Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Families and Social Services. This week is Anti-Poverty Week. Yesterday former New South Wales Liberal minister Pru Goward was condemned by anti-poverty organisations and advocates as being 'disturbing', 'abusive' and 'inaccurate' for saying out loud how Liberals like her view people trapped in poverty as huge cost centres, as an underclass of Australians who are neglectful parents and almost entirely lacking in discipline. Minister, as another Liberal minister, will you join me in condemning her appalling statement and abuse of some of the most vulnerable people in our community?

Honourable senators: Shame!

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I call the minister, interjections are always disorderly, particularly during the asking of questions. If you want everyone in the chamber, particularly me, to hear the question, then I do need some silence.

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

I thank Senator Rice for her question. In the absence of actually having seen the comments to which Senator Rice refers, I won't make any specific comment about them, but what I will say is that I take my responsibility as the Minister for Families and Social Services extremely seriously, and the absolute, total focus of the activities of my office and my department is in making sure that we support the most vulnerable people in Australia. Unquestionably, that is our single purpose and role. Whether that be through providing them with payments, whether that be supporting them with working-age payments or whether that be through some of our pension—

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order, Mr President, on relevance. Even if the minister hasn't seen the statements, I said what they were and I'm just asking her: is she condemning people trapped in poverty as huge cost centres, as an underclass of Australians who are neglectful parents and almost entirely lacking in discipline?

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, I've given you the chance to repeat part of the question. I cannot direct the minister how to answer the question. Minister, you have the call for a minute and 15 seconds.

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

I reiterate my initial comments. I am not going to make a comment about something that you're saying, but I will absolutely guarantee to this chamber, unequivocally, that my absolute focus is making sure that the resources of my department and the resources that are provided by the taxpayers of Australia are there to support vulnerable Australians and to make sure that we support them when they find themselves in situations, whether it be when they are unemployed, whether it be when they're victims of domestic violence. Whether it be supporting the states and territories in their frontline service provision or in the case of child protection and the like, the absolute focus of my department is always to support the most vulnerable people in our community. That is why we have always been so tremendously focused on not only creating jobs but actually working with Australians to get them out of unemployment.

You refer to Anti-Poverty Week.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Thorpe!

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

One of the key things to have come out of many of the reports—some released this week and others that have been released around this particular issue—is that we know that people who are on unemployment benefits do it way tougher than those people who have a job. That's why we're so focused on getting them into work.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, please resume your seat. Order! I just asked for order in the chamber while questions were being asked. Senator Rice, a supplementary question?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, poverty is a political choice. Last year your government increased income support during the lockdowns, but this year hundreds of thousands of people have lived through lockdowns on payments below the poverty line, going without food and without medicines and being at risk of homelessness. The removal of COVID disaster payments means thousands more people are now joining them. Minister, do you agree that the JobSeeker rate of $44 a day is not enough to live on?

The P:

Senator Thorpe!

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

No government has done more to walk side-by-side with Australians, supporting them through this COVID pandemic. We have supported Australians, whether it be through increases in the JobSeeker payment last year, whether it be through the COVID disaster payment that was administered through Senator McKenzie's department to support those people in Australia who have found themselves in the lockdowns of recent times, whether it be through the business supports that have been put in place. But we also understand that, as a government, we have a responsibility to maintain the sustainability of payments that are made. We have to make sure that we support people in a safety net—

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I raise a point of order. The question was whether the minister agreed that the JobSeeker rate of $44 a day—

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What's the point of order?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Relevance. She is not going to the relevance of the question. Is $44 a day enough to live on?

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, you've had another opportunity to restate part of the question. It was a very broad question. The minister was being directly relevant.

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

As I was saying, the obligation of government is to make sure that these sorts of payments are sustainable into the future. We have to balance supporting people when they find themselves out of work. But also, we have to make sure that the incentive is there for them to go to work. That's why we create jobs, and that's why we are the government.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Rice, a second supplementary question?

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I've heard from many constituents who inadvertently received both JobSeeker and JobKeeper and are now being pursued for those debts. Why are you going after people on income support but not taking on the big corporations that profited billions of dollars on JobKeeper?

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

Firstly, we need to be very clear around the fact that any fraudulent activity in relation to any payments that are received, no matter who they are received by—whether it be businesses or individuals—is always pursued by government. Where people have received something they are not entitled to, it is our obligation, as the custodians of taxpayers' funds, to pursue that. When we put these things in place we were very clear to make sure people understood that, if they were receiving JobKeeper, they were required to declare it as income. If you go onto our website it is very clear that that is earnings and you have to declare those earnings. We will pursue anybody who has received taxpayer funding when they have not been entitled to it.