Post by Denis-NFA on Jan 14, 2014 8:30:11 GMT 7
THE Abbott government has provided the first detail on how it may tackle reforms to the Newstart payment by splitting the unemployment benefit into different levels to better reflect the types of people using it.
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said he had not received any formal advice on the matter but the idea made sense in light of a two-tier approach mooted for the Disability Support Pension.
"My inclination is that we've treated them too much as an homogenous payment -- if you qualify you get it," he told The Australian.
"Well, one of the things I want the (review) group to look at is whether or not we should have some tiers to DSP, whether or not we should be saying for a period of time it is only temporary. And equally with Newstart we could look at whether we tier that as well because the majority of people who go on Newstart actually do go off it, it is (a) temporary holding payment.
"So if you don't treat it as just one payment, then there is the potential to look at what the levels are.
"But if you treat it as one payment I think it makes it much more difficult."
The Australian understands the Newstart levels could apply to the payment rate, the conditions attached to receiving it, or both. The single rate of the Newstart Allowance is $501 a fortnight.
Mr Andrews said he wanted the welfare review group, headed by former Mission Australia boss Patrick McClure, to find out if it was possible to arrange the payment in more than one level.
Opposition families and payments spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said the suggestion was a "vague thought bubble".
"This latest 'idea' just creates more confusion and uncertainty for Australians who rely on income support," she said.
Australian Council of Social Services chief executive Cassandra Goldie said two-thirds of Newstart recipients had been on the payment for more than 12 months, not from laziness but from barriers in the workforce. "The introduction of a multi-tiered system of unemployment payments risks adding further complexity to an already complex system," she said.
Maree O'Halloran, president of the National Welfare Rights Network, said the payment already had different levels for singles, single parents and people aged over 60.
"Any new approach would only work if it could accurately predict which individuals will become long-term unemployed. This is where our current system falls down," she said.
www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-ponders-split-up-of-newstart/story-fn59niix-1226801014152#
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said he had not received any formal advice on the matter but the idea made sense in light of a two-tier approach mooted for the Disability Support Pension.
"My inclination is that we've treated them too much as an homogenous payment -- if you qualify you get it," he told The Australian.
"Well, one of the things I want the (review) group to look at is whether or not we should have some tiers to DSP, whether or not we should be saying for a period of time it is only temporary. And equally with Newstart we could look at whether we tier that as well because the majority of people who go on Newstart actually do go off it, it is (a) temporary holding payment.
"So if you don't treat it as just one payment, then there is the potential to look at what the levels are.
"But if you treat it as one payment I think it makes it much more difficult."
The Australian understands the Newstart levels could apply to the payment rate, the conditions attached to receiving it, or both. The single rate of the Newstart Allowance is $501 a fortnight.
Mr Andrews said he wanted the welfare review group, headed by former Mission Australia boss Patrick McClure, to find out if it was possible to arrange the payment in more than one level.
Opposition families and payments spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said the suggestion was a "vague thought bubble".
"This latest 'idea' just creates more confusion and uncertainty for Australians who rely on income support," she said.
Australian Council of Social Services chief executive Cassandra Goldie said two-thirds of Newstart recipients had been on the payment for more than 12 months, not from laziness but from barriers in the workforce. "The introduction of a multi-tiered system of unemployment payments risks adding further complexity to an already complex system," she said.
Maree O'Halloran, president of the National Welfare Rights Network, said the payment already had different levels for singles, single parents and people aged over 60.
"Any new approach would only work if it could accurately predict which individuals will become long-term unemployed. This is where our current system falls down," she said.
www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-ponders-split-up-of-newstart/story-fn59niix-1226801014152#