Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Stronger Penalties for Serious Failures) Bill 2014. I would like to talk first about the opportunities available for job seekers in my electorate of Solomon. As I have said many times before in this chamber, northern Australia is the undiscovered jewel of the country, a wonderful resource bursting with potential and opportunity for anyone who is prepared to make an effort to go there. For me, I had good fortune on my side: my parents settled in the Northern Territory, Alice Springs to be precise, before I was born and as a result I have lived in the Territory all of my life. After I left secondary school, I had the choice of commencing my tertiary studies in Darwin or Adelaide. I chose Darwin because I believed there was a need for local people to stay in the Territory, to help build the place going forward. Twenty-five years later I can honestly say that I have not regretted that decision even for a moment.

My specialty area was is information technology and project management. I was fortunate to work with some fantastic people and for some wonderful organisations in both the public and the private sectors in the years before I entered politics. But my story is just one of countless numbers of people who have made the most of the opportunities that the Territory, Darwin and the Top End have offered up to them. It is a story that, with the passing of time, has become something of a cliche: the traveller who popped into Darwin en route to Brisbane or Broome or some other far flung spot or the southerner who moved to Darwin to work for six months and who have stayed there forever. What is surprising is that more people do not do it.

The coalition government's northern Australia strategy in many ways is about identifying ways to unlock the potential that I spoke of earlier. Economic growth brings with it challenges, such as the need for housing and infrastructure, but they are far preferable to the alternatives of stagnation and recession. A look at the recent Australian Bureau of Statistics unemployment data shows the extent to which Darwin and the Northern Territory are prospering at the moment. Our jobless rate of 3.9 per cent is the second lowest in the country, only just behind the ACT. More importantly in some respects though is the participation rate of 75.7 per cent—by far and away the highest in the country. In the big three states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland the participation rate is 63 per cent, 64.1 per cent and 66.3 per cent respectively. In Western Australia it is 68.4 per cent, Tasmania 61 per cent and in the ACT it is 70.8 per cent. Put simply: our unemployment figure is low even though the highest percentage of the population in the country is actively looking for work.

While it might be overstating things to say anyone actively looking for a job in Darwin will find one, it may also not be far short of the mark. A look at the 2013 skills shortage list gives just a taste of the opportunities in the Northern Territory for those with the wherewithal to pack their bags, kiss their loved ones goodbye and head up north. Employers report they have difficulty recruiting: teachers, physiotherapists, midwives, occupational therapists, nurses, motor mechanics, sheetmetal workers, metal fabricators, welders, panel beaters, painters, bricklayers, carpenters, joiners, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, cabinetmakers, childcare workers, geologists, geophysicists, optometrists, locksmiths, stonemasons, floor finishers, glaziers, plasterers, tilers, lines workers, bakers, pastry cooks, butchers, chefs, arborists, gardeners, hairdressers—just to name a few. Unskilled workers can tap into jobs in hospitality, fishing, horticulture, agriculture, construction and the mines.

I am not sure of the number of workers in the Territory on 457 visas, but at a guess I reckon it would run into the hundreds. Big projects like the Inpex    development currently underway in Darwin rely heavily on fly-in fly-out workers because Darwin's relatively small population base is unable to meet the demands of major construction projects on that scale. But with the real prospect of ongoing gas developments on the back of Timor Sea exploration in coming years and decades, more significant energy projects are expected to emerge, which will require skilled and unskilled workers. The picture I am trying to paint here is of the opportunities available in Darwin and the Northern Territory for those who are struggling to find work. On that basis, I say to anybody on unemployment benefits, faced with sporadic employment or retrenchment: please give thought to starting afresh in the Northern Territory. Not only will you be helping yourself but you will also be helping northern Australia, and for that matter the entire country. It is where the future is—northern Australia.

And while I am on the subject of the Territory, it really is a truly fantastic place to live. Certainly in Darwin it is rarely cold. Even at this time of year when everyone down here is shivering, it is 20 degrees overnight in Darwin and 30 degrees during the day. There are no traffic jams, no toll roads, great things to do at the weekends, a range of sporting options for kids and adults, educational options, magnificent natural beauty and Asia is a couple of hours to the north if you are in the mood for a break. If you want to catch up with the family, it is a few hours' flight home. So I absolutely recommend the Territory as a work/lifestyle option to anybody. Even the member for Lingiari, who is not in here at the moment, would have to agree with me on this one, I am sure.

To turn to the bill at hand, for those who are unable to find work, Australia has a welfare system designed to provide income support until the recipient is able to find a job. Our welfare system is based on the principle of mutual obligation—that is, people who receive taxpayer funded income support are asked to actively seek work, undertake activities such as training to improve their chances of being offered a job, and accept any suitable job offer. While it is a hand-up during tough times it is not intended to be a lifestyle choice. It is not meant to be a handout. There are a number of safety nets which underpinned the coalition's commitment to helping move people from welfare to work. There is the Job Commitment Bonus for job seekers aged between 18 and 30; relocation assistance to take up a job to help people move for work, which is very much available to anybody who takes my advice to move to the Territory; and then Restart Wage Subsidy for mature age workers.

The Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 sets out the penalties that apply in the event that a job seeker does not comply with these requirements. Under this act, serious failures include refusing a suitable job offer and persistent noncompliance. The definition of 'persistent noncompliance' is when a job seeker fails to attend three appointments with their employment service provider in a six-month period or incurs three no show, no pay failures in a six-month period. The existing act provides for an eight-week non-payment penalty in the event of such serious failure.

The bill before parliament today introduces two changes to strengthen the job seeker compliance framework by tightening the rules regarding the waiver of penalties for serious failures. One of those is that for a job seeker who fails to accept all commence a suitable job will incur a mandatory eight-week non-payment period. Why, you may ask, are we apparently replicating a provision that is already in the act. The answer is simple. Labor were soft on people who broke the rules. Under Labor, amendments were introduced in 2009 to the act that allowed the non-payment penalty to be waived by engaging in intensive activity, such as an increased level of job search. That meant that job seekers who refused a job or were persistently non-compliant could repeatedly avoid a financial penalty. In 2012-13, for example, after Labor's changes were introduced, there were 1,718 serious failures for refusing a job, of which the penalty was waived in 68 per cent of the cases. So in almost two-thirds of the cases where a job seeker receiving taxpayer funded benefit refused a job penalties were waived. Of the 1,718 serious failures for refusing a job, only 550 people copped a financial penalty.

The second change contained in this bill applies to job seekers who are persistently non-compliant. For them there will be a provision of a once-off waiver of the non-payment period. All subsequent episodes of noncompliance will incur the eight-week non-payment penalty. Again, when it comes to enforcing penalties for noncompliance, Labor went to jelly. In 2012-13 there were 25,268 serious failures for repeated noncompliance, and of those the penalty was waived in 73 per cent of the cases.

The government understands that most job seekers in receipt of income support do the right thing by the taxpayer and make a concerted effort to look for work and accept a job. In no way does this legislation target the vast bulk of benefit recipients. But, unlike Labor, this government is not prepared to tolerate the actions of those who take a flippant view of their requirements as a job seeker. This bill sees a return to a more substantial job seeker compliance regime and addresses weaknesses in the system. This bill will ensure that job seekers may have their benefits withheld if they do not comply with their job search and activity test requirements.

These amendments are targeted, fair and necessary. They are not a savings measures—over five years they will only save about $4 million a year. What they are about is ensuring that everybody who receives a job seeker benefit does the right thing by themselves and by the broader community. I will just repeat that: these are about ensuring that everybody who receives a job seeker benefit does the right thing by themselves and by the broader community. I commend the bill to the House.

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