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

I rise to speak to the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Coronavirus and Other Measures) Bill 2020. This bill makes a number of important changes in the social security space. While we don't oppose these amendments, we believe that this bill does not go far enough in terms of supporting people through the coronavirus crisis.

Schedule 1 provides two additional economic support payments of $250 to around five million Australians receiving social security payments and veterans payments and concession card holders. This includes people receiving the age pension, the disability support pension, the carer payment, the carer allowance and the family tax benefit and holders of the Commonwealth seniors health card and the pensioner concession card. The payment will be made from 30 November this year and 1 March next year.

By providing a small amount of additional income, this measure clearly recognises that many Australians from all walks of life continue to need assistance and recognises the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the recession. It goes a small way towards providing disabled people, families, carers, pensioners and veterans with some extra support. While of course additional economic support payments are welcome, they just don't go far enough.

I'm concerned by the approach that the government have taken in terms of who they extended and paid the coronavirus supplement to, who they thought needed that and who missed out. For example, disability support pensioners and carers have undoubtedly faced extra costs, which I have outlined in this chamber on numerous occasions, and they have lost work through the crisis, yet they have missed out on the coronavirus supplement. Likewise, carers missed out on the coronavirus supplement.

It's clear to me that the government didn't look at all the available data in designing this policy. Those on the disability support pension and on the carers payment and age pensioners, particularly those receiving Commonwealth rent assistance—and they are clearly doing it tough because they're in rental accommodation—did not receive those extra payments. That doesn't adequately address the costs that people on the disability support pension, carers and age pensioners have to deal with during the pandemic. Therefore, while the two additional $250 payments are welcome, in our opinion they don't meet the needs of disability support pensioners and carers, particularly when you consider that the report that the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations did last year on the costs of people living with disability showed that those on the disability support pension still have $100 of additional costs a week and those living with disability who are not on the disability support pension have extra costs on top of that that they struggle to meet.

One of the policy measures neglected in this bill and in the October budget was providing ongoing support for those who are on the JobSeeker payment and youth allowance. This would have been an ideal opportunity for the government to announce a permanent and ongoing increase to the JobSeeker payment and youth allowance, so that people on those payments are not left in a state of uncertainty and anxiety about their future. But today we learnt that the government is further cutting the coronavirus supplement. I foresee here and now that the minister will come in here and say, 'We haven't cut the coronavirus supplement payment because it was going to end on 31 December.' But, make no mistake, the government have cut the supplement.

They've rectified their deep error in the budget by not extending the coronavirus supplement from December to March. Although they're not going to announce a permanent increase to JobSeeker, at least they have now announced that they are going to extend the coronavirus supplement. But they are taking another hundred dollars off people. The initial cut of $300 dropped people below the poverty line and this cut drops people even further below the poverty line, as we come into Christmas. That is unacceptable. I urge the government to reconsider these plans and to, at the very minimum, retain the coronavirus supplement at its current rate of $250 a fortnight. That's why I will be moving second reading amendment that addresses this government's failure to adequately support people on the JobSeeker payment. The government is projecting that 1.8 million people will be unemployed at the end of this year. Those people are being left to work out what they're going to do after 31 March. At the moment, all they can assume is that they'll be back on $40 a day, because the government made no commitment in their announcement today or in the budget to increase the Newstart payment.

The government could have dealt with this issue in this bill. That's why I foreshadow that I will move a second reading amendment that notes the government's failure to provide for people on JobSeeker payment, notes that 2.3 million Australians receiving the coronavirus supplement are still in the dark about the future of the supplement next year, notes that the coronavirus crisis isn't over and that unemployed and underemployed Australians will continue to need support during 2021, and calls on the government to announce its plans regarding ongoing support and to announce a permanent and ongoing increase to the JobSeeker payment and youth allowance so that the base rate of those payments is above the poverty line.

The government plans to throw 1.8 million Australians on the JobSeeker payment and youth allowance below the poverty line at the end of the year. In the opinion of the Greens, this is mean-spirited and unfair. It doesn't even make economic sense. Instead of supporting these people, the government has chosen to reinstitute mutual obligation requirements and go ahead with its plans to expand compulsory income management—talk about slapping people when they're down. Yesterday Minister Cash almost gloated that there have been nearly a quarter of a million suspensions of payments to those on JobSeeker and/or youth allowance. Those suspensions have occurred in the short period since mutual obligation was reintroduced, on 25 September, and now. This government has gone back to its old ways and continues to demonise people on the JobSeeker payment. At the exact same time as there is a crippled labour market with limited job opportunities, the government decides to go back to its old way of doing business.

