Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Coronavirus and Other Measures) Bill 2020 and I move:

At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

  (i) since the start of the recession, the number of people relying on unemployment payments has doubled,

  (ii) many pensioners—including those on the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment—have faced increased costs during the pandemic, and

  (iii) the Minister has the power under the Social Security Act to extend the Coronavirus Supplement; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

  (i) extend the $250 per fortnight Coronavirus Supplement until March, in line with JobKeeper,

  (ii) better support pensioners—including Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment recipients—facing increased costs in protecting their health because of the coronavirus pandemic, and

  (iii) announce a permanent increase to the base rate of the JobSeeker Payment".

Labor is incredibly disappointed by the government's announcement today that the coronavirus supplement will be cut by $100 a fortnight from Christmas. At the same time, as the government's own figures show, 1.8 million people will be relying on unemployment payments by the end of the year—300,000 more people than the government initially projected. The unemployment crisis is getting worse, not better.

Labor does support this bill, because it will help many Australians, particularly in the context of the recession. But it doesn't go far enough, and it leaves too many people behind. That's why Labor has moved a second reading amendment. The amendment notes that since the start of the recession the number of people relying on unemployment payments has doubled; that many pensioners, including those on the age pension, the disability support pension and the carer payment have faced increasing costs during the pandemic; and that the minister has the power under the Social Security Act to extend the coronavirus supplement. It calls on the government to extend the $250 per fortnight coronavirus supplement until March, in line with JobKeeper; to better support pensioners, including age pension, disability support pension and carer payment recipients, who are facing increased costs in protecting their health because of the coronavirus pandemic; and to announce a permanent increase in the base rate of the JobSeeker payment.

Labor will also be moving more detailed amendments along these lines—reasonable, responsible, detailed amendments which will give the government the flexibility to better support Australians in need. Ultimately, there can only be change if the government decides to do the right thing and support that change in the House of Representatives.

Today, the government announced that it will cut the coronavirus supplement by $100 a fortnight by Christmas, and we can only assume it reverts to the old Newstart base rate of around $40 a day in March. There are seven people on unemployment support for every vacancy. The reality is that there are simply not enough jobs for everyone who needs one. Withdrawing support too soon will only make the recession deeper and longer than it needs to be. Labor's view is that the supplement should stay in place, at the current rate of $250, until at least the end of March, in line with JobKeeper.

Our amendments ask the government to consider doing the right thing by those facing a cruel Christmas cut in the coronavirus supplement, by those who are unemployed and by those who rely on the disability support pension and the carer payment. This bill seeks to implement a number of coronavirus support measures, which Labor has been calling for since the onset of the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, Labor has consistently advocated that additional supports were needed for pensioners, for expectant parents who risked missing out on paid parental leave, for students whose families could no longer afford to support them and for families who lost a child to stillbirth or before their first birthday.

While we commend the government for finally coming around to adopting some of these important measures, the government's budget has left far too many Australians behind. By the end of the year, 1.8 million Australians are expected to be on unemployment support. That is one million people more than at the end of 2019. The budget provides no certainty as to what support would be available to them after 31 December. The report today that the coronavirus supplement will be extended at a reduced rate does little to alleviate ongoing anxiety for this group. It is so easy to say these big numbers, but think about what it means to 1.8 million people, each with their own story of loss and uncertainty, each keeping a household going, whether on their own or with others, and each relying on us in this place to stand by them in their time of need. Almost one million of these Australians have been excluded from the government's wage hire subsidy simply because they are over 35.

The Prime Minister says we're all in this together. But too many Australians, people with disabilities, carers, aged pensioners and those who have lost work, have been left behind by this government. We know that older Australians have been the hardest hit by this pandemic. None of us will forget the devastating impact the coronavirus had as a result of the government's neglect of our aged-care system. Older Australians faced increased spending from the extra precautions they had to take to protect their own health, buying hand sanitisers and protective masks, paying a premium to have groceries delivered.

The government has contributed to rising costs through a combination of the pension freeze, that took effect in September, its unrealistic inflated pension deeming rates and the inflated interest rate that it charges pensioners to access equity in their own homes. Our pensioners worked hard all their lives. They contributed and paid their taxes. They deserve our respect. They do not deserve a pension freeze at a difficult time. Like older Australians, people with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to infection and have also incurred additional costs to keep themselves safe. Even before the pandemic, People with Disability Australia said that Australians with disabilities have the second highest relative risk amongst the OECD nations of living in poverty. The pandemic has only exacerbated this disadvantage. In June we saw the release of a survey from People with Disabilities Australia, which found nine in 10 people with disabilities experienced increased expenses due to the ongoing pandemic, 31 per cent reported increased spending on health care, and one in five reported increased spending on sanitiser and hygiene products. The government's freeze on the pension in September also impacted three-quarters of a million Australians on the disability support pension and almost 300,000 Australians on carer payments. The freeze came at the worst possible time, in the middle of Australia's most severe economic contraction in a century.

The time for the government to deliver a permanent increase to the base rate of unemployment payment is long overdue—$40 a day is simply inadequate for anyone to live on. Labor is joined by business groups, community groups, economists and even members of the government in acknowledging this fundamental fact. This morning the chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, Jennifer Westacott, told ABC Radio about the government's announcement today. She said:

… it's a bit of a relief, but it's no solution Fran. We need a permanent solution here, a permanent increase for this allowance … we need an allowance that gives people a dignified life that does not see them fall into incredible poverty, where they will not be able to get back into the labour market. We need the skills system to wrap around the many people who find themselves in JobSeeker. But my point is simply this why shouldn't unemployed people have the same certainty and predictability instead of living from three months to three months, and get a decent, adequate allowance that allows them to live lives of dignity.

The government should listen to this person. The government should show some understanding and compassion for those Australians on unemployment support by delivering a permanent increase to JobSeeker.

Instead, the government seems intent on blaming Australians who have lost their jobs. It's absolutely clear that there are simply not enough jobs for everyone who needs one. Anglicare found in a recent job snapshot that there are more than 100 people looking for work for every entry-level position. What's more, we know that Australians receiving social security spend on local and small businesses, which in turn means local and small businesses have more to spend on wages and jobs. When you cut unemployment support, you jeopardise jobs. If the government withdraws support too early, it will make the recession deeper and longer than it needs to be.

This bill will adjust eligibility for paid parental leave through amending the work test requirement. During the height of the pandemic, Labor expressed concern that families would miss out on paid parental leave because of lost work due to the temporary shutdown of business activity. In June, we moved amendments in this place for the work test to be suspended, but the Morrison government voted them down. It is disappointing that it has taken the government this long to respond and adopt Labor's proposals. It has been an excruciating wait for so many families, and we are certain and concerned that many families will end up with a family tax benefit debt because of the government dragging its feet. We're also concerned that this temporary change in the work test will end in March next year, meaning new mums who lost their jobs when JobSeeker was changed in September could again miss out on paid parental leave.

Labor support this bill—and we don't want to hold it up, because it will deliver additional support to millions of Australians—but it is a missed opportunity to help older Australians and Australians with a disability meet the costs of protecting their health in this pandemic and it's a missed opportunity to announce a permanent increase in the base rate of unemployment payments, which we know are far too low. To this end we hope that the government will seriously consider Labor's reasonable and responsible amendments. I hope you'll be able to do the right thing.