Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In reading through an overview of the government’s budget, I note with concern that the infamous $500 one-off seniors bonus payment does not apply to recipients of disability pensions. More importantly, those of my constituents on disability pensions have also noticed and they are outraged. My office has received many calls from people expressing their anger at this exclusion. One caller commented, ‘This is the fifth year in a row we have received nothing.’

It appals me that this government, which is drowning in money, does not consider the difficulties faced by many people with disabilities. When handing out its bonus to seniors, there was no mention of disability support pensioners. The recipients of the carer payment will receive a $1,000 bonus payment; the recipients of the carer allowance will receive a $600 bonus payment.

It is important to remember that not all people on disability support pensions have carers. We should bear in mind that doing the shopping, laundry, cooking and housework does not qualify a person for a carer payment or allowance. Many people who care for those on a DSP do not get the carer payment or the carer allowance and therefore do not get the bonus payments in the budget.

While Labor supports the budget measure, it seems paltry that a one-off payment is being made rather than an ongoing adjustment of rates paid to carers. This measure is typical of a government that provides a quick-fix solution and fails to address the broader issue by articulating a vision for Australians with disabilities.

One person who called my office is an older woman with rheumatoid arthritis who is not able to even shop by herself, yet she does not have a carer. Several callers have a mental illness and are unable to work. Yet another caller has restricted mobility of the arms and legs. Another caller has osteoarthritis in their knees and ankles with rotator cuff pathology. These are the forgotten people—this phrase was used by one of the callers to my office—and it is shameful in this day and age that such a phrase is used in relation to those with disabilities; sadly, I must agree.

Instead of investigating people on a disability pension, Labor intend to ensure that these people have the opportunity to get the skills they need to get a job. We will focus on ensuring that people with disabilities have access to training places, matching obligation with opportunity. In December 2006, the then shadow minister Senator Wong issued a discussion paper: Reward for effort: meeting the participation challenge. Chapter 6 of that paper deals with the specific challenges facing people with disabilities in the workplace. These include: access to transport; flexible working arrangements to take account of sporadically occurring illnesses; managing progressive illnesses; managing the costs of disability; and employer and community attitudes. These are complex issues and there are no simple answers, but we cannot ignore them. We must not run the risk of losing the potential contribution of people with disabilities to the community through workforce participation. As Senator Wong’s discussion paper indicates, there is currently no overarching strategy to identify the reasons that people with disabilities are not faring well in the labour market. This is both socially and economically negligent.

In government, Labor will provide a strategy for disability employment and be accountable for its implementation. It is no use insisting on a policy of mutual obligation, as this government does, without ensuring the commensurate opportunities exist. A welfare support system must have integrity. It must ensure that those who are able to work are given the opportunities to do so. At the same time it must recognise that there are some amongst us who are unable to work. That being the case, those people must not be ignored and short-changed when it comes to their support payments. People with disabilities must not remain forgotten.

The reason I wanted to come into this place was to help the vulnerable, the dispossessed—those doing it tough in life. They are the ones that we require a safety net for. They are the ones we should extend a hand of compassion to, not a hand that makes them jump through various hoops before they are assessed in relation to income benefits. This is what a caring, compassionate society does. A caring, compassionate society is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, and it needs to treat those citizens with compassion. This government talks a lot but it does not walk the walk in relation to these matters. Recent events have again shown that these one-off payments are a cynical device aimed at ensuring votes prior to the next election. That is not good enough. (Time expired)