Media Release: MA welcomes budget focus on disadvantaged areas

Mission Australia has welcomed the Gillard Government’s budget focus on addressing disadvantage in particular areas around the country and helping people in those locations find jobs and better participate in the community.

Mission Australia’s CEO, Toby Hall, said the organisation also supported the budget’s aim of helping more long-term unemployed people back into work.

“We think it strikes the right balance between incentives and increased resources for jobseekers and Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients who have a reasonable capacity to work with measures that emphasise people’s reciprocal obligations – obligations we think are in line with community expectations,” said Mr Hall.

“There’s nothing in the government’s welfare-to-work changes that we think are particularly onerous. Our experience is that disadvantaged job seekers can respond positively to more rigorously applied compliance measures – if applied consistently and fairly. They provide a measure of order that may be lacking in their lives.

“In terms of DSP recipients who have a reasonable capacity to work, we think the budget changes are sensible and balanced.

“We have to get over the idea that reforming the DSP is an attack on disabled people – it’s not.

“There is no question that the majority of people in receipt of DSP are genuinely disabled and require significant levels of support.

“However, successive governments and a failing welfare system have allowed thousands of people without serious disabilities to move from the dole to receiving DSP where they are not engaged in looking for work. This is despite the fact they might have a capacity for employment and their issues could be overcome with intensive support.

“This group has genuine barriers to employment that they need support in overcoming. But they can be overcome – so let’s do it.

“One observation about the welfare package is that the government is placing a significant emphasis on Centrelink and its ability to help the sometimes vulnerable people the government is seeking to return to the workforce.

“We hope that buried in the detail is more funding to build Centrelink’s capacity to understand the often complex issues around these people.

“And while recognising the very substantial investment in mental health we think $201m over five years to help states/territories better coordinate and provide mental health services related to accommodation and admission/discharge from hospital isn’t enough. We also need more than just co-ordination – we need real housing.

“But overall a fair budget – a positive budget – for the people we help,” said Mr Hall.

Toby Hall is available for comment

Media inquiries: Paul Andrews 0409 665 495

Media coverage - The Newcastle Herald: System fails jobless on disability support

As we prepare for tonight’s Budget, Mission Australia’s CEO Toby Hall says it’s time to take the emotion out of the welfare reform debate and realise the need to offer disability support pension recipients who do have some capacity to work intensive assistance and incentives to encourage them back into the workforce. After all, he argues, a welfare system that continues to let people avoid participating in the community does them – and everyone in the community – a disservice.

Here’s what Toby has to say in today’s Newcastle Herald.

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There’s no doubt welfare reform is an emotive issue.

Last week I made some comments partly about the need for any such reforms in the government’s upcoming budget to look at re-engaging the large number of people on the disability support pension who have some capacity to work.

It was interesting how some immediately and misguidedly interpreted my comments as “welfare-bashing”.

It’s a shame that such strong emotions have got in the way of us openly discussing how the system has allowed the number of disability pension recipients to balloon to about 800,000 and has failed abysmally to look for potential solutions to the problem.

So let’s take the emotion out of it and look at the problem with a fresh set of eyes.

There is no question that the majority of people in receipt of disability pensions are genuinely disabled and require significant levels of support. In fact, we believe there is a case for greater levels of assistance for this group.

However, over the years, successive governments and a failing welfare system have allowed thousands of people without serious disabilities to move from the dole to receiving disability pensions when they are not engaged in looking for work. This is despite the fact they might have a capacity for employment and their issues could be overcome with intensive support.

The numbers are staggering. In 1982, almost 217,000 people were receiving disability pensions. By 2001 it had reached 578,000 and is now close to 800,000.

In those 27 years, Australia’s population has risen by 44 per cent, and yet the numbers on the disability pension increased 250 per cent.

We do not seek to stigmatise these people or blame them for being moved on to disability pensions – it is the system’s fault for letting this happen.

Disability pension recipients with the capacity for work are not malingerers. They are not “rorters”. We recognise this group of people have genuine barriers to employment that they need support in overcoming.

