FED:Govt defends disability pension scheme

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2010
FED:Govt defends disability pension scheme

By Susanna Dunkerley

CANBERRA, Dec 23 AAP - Labor has defended its reform of the disability support pension,
saying changes will soon help to ease the ballooning number of recipients.

But welfare groups say little will be achieved until the government addresses the $130
a week discrepancy between the disability and unemployment payment.

Outgoing federal families department boss Jeff Harmer has flagged the growing number
of DSP recipients, close to 800,000, as a major policy hurdle for the government.

Dr Harmer told The Australian reform is needed to curb the flow of recipients, which
has tripled since the 1980s, costing taxpayers more than $11 billion this year.

He suggested tougher measures for people to get on the scheme, and greater incentives
for them to get back into the workforce.

Dr Harmer also called for a crack-down on middle-class welfare, noting that 80 per
cent of families with children currently qualify for assistance.

Families Minister Jenny Macklin defended the DSP system, which increased by about 40,000
recipients between 2008-09 and 2009-10.

"The DSP is an essential element of Australia's safety net but it is vital that it
supports the people who need it," a spokeswoman for Ms Macklin told AAP.

"We have made a number of changes to create a fairer and simpler system," she said,
noting that reform would likely cut DSP applications by 10,000 a year from 2012.

Under the changes, new applicants will have to prove they can't work independently,
even with assistance, to receive the pension.

The medical test, that determines a person's ability to work, will be tightened, and
applicants will have to access employment services.

The claims of those clearly eligible for the pension will be fast-tracked, streaming
those who are not out of the system earlier.

The Australian Council of Social Service says little will be achieved until the unemployment
allowance is lifted to the same rate as the DSP.

"Many DSP recipients could be working and would be better off, but worry that if they
lose their job they'll end up on Newstart," ACOSS spokesman Peter Davidson told AAP.

"The government can't, in all conscience, encourage recipients to look for work until
they fix this problem."

The group also backed Dr Harmer's concerns that some welfare payments, including Family
Benefit Part B, are poorly targeted.

Liberal MP Simon Birmingham said that was one area that could be looked at.

"There's a genuine need to look at the interaction of our welfare and tax systems and
make sure that we minimise the churn of payments," he told Sky News.

AAP sld/mm

KEYWORD: DISABILITY

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