David Lipson:
G’day and welcome to the program I’m David Lipson. Well, a week out from the budget and the drip-feed of bad news from the Government is continuing, with the Finance Minister, Penny Wong, today telling Sky News that the revenue shortfall for this financial year is now $17 billion, this was the reaction from the Shadow Treasurer a short time ago.
(Clip: Joe Hockey)
David Lipson:
So that is part of the reason that the welfare benefit, known as Family Tax Benefit A has now been thrown on the scrap heap. Here’s Penny Wong.
(Clip: Penny Wong)
David Lipson:
We are going to hear more from Sandra Goldie from ACOS on how that shift will affect families who are in a tight spot. But first the National Insurance Disability Scheme and I’m joined now by the Human Services Minister Senator Jan McLucas and the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business Senator Scott Ryan. Thank you very much for your time this afternoon. First to you Senator McLucas, the Coalition supports the NDIS and the levy that will partly fund it but wants to see more detail before it agrees to support this fully in the Parliament. Has the Government provided any further advice to the Coalition to ensure the NDIS does have a smooth passage through Parliament?
Jan McLucas:
We’ve provided advice to the Opposition on many occasions through the design phase of the NDIS, including through the legislation passage through the Parliament. So I’m somewhat bemused by this new seeking for information by Mr Abbott, frankly that information is on the table. The design of the NDIS, the rules of the NDIS are out there for public discussion. I do actually think this is a red herring really.
David Lipson:
But there are some uncertainties when it comes to things like autism or infants and deafness, whether there in or not. Can you clear any of that up for us?
Jan McLucas:
Well David the eligibility is very clear in the legislation. This is an assessment of need at a point in time in a person’s life and I give the example, if you’re a one year old baby with down-syndrome you will have a completely different set of needs to say a 16-year-old or a 35-year-old with the same condition. So this is an assessment based on functionality, it’s a assessment also that explicitly says that early intervention in the case of children will be included in the legislation, making it absolutely clear that children who need early intervention services will receive them. In terms of hearing that’s included, vision impairment but I come back to the fundamental point – this is not a diagnoses based process, this is about assessing a person’s need at a point in their life given their family circumstances so we can provide the appropriate and reasonable support.
David Lipson:
Senator Ryan, things like deafness and autism are not exact, they are on a spectrum if you like. So, is it reasonable for Tony Abbott to making these sorts of demands?
Scott Ryan:
We’ve got bipartisan support for this very important scheme but what thousands of Australians and their carers want to know is, what are the rules about whether they qualify or not. You are right to point out needs are on a spectrum, but people need to know whether or not they are going to qualify and how to know if they are going to qualify. That uncertainly needs to be addressed. We have bipartisan support for the NDIS, we have bipartisan support for the levy, now what we want from the Government is not words, not promises we know they can’t always be trusted on, what we want to know is are actual rules to whether or not they qualify or not.
David Lipson:
Senator McLucas are they going to get that?
Jan McLucas:
Well of course. The legislation is very clear, it absolutely defines eligibility. What Scott is confusing is the eligibility criteria and the assessment tool. The legislation also established the National Disability Insurance Agency, it is tasked with advising the assessment tool box which will be in place well and truly before the first of July.
David Lipson:
…I suppose the bottom line is this will go through the Parliament. Go ahead Senator Ryan…
Scott Ryan:
…Jan, I’ll stand corrected on the actual terminology of the words I used but words don’t matter here, what matters is whether it’s called assessment or eligibility, as I said I’m happy to be corrected on that, but as I said people want to know how to determine if the qualify or not, people want some certainty and the Labor party is not providing that.
David Lipson:
Let’s look at another matter today and that’s Tony Abbott’s more generous Paid Parental Level Scheme. After dissent from Liberal backbencher Alex Hawke, who was again on Sky News today, he is a regular on Sky but today he talked about the fact he had spoken with Tony Abbott in regards to this policy. Here’s what he said.
(Clip: Alex Hawke)
David Lipson:
So he’s clearly hoping there will be a change in the policy but Tony Abbott had a pretty stern message for him and others like him.
(Clip: Tony Abbott)
Scott Ryan, Tony Abbott is clearly not going to change his mind on this but would you be happy to see more discussion in the party room?
Scott Ryan:
Look, discussion can happen anywhere. This policy was supported in 2010 it’s a policy we took to the election. In my portfolio of Small Business and when I go and visit small businesses around Melbourne and around Australia, this is something they know will take a paper-weight-burden off them and make it easier for them to support their female staff when they have children. When I speak to younger women all round Melbourne and gain Australia this is a very popular policy. This is a policy that supports families and supports families who are often at a very challenging period of their life.
David Lipson:
This is going to be an impost of big business isn’t it?