But they can be overcome. So what’s stopping us from trying it?

There is no doubt that a fair Australia must have an adequate safety net that provides unemployed, sick, disabled and vulnerable people with the support they need.

But let's not pretend that too much time spent on welfare – particularly for people who are physically and intellectually able to work – will not have a dramatic impact on a person's health and wellbeing.

And a welfare system that continues to let people capable of social, economic and community participation avoid such contact does them – and all of us – a disservice.

To illustrate the dramatic health impacts involved, the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine released a report last year which showed that long-term joblessness significantly increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and suicide.

Further still, suicide among young men out of work for six months or more increases dramatically.

We need to better assist job seekers to stem the flow of people moving on to disability pensions.

In a recent Mission Australia survey, almost one-third of our job seekers had been incorrectly assessed by Centrelink.

Poor initial assessment of job seekers can easily lead to individuals being incorrectly moved on to disability support pensions and from there it’s a quick path to entrenched joblessness.

We need to offer disability support pension recipients - those who do have some capacity to work – intensive assistance and incentives to encourage them back into the workforce.

One of our recommendations is to create a new stream in the employment service system to offer the specialised help required.

Recent studies show that up to 85 per cent of people experiencing serious mental health issues can return to work or study with the right help.

If we get in early enough and provide the right help we’re talking about setting people up for long-term, sustainable careers.

An unproductive life destroys a person and can spread like a cancer through their family and community.

We only need to look at the destruction and decay that passive welfare has created in some Aboriginal communities and suburbs on our city fringes.

We all know this – governments know it, community agencies know it, the public senses it – and with any luck tonight’s budget will be the start of doing something practical about it.

Story originally published 10 May 2011 in the Newcastle Herald.

Media Release: Qualified support for government's trial proposal for teen mums

Mission Australia has offered its qualified support to the Federal Government’s trial proposal aimed at engaging teenage mothers in education and training and avoiding welfare dependency.

Mission Australia – one of the largest providers of community and employment services to disadvantaged individuals and families in the country – said it strongly supported the concept of providing young parents with skills and education for future employability but that its compulsory nature, including the impact of withdrawing parenting payment from those who refused to participate, would need to be closely monitored.

Mission Australia’s CEO, Toby Hall, said at first glance the government’s proposal for a pilot scheme in 10 disadvantaged areas around the country deserved to be supported.

“Getting in early and making sure teenage mums are kept in touch with education and training to avoid entrenched welfare dependency in later life should be warmly welcomed,” said Mr Hall.

“We know from our experience how difficult it is help sole parents – or anyone – into work when they have no skills and when they’ve been disengaged from the workforce for years.

“And it’s not just the ‘hard’ skills that are needed for particular industries. It’s the ‘soft’ skills – the ins and outs of participating in the workforce: turning up for work on time, being responsible for your actions, dressing appropriately – that you and I might take for granted and which the young people participating in the program will need help with.

“However, there’s no question that the best results are achieved from programs like this when people participate voluntarily. We run several similar initiatives to those proposed – and have done so for many years – and they’re successful because people want to be there.

“Compulsory participation, by its very nature, fails to promote personal responsibility among those taking part and that’s the crucial part of changing behaviour long-term.

“The support provided for teen mums engaged in the program will also need to be much more than just a Centrelink ‘participation plan’ as described in media reports.

“We don’t have a lot of faith in Centrelink’s ability to understand and appreciate the complex issues around the young people who might be in this situation. We’d expect there to be a range of other supports available – including parenting and living skills – if the trial is to be a success.

“We’re also waiting to see what the government is suggesting for those parents who do have their income suspended. We’d be alarmed if they – and particularly their children – were made more vulnerable or placed in any danger as a result of a withdrawal of income support.

“But on balance Mission Australia is inclined to support this proposal. Practical programs like this are what’s needed to break the back of welfare dependency,” said Mr Hall.

Toby Hall is available for comment

Media inquiries: Paul Andrews 0409 665 495 or (02) 9219 2080