I'm extremely concerned about reports from financial counsellors who fear that millions of Australians will turn to credit and payday lenders once the moratorium on rental evictions ends and income support payments are cut. The government's plan to wind back responsible lending practices will only serve to make things worse for those on low incomes and those who have lost their jobs.

Noting these deficiencies, I would like to move to schedules 2 and 3, which are focused on supporting future youth allowance recipients. Schedule 2 temporarily amends the independence criteria for youth allowance recipients. Currently, if you're younger than 21 years old you need to meet the independence test to qualify for youth allowance. One way you can do this is by working an average of 30 hours a week for at least 18 months within any two-year period. Under this measure, the period between 25 March this year and 24 September this year will automatically contribute to a person's workforce independence criteria for youth allowance. I welcome this change as it recognises that a huge number of younger Australians have lost work or have been unable to find work as a result of the pandemic. Between March and September, employment for people aged 15 to 24 years fell by nearly 150,000, or 7.7 per cent. People in this age group also experienced the largest increase in their unemployment rate. It has now increased to 14.5 per cent. I will be watching the impact of this measure closely to see if it adequately supports young people who are disadvantaged as a result of the recession.

Schedule 3 also relates to youth allowance. This schedule creates a temporary pathway that seeks to encourage young Australians to undertake seasonal agricultural work in return for qualifying for youth allowance (student). Under this scheme, a young person will need to earn $15,000 through employment in the agriculture industry between 30 November this year and 31 December next year to be considered independent for the purpose of youth allowance. Future Abstudy recipients will also be able to take advantage of the scheme, with changes to be made to the policy manual.

When I asked the department at estimates how many people would take up this demand-driven program, they said they expected it had potential to support about a thousand people. This doesn't seem a substantial number to me, and I hope more people do take this up. In order for this scheme to work, young people, particularly city young people, will need some support to move to the bush to take up this opportunity, and I urge the government to put in place the necessary supports to ensure the scheme works and to encourage people to take it up. They also need to make sure that young people aren't exploited through this process. We've all heard the horror stories of exploitation and low hourly rates that are eaten up by so-called accommodation and other fees. I urge the government to make sure that any shonky dealers out there don't take advantage of this. That is not, for one second, to say that there aren't very good people who properly support young people in fruit picking and other parts of the agriculture industry. It is critical that the government has structures in place to ensure young people can take advantage of this scheme and are well protected and that it is a good experience both for young people and for the agriculture sector.

Schedule 4 relates to important amendments to the paid parental leave scheme. These amendments will ensure that time spent on JobKeeper payment will count towards the paid parental leave work test for parents. They also temporarily extend the paid parental leave work test period from 13 to 20 months to ensure parents can qualify even if they have lost their jobs.

Schedule 5 introduces a single rate of payment that parents of stillborn babies will be able to receive, irrespective of whether it is their first or subsequent claim. Can I say, it is well beyond time this occurred. I can't imagine how it happened otherwise in the first place. I understand that my colleague Senator Waters is going to further elaborate on these important changes.

Finally, schedule 6 allows the minister to determine alternative figures to be used in place of the male total average weekly earnings—commonly known as MTAWE—trend figures for the purposes of child support assessment calculations. For the first time, the ABS has temporarily suspended publication of the MTAWE trend figures due to the impact of COVID-19. This measure allows the minister to determine alternative figures through a legislative instrument. I understand this is a technical amendment that needs to be made in order to determine the costs of children, which underpin administrative child support assessments; however, we hold concerns about the lack of detail and guidance around what the minister needs to examine when generating alternative figures.

This bill as it currently reads simply states that the minister needs to make a determination by legislative instrument which must be tabled before parliament and is disallowable. This is a significant amount of discretion and latitude when determining these figures. I will be seeking assurances from the minister during the committee of the whole that the minister will take into account previous trend data and have regard to the various costs of children when determining alternative trend data.

As I mentioned earlier, the Greens will support these changes but recognise that they don't go far enough. Disappointingly, we have witnessed another budget that lacked vision for the social and community services sector and for the future of our social security system. We need to reform our social security system so we better support Australians across the country to ensure their wellbeing and their futures. This opportunity has been missed in the budget and we urge the government to outline its plans to support millions of unemployed Australians through significant investment in JobSeeker.