Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question and his ongoing and enduring interest in our social welfare system. I am very pleased to be able to update the Senate on the government's progress in building a stronger economy and creating more jobs. We have absolutely focused on the economy because getting more people into work, and delivering a well targeted and sustainable social welfare system funded through a strong budget, is the only way that we can continue to grow our economy and provide jobs for the people who need them.

As my colleague Senator Cash mentioned earlier—and in conjunction with the work I do with Senator Cash as the Minister for Employment—we work hand-in-glove to identify the barriers for people to actually get into employment. At the same time, we are creating jobs to make sure that, when we break those barriers down, the jobs are there. As Senator Cash mentioned, as at 30 June 2019, the proportion of working-age Australians who are dependent on welfare had fallen to 13.5 per cent. That is the lowest level of dependency for over 30 years. When you combine that with the job creation programs of this government—so that when people find themselves in a position to move into employment, the jobs are there—we have actually got a formula that means more Australians are in work. As more people are finding employment we are seeing a corresponding fall in the number of working age Australians on welfare. Since 2013—