around property and the causes of poverty, and provide services that support people living in poverty?

We have a government that believe in this so-called trickle-down effect. That worked last time—not! When we were going through the boom, we did not have the trickle-down effect from those who made a heap of money out of the boom. We saw poverty grow. We saw inequality grow, both wealth inequality and income inequality.

The government obviously do not appreciate that carers also are more likely to be living in poverty and people with disability are more likely to be living in poverty—the two areas where the government is hinting they are going to cut. The minister would not answer the question as to whether they intend cutting payments to carers and people with disability. The government have not ruled that out. They went on about how they need to repair the budget. It is the same old, worn-out record that the previous government articulated.

For all those people who thought Mr Turnbull was going to be a more sympathetic, more compassionate Prime Minister, well, I have news for them. This Prime Minister is pursuing the same sorts of approaches as the previous Prime Minister did to providing supports for the most vulnerable in our community. Almost straight after the Senate kicked out the five-week waiting period for income support for young people, that legislation was back in the House of Representatives. Now, his new Minister for Social Services is talking about cuts for some of the most vulnerable in our community—for carers and people living with disability. Carers, as I informed the Senate during question time, contribute $60.3 billion worth of care to our community. Who do the government think are going to provide that care to the community if they start undermining carers and cutting payments for carers or taking away some of those supports for carers? Who do they think are going to be providing that service? Carers will not be able to provide it because they will not be adequately supported. That will be another cost on government.

Again, we are seeing short-term measures from the government rather than looking at the big picture and how we can better support carers and those with disabilities. The government need to say they will not make any more cuts to carers and those living with disability. We know that one of the key things that the government need to do to address poverty and to help carers is to increase payments by at least $50 a week. The peak social services organisations have put out reports this week about issues to do with poverty, it being Anti-Poverty Week, and, across the board, they have called for increases to income support payments because they are inadequate. The government should be condemned for hinting that they are going to cut these payments. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.