Scott Ryan:
Well it’s a levy which we have said we hope will be temporary on the top 3,000 companies and the largest businesses. This policy will be a signature policy of an incoming Coalition Government if we win the election because we believe it’s important to support families, it’s important to support small business and this will have economic and social benefits that I believe will and, Coalition members think will, have a great impact on our economy and a huge impact supporting families. This will be introduced, this will be introduced in the first term of a Coalition Government.
David Lipson:
Jan McLucas, as Scott Ryan said there are a lot of women who like the sound of this policy, why shouldn’t they be paid their full salary rather than the minimum wage for having a baby?
Jan McLucas:
Well, I think what we need is a Paid Parental Level Scheme that is sustainable into the long term. Unfortunately the proposal from Mr Abbott means that it will affect the economy, Scott is absolutely right, it will mean that cost of living will go up because those 3,000 companies who are now having to pay the levy, would have to pay that levy, will just pass that on to consumers. So it will have an impact on the economy, it will increase the cost of living, many of his colleagues have confirmed that and the conversation that will be had in your party room Scott will perhaps iron out some of this unfairness. It’s actually unfair…
Scott Ryan:
…Well no, it’s actually not unfair. Let’s go to the truth of this. Firstly, companies can’t always pass on costs. If you’re in a competitive market you can’t always pass on the costs. That’s not true okay, so there’s no proven impact on the cost of living on this at all because most companies can’t pass on their costs and in fact the Labor party has been making that assertion in relation to the carbon tax. Some companies may be able to increase prices but not many but what this means for families is that at a very venerable time where you might lose a significant income, you might lose half a family income for a long period of time, that they can still make the mortgage payments and meet all their bills and that having a family is not as finically challenging as it could be. Labor’s scheme gives people the minimum wage only, so everyone that gets paid more than the minimum wage, every woman that gets paid more than the minimum wage, will do better under the Coalitions scheme.
David Lipson:
Okay, well Jan McLucas I want to ask you about Family Tax Benefit A. As I mentioned the planned boost to this welfare payment has been thrown on the scrap heap. This is another broken promise. Do you feel for the families who will actually miss out?
Jan McLucas:
Let’s be very clear here David, this was a boost that was proposed to be funded through revenues that we’ve already talked about are not there. So people will retain their current circumstances with Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B but the boost that was proposed is not able to be achieved at this point in time. It’s still something as the Labor party we would be supporting, particularly those low income earners, but the current arrangements still stay in place. We can’t pass on the boost at the moment but we will certainly maintain the current financial support for families. Including, importantly, the kids’ bonus, a bonus that Mr Abbott has very clearly said he will take away from families.
David Lipson:
Scott Ryan, this is something that was meant to be funded under the Mining Tax therefore something that the Coalition didn’t support, so are you disappointed to see it gone?
Scott Ryan:
Well, I’m always disappointed when politicians make big promises and then they break them. Last year Wayne Swan said he was going to spread the benefits of the mining boom and what we are seeing this year is that Wayne Swan is spreading the chaos of his budget. Politicians shouldn’t make promises they can’t deliver, this was yet another failed broken promise from the Labor party last year. The tax that was badly designed that cost Kevin Rudd his job, that since then has raised very little money but just like a gambler hoping to win on the next horse race, Labor went and spent the money before the revenue was collected and that’s lead to families again being disappointed. When it comes to the school kid’s bonus we will not make promises we can’t keep and we are not going to borrow from future generations for an electoral bribe that’s not related to education today and that’s what Labor is trying to do, borrow from the kids to give a cheque to their parents. We don’t think that’s appropriate.
David Lipson:
Okay, well I just want to get your reaction from both of you about some comments we have just got in from Immigration Minister, Brendan O’Connor, who has announced today that families will now be able to be put on bridging visas if they arrive seeking asylum and if they arrive by boat. Let’s hear what the Immigration Minister said.
(Audio: Brendan O’Connor)
David Lipson:
Scott Ryan, we’ve just got a minute or so left. So in thirty seconds or so, what’s your reaction to not just single men but families will now be housed in the community?
Scott Ryan:
Well, yet more chaos on our borders. We’ve had 20,000 people arrive this financial year. I don’t know if this is as much as Labor announcing a policy or conceding that our border regime has completely failed and they can’t actually process people the way the law intends.
Jan McLucas:
And Jan McLucas?
Jan McLucas:
Oh, look I’m not across the detail on this policy. It’s something that hasn’t been brought to my attention but Brendan does a great job working through these issues and I’m sure, for the reasons that he’s given, this is the right outcome.
David Lipson:
Okay, well Jan McLucas and Scott Ryan thanks so much for your discussion this afternoon on Lunchtime Agenda.