Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Carmel Sepuloni: Labour's Social Development Spokesperson on the length of time people are on the benefit

Transcript

Carmel Sepuloni: Labour's Social Development Spokesperson on the length of time people are on the benefit · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: New research on how much young beneficiaries are costing us
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: in the long term. This morning, the Ministry of Social
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Development says those under the age of twenty five accessing
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a main benefit continue receiving welfare for an estimated twenty
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: years extra on average. The government says this is one
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: of the many reasons it's forging ahead with reform. Carmeo
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Cipoloni is the Labor Party's Social Development spokesperson. Why do
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: you think there's been such an increase in the forecast
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: for young people in particular who are on benefits. Why
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: is such an increase in the forecast for how long
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: they'll stay there?
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's important to note that the Minister
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: again has ignored the actual substance of the report. There
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: are a number of risk factors that lead to forecasted
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: numbers for people on benefit. That includes if they've been
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: they have had a history of care and protection, they
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: have been in prison or proceeded against both the police,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: they've been in social housing in the last three years,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: which means they're probably operiencing a level of poverty. That
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: they've been in hospital in the last three years, so
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: they've got health conditions or they've accessed mental health support
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: in the last three years, and so therefore they have
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: mental health issues. She continues to make out that it
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: is a result of them going on benefit that is problematic,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: and then that they need to be punitive. The reality
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: is there are other risk factors that lead to people
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: needing to access welfare.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Do you accept their dependent on welfare at this point?
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, there are some that are are there about the welfare.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Do you think there should be consequences for those who
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: are dependent on welfare, like having their welfare taken off them?
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, how else do you stop dependency.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Let's keep in mind that a large number of people
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: on welfare have health and disability conditions, and this report
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: is about all all people. This report is about all people.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: But it specific Yeah, but it talks specifically about job
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: seeker support as well. People under the age of twenty
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: five on job seeker support woulds been average of about
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: eighteen more years on a benefit over their life to lifetimes.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: That's fifty percent longer than when national was lasting.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: So any government needs to focus on the risk factors
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: that lead to people going on welfare. It's not going
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: on welfare that leads to the dependency. It's all of
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: the other things that are pointed out in the report,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: which the minister conveniently ignored.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Okay, if you accept that, if we accept your argument
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: there that it's about those risk factors, do you accept
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: that you Labor must have done an appalling job with
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: those risk factors. Given the length of increase in the forecasts, there.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Were compounding impacts for these people in their lives. Mental
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: health issues didn't necessarily just start when they came on benefits.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: And the other risk factor is, of course economic conditions
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: and what has been forecast there are that also leads
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: to the predictions for how long someone will stay on benefit.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: It's important to also note that this is a bit
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: of a distraction. There are nearly twenty thousands more people
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: on benefit since the government took office. No, no, and
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: that's an indictment on them.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Well, it's indictment on the economic conditions I suppose, isn't it.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: With the they also laid off over six thousand public servants.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: This is true doctor infrastructure projects and we've got ten
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: thousand pure jobs in the building and construction sector.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: I've got time for one more question, come, and I
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: really want to ask you is there ever a situation
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: in which labor would cut the amount someone is paid,
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: would cut a benefit for a young person, no kids,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: work ready, sitting on a benefit, sitting on welfare indefinitely,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: would you ever cut that benefit?
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Well, we still had a sanction system in place, and
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: so when we were in there was still the ability
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: to apply sanctions if someone was not living up to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: their obligations with respect to seeking work or the work
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: obligations that were in place. So that was already a
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: tool in the toolbox in seat.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Okay, all right, we have to leave it there, came ol.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for your time. Appreciate it, Thank you, Thank.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: You for more. From early edition with Ryan Bridge.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks. It'd be from five am weekdays,
• 4:13
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