Article in the Australian by Patricia Karvelas - Kevin Andrews challenged on facts behind social security ‘blowout.’ DISABILITY Support Pension numbers have grown only 1 per cent in the year since the Abbott government said welfare was unsustainable, according to a key welfare advocacy group. At the start of this year, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews warned that the social security system was “unsustainable”, meaning there would need to be cuts. “The two big areas are Newstart and the DSP in terms of ensuring viability and sustainability of welfare in the future,” Mr Andrews said. But analysis by the National Welfare Rights Network reveals that social security for working-age people has not “blown out”. The analysis says the growth in the numbers on the disability pension has flatlined, to a “mere 1.1 per cent last financial year”. “On the other side of the ledger, there has been an explosion in the numbers Newstart Allowance recipients with a substantial disability,’’ the analysis says. “One in four people receiving the Newstart Allowance has at least one disability recognised by Centrelink.” The latest Centrelink payment data reveals that in October 832,263 jobless people relied on either Newstart or Youth Allowance. “There certainly are problems with our system, including a lack of employment opportunities, especially for young people,’’ said Maree O’Halloran, president of the welfare network. “Australia’s social security system does not have a ‘sustainability problem’ or a ‘blowout’ in the numbers of people on the Disability Support Pension.’’ In June, there were 830,454 people receiving the DSP. In the two years between June 2012 and June this year, the numbers rose 2994, or a third of 1 per cent. From December 2011 to June last year there was a drop of 1.2 per cent. “This is not a payment that is out of control,’’ Ms O’Halloran said. “In the early 1990s, numbers on the DSP did surge, growing by as much as 13.3 per cent a year.’’ Claims for the DSP continue to be rejected in record numbers. In 2013-14, 40.7 per cent of new claims were rejected. “The proportion of working-age people on income support has fallen by a third over the previous 17 years, from 25 per cent in 1997 to 17 per cent in 2013,’’ Ms O’Halloran said. “What is wrong and not sustainable is the lack of government attention to ongoing employment opportunities for Australians with a disability. “Too many people with disabilities experience systemic disadvantage ... and are locked out of the labour market. Any future reforms must at least maintain Australia’s social security safety net.’’ Mr Andrews said the number of DSP recipients was not flatlining — the number had more than doubled over the past 20 years, from 378,000 in 1992 to about 830,000 this year. “And Labor’s policy to push 70,000 parents off Parenting Payment on to Newstart Allowance has driven the proportion of people who are on the payment for more than 12 months,’’ he said.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 03:45:58 +0000
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