Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I met with representatives of the Baptist faith. Yes, they are in the building, going around to talk with politicians and raise the fact that the impact of Newstart on families across the country is creating a real issue and that Newstart has not increased in so long. These members of the Baptist faith were senior denominational leaders, influential pastors and leaders from Baptist Care Australia and Baptist World Aid Australia. That is just one group—one group of thousands of Australians across the country who are very concerned in relation to where Newstart is today.

These are people of Christian faith who, by their own description, are representative of Australia's middle class in their values and circumstances. And that is what they reiterated many times in the conversation today. What they had come to see me about was clear and direct: they want to see the government raise the rate of Newstart. They're concerned because they see the people they deliver services to—that they minister to and share our community with—living in poverty, with all the issues that that brings with it. They are concerned at the kids who are born into poverty, grow up property and, in turn, raise their own families in poverty. They're concerned that people they know are having to make ends meet on as little as $245 a week. These Baptist leaders spoke with me about their concerns for the people who are at risk of falling through the cracks of our so-called social safety net.

Last month, TheGuardian Australia revealed that the number of people claiming Newstart had increased in about 10 per cent of areas across the country, despite a national improvement. Remote unemployment hotspots are among those that have been getting worse in the past year. In the Northern Territory, Palmerston—a satellite city just outside of Darwin; a wonderful place—recorded a more than 20 per cent increase in the number of people claiming Newstart or youth allowance, with the number jumping from 1,119 to 1,366 individuals, an increase of 247 for that area alone. It doesn't sound much, does it? But it certainly is a lot for the people who have to be on Newstart or youth allowance. In the outback Northern Territory communities of Katherine and the Barkly region, there was a spike of more than 16 per cent in the number of people on benefits, while the Darwin suburbs, Litchfield and East Arnhem Land all reported an increase of more than three per cent. In outback South Australia, which includes the remote Indigenous communities of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands, more than 2,000 people are claiming Newstart or youth allowance, with the number up about five per cent year-on-year. These are people who are already labouring under the Community Development Program, or CDP, earning just $11 an hour.

We heard evidence during the Senate inquiry and during estimates about the effect this is having on communities and people. People in remote communities are already familiar with the consequences of being penalised by having their benefits taken away. We heard about the consequences of taking money away from mums and dads trying their best to make ends meet. The government's own report into CDP found that social problems had increased since the introduction of the program, including an increase in break-and-enters to steal food, predominantly by children and young people. It found an increase in domestic and family violence and an increase in financial coercion and family fighting. It also found an increase in mental health problems, feelings of shame, depression, sleep deprivation and hunger. It said the CDP had the opposite of its intended effect—to get people off welfare or 'sit-down money'. The report stated:

… there was no evidence from the research in this evaluation to suggest that penalties are an effective way to generate engagement …

Yet this government continues to take the approach that people on benefits somehow deserve to be penalised. It talks about jobs. Well, where are they in our remote communities?

The previous minister made big promises about the jobs component of CDP. I spoke earlier in the Senate today and said that there are around 33,000 people on CDP. The previous Minister for Indigenous Affairs said there would be 6,000 jobs for those 33,000. Six thousand subsidised jobs were supposed to commence in February this year. That very quietly was downgraded to 1,000 jobs and now—wait for it!—the government has very quietly put out a package of just 100 subsidised CDP jobs. That's 100, down from 6,000—all quietly brought down, with no accountability and certainly no certainty for those 6,000 people, of the 33,000 people, who were waiting and hoping and for those organisations that believed this government at least on that plan to provide 6,000 subsidised jobs. From 6,000 to 100 remote area jobs is quite a reduction in the employment opportunities that were meant to come.

The government keeps repeating a mantra of 'welfare to work', but they have very quietly conceded the difficulty with trying to secure jobs in the welfare system they are entrenching in remote communities. The approach of imposing penalties, rules and regulations from above and afar is stifling economic opportunity. It's certainly discouraging entrepreneurship and any hope of enterprise. There are practical challenges such as needing to travel to buy groceries and attend medical appointments, as these services are either too expensive or simply not available in these communities. There are significant extra expenses faced by people living in remote and regional Australia. Then there's the impact of poor road infrastructure on vehicles.

As the Baptist leaders told me today, the current Newstart rate is often forcing families to go hungry, especially in regional and remote areas of Australia. Families are hard-pressed to have enough money to spend on healthy food. Some community stores have reported a decline in the sales of fresh fruit and vegies, already sold at high prices because of freight and other costs. The NT government's latest market basket survey shows that the average price for a basket of healthy food in a remote Northern Territory store was $319 more than in a major NT supermarket. That's a gap of 60 per cent in healthy food costs between remote stores and big supermarkets in the major centres. This is despite major efforts in recent years to improve access to affordable food in remote areas through licensing schemes and improved store infrastructure. Baptist Care NT, in the Territory, work with Foodbank NT to provide direct food support to struggling families and individuals. They told me today that they don't come close to meeting the needs in Darwin, let alone in the regional areas of the Northern Territory.

We know that the inadequacy of Newstart is not simply a welfare issue. It is not simply an economic issue. It is also a health and wellbeing issue. Newstart recipients are six times more likely to face poor health outcomes. They are more likely to suffer from multiple conditions. They are more likely to suffer from mental ill health. They are more likely to be hospitalised. Poor health is a barrier to work, and we all know this. There are many additional social costs involved with entrenched disadvantage, and those costs are alleviated as the cycle of disadvantage is broken. Newstart is inadequate. People are struggling to afford the basics and the essentials, and they're struggling to meet their medical and healthcare costs.