Tue, 13th May 2008

Southcott interview with Madonna King (ABC 612, Brisbane) - Work for the Dole

Dr Andrew Southcott MP
Shadow Minister for Employment Participation and Apprenticeships and Training

E&OE

Madonna:

John Howard Championed the idea of work-based welfare and now ten years on it seems the Rudd government decided it doesn’t work at all. Dr Andrew Southcott is the opposition Minister for Employment Participation, good morning Doctor.

Andrew:

Good morning Madonna

Madonna:

Should Work for the Dole be axed?

Andrew:

No it should not. In fact in last year’s election campaign the Labor Party said themselves that Work for the Dole provides an important part of the mix of services and they said explicitly in one of their election policy documents that Labor is committed to retaining the programme. These weren’t just weasel words. This is black and white. It’s on the Labor Party website.

Madonna:

So if this is axed tonight will you be claiming this is their first broken promise?

Andrew:

No, well they have broken a few. We had another one which were the incentives to apprentices in agriculture and horticulture.

Madonna:

How successful has the Work for the Dole scheme been- has is worked?

Andrew:

It has been a very good scheme. 40 per cent of participants have got a job within three months.

Madonna:

But 60 percent of participants haven’t.

Andrew:

Well a lot of the people who are going on Work for the Dole have been long term unemployed, many have been out of work for 12 months, almost 2 years and the important thing I would say is Work for the Dole is a very important part of the whole mix of services. The Job Network, flexible workplaces, strong economic growth that enabled us to get unemployment down to a level where it is today, which is 4 per cent. It is a very important part and there is strong support in the community for the principal of Mutual Obligation.

Madonna:

And I should say to my listeners that yeah, do you support Work for the Dole, do you have strong support for it. Let me know this morning. Can I also ask you Doctor, the long term ramifications of scrapping Work for the Dole. What do you fear they might be?

Andrew:

Well, we think that there will be people who will now be left behind. But also it is very important that we do actually have a programme in there that has the principle of Mutual Obligation, where that if people are not actively looking for work, if they’re not actually meeting their requirements for welfare then they are required to do Work for the Dole and it’s a very important part of what the Howard government stood for, and what the Liberal party continues to stand for. We think Mutual Obligation is a good principle, that if you are receiving welfare then you should do something in return.

Madonna:

This has been (inaudible) in the Daily Telegraph this morning by a senior journalist who’s spent a long time in Canberra. Do you think the Government will go ahead and scrap Work for the Dole, or do you think maybe this is a furphy- something put out there to put us off the scent and we’ll see it remain tonight in the Budget?

Andrew:

Well I don’t have an insight into the Labor government’s Budget, but all I would say is that last year they said very clearly to the Australian public that they would retain the programme. If they had said that they would axe the programme that would have been an issue in the election campaign. They did not say that, and I call on them to keep the commitment they made which was to retain Work for the Dole. It was explicit, it was black and white.

Madonna:

Doctor, thank you.