Government’s own figures prove Welfare-to-Work proposals not needed

Reports that Centrelink data demonstrate the effectiveness of current efforts to enable people with disabilities and sole parents to get part-time jobs are very welcome.

They are consistent with the repeated statements of the What Women Want project sponsors – that women with disabilities and sole parents want to work and do work.

The very re-assuring results also demonstrate how unnecessary the Government’s own proposed welfare reforms are.

They would result in sole parents and disabled women being moved from the pension to the lower payment rate of the dole – this is a dis-incentive, a stick not a carrot.

Effective marginal tax rates and the additional costs of being in work will have the effect of seriously impacting on the net cash benefit to pensioners from being in work, if the Welfare-to-Work changes are imposed. The proposed new system will also force children as young as six years old to potentially have family-parenting time reduced.

The Government should abandon its plan to reduce the age of the youngest child as a pension cut off from 16 to six years.

It should abandon the proposal to transfer pensioners to a lower rate of income support with steeper means-tests.

It should re-instate the JET program or its equivalent in full to enable pensioners to undertake VET and professional skills development.

At the same time, changes to the Industrial Relations framework should protect the working conditions of these part-time workers, and the provisions of the new legislation should ensure they have adequate representation if they seek it in bargaining for appropriate family friendly award conditions. The What Women Want project members will continue to call on the Government to commit to a ‘no disadvantage’ guarantee in the implementation of its welfare reform agenda.

Contact:
Marie Coleman – 0414 483 067
National Foundation for Australian Women
A member of the WomenSpeak Network