Hello Mr Andrews
I am sorry that you have come out suggesting that
pension-benefits for many categories of disadvantaged people in our community
might need to be cut or the eligibility criteria changed to reduce the number
of people making claims. The facts do
not bear out your assertions and so I can only surmise that there are ideological
reasons behind your propositions.
I am no wizard with figures, but the very first table in the
report shows that the total number of people receiving benefits has increased
over the 11 year period of the review by less than 5% or just under 250,000. That seems to me to be well within the rate
at which our population and economy has grown during the same period – not to
mention government revenues.
A second consideration is that the increase in the number of
aged-pensioners during the period is almost double the total increase of
welfare recipients, so if you took them out of this table the total number of
welfare beneficiaries would have decreased over the period. We are already gradually increasing the age
at which older people can claim the Aged Pension but the reality is the “baby
boomers” are all getting older and they have paid their taxes for many
years. I don’t imagine you are going to
try and cut eligibility for it any further.
If you take the Aged Pension out of the Table, there are
only 4 categories of benefits that have had an increase in the number of
beneficiaries over the period – the Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment,
Youth Allowance – full-time students and apprentices, and Youth Allowance –
other. The remaining 14 categories of
benefits all reduced the number of beneficiaries over the period.
You have already indicated that you have plans to get some
people with disabilities back into the workforce, but you might remember that
some people with disabilities need to have their wages subsidised up to a 100%
wage value to take into account the discount in efficiency their disability
causes for their employer. The Carer Payment
is the biggest single increase after the Aged Pension, but of course you know
that these payments save Government many times more in expenses in health and
aged-care services.
Mr Andrews I would suggest that you calm down. We do not have a huge level of government
debt as the Newspaper today attributed you as saying. Your government is proposing tax cuts for
mining companies and small business that are going to cost far more than you
will ever save by tweeking these benefits.
Your government is proposing a gold-plated parental leave scheme that is
going to cost a squillion (paid for by taxing corporations), and your
government is squandering billions of
money outsourcing to corporations and other nations our responsibility to offer
protection to those with valid refugee claims who have made it to our shores by
any means.
As Minister for Social Security you have a huge
responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our society. The way to get people with capacity off
welfare and into work is not by systematically removing the safety net that
ensures that they and their children can afford housing, food and access to
health and education.
Please resist the urge to bash the helpless by cutting
benefits. We are a wealthy nation and we
can look after our poor.
