Fed: Another five months wait for welfare recipients

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2000
Fed: Another five months wait for welfare recipients

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA, Dec 14 AAP - For people on social security there is little in today's welfare
shakeup other than tougher work-for-welfare requirements and yet another five-month wait.

Family and Community Services Minister Jocelyn Newman delivered a welfare statement
which contained only a broad endorsement of the government's own advisory committee findings
and a promise of more money in the May 2001 Budget.

The only concrete proposals were an extension of mutual obligation to people aged 35-39
and the introduction of limited activity requirements for people on disability payments,
the older unemployed and parents.

While work-for-the-dole will not be required for the last three groups, parents will
have to do some kind of activity when their youngest child reaches high school age.

The disabled will be assessed for what work they can do and 40 to 64-year olds will
also have to participate in a government-approved activity such as community work or volunteering
- up from the present 60-year cut-off.

Even the architect of the reforms, Mission Australia chief Patrick McClure, could barely
contain his disappointment, while opposition and welfare groups were scathing about the
lack of detail.

The danger now for the unemployed is that the government's hard-heads will assume control
of the welfare process following Senator Newman's expected retirement from politics.

With no guaranteed funding increase, the reforms are now in the hands of the government's
finance ministers, who will determine exactly how much more money can be spent on the
changes.

And there's no guarantee the reforms will survive the scrutiny of the razor gang in
a government committed to protecting its Budget surplus.

That will place ideas like the transition bank and participation supplements - the
carrots to counterbalance the sticks - under a cloud until the Budget gives funding flesh
to the promises.

Other question marks remain over whether the government will boost benefits to the
level of pensions when it streamlines the number of payments to make the system simpler.

Jocelyn Newman was supposed to use today's announcement as a solid platform to bow
gracefully out of politics while claiming to have seen the welfare reforms through.

The question now is whether she can even look Mr McClure, her own reform group chairman,
in the eye.

AAP rft/daw/sp/bwl

KEYWORD: WELFARE (NEWS ANALYSIS)

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