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Speaker 1: New research on how much young beneficiaries are costing us

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Speaker 1: in the long term. This morning, the Ministry of Social

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Speaker 1: Development says those under the age of twenty five accessing

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Speaker 1: a main benefit continue receiving welfare for an estimated twenty

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Speaker 1: years extra on average. The government says this is one

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Speaker 1: of the many reasons it's forging ahead with reform. Carmeo

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Speaker 1: Cipoloni is the Labor Party's Social Development spokesperson. Why do

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Speaker 1: you think there's been such an increase in the forecast

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Speaker 1: for young people in particular who are on benefits. Why

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Speaker 1: is such an increase in the forecast for how long

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Speaker 1: they'll stay there?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think it's important to note that the Minister

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Speaker 2: again has ignored the actual substance of the report. There

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Speaker 2: are a number of risk factors that lead to forecasted

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Speaker 2: numbers for people on benefit. That includes if they've been

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Speaker 2: they have had a history of care and protection, they

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Speaker 2: have been in prison or proceeded against both the police,

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Speaker 2: they've been in social housing in the last three years,

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Speaker 2: which means they're probably operiencing a level of poverty. That

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Speaker 2: they've been in hospital in the last three years, so

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Speaker 2: they've got health conditions or they've accessed mental health support

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Speaker 2: in the last three years, and so therefore they have

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Speaker 2: mental health issues. She continues to make out that it

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Speaker 2: is a result of them going on benefit that is problematic,

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Speaker 2: and then that they need to be punitive. The reality

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Speaker 2: is there are other risk factors that lead to people

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Speaker 2: needing to access welfare.

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Speaker 1: Do you accept their dependent on welfare at this point?

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Speaker 2: Oh, there are some that are are there about the welfare.

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Speaker 1: Do you think there should be consequences for those who

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Speaker 1: are dependent on welfare, like having their welfare taken off them?

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Speaker 1: I mean, how else do you stop dependency.

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Speaker 2: Let's keep in mind that a large number of people

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Speaker 2: on welfare have health and disability conditions, and this report

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Speaker 2: is about all all people. This report is about all people.

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Speaker 1: But it specific Yeah, but it talks specifically about job

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Speaker 1: seeker support as well. People under the age of twenty

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Speaker 1: five on job seeker support woulds been average of about

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Speaker 1: eighteen more years on a benefit over their life to lifetimes.

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Speaker 1: That's fifty percent longer than when national was lasting.

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Speaker 2: So any government needs to focus on the risk factors

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Speaker 2: that lead to people going on welfare. It's not going

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Speaker 2: on welfare that leads to the dependency. It's all of

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Speaker 2: the other things that are pointed out in the report,

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Speaker 2: which the minister conveniently ignored.

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Speaker 1: Okay, if you accept that, if we accept your argument

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Speaker 1: there that it's about those risk factors, do you accept

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Speaker 1: that you Labor must have done an appalling job with

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Speaker 1: those risk factors. Given the length of increase in the forecasts, there.

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Speaker 2: Were compounding impacts for these people in their lives. Mental

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Speaker 2: health issues didn't necessarily just start when they came on benefits.

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Speaker 2: And the other risk factor is, of course economic conditions

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Speaker 2: and what has been forecast there are that also leads

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Speaker 2: to the predictions for how long someone will stay on benefit.

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Speaker 2: It's important to also note that this is a bit

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Speaker 2: of a distraction. There are nearly twenty thousands more people

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Speaker 2: on benefit since the government took office. No, no, and

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Speaker 2: that's an indictment on them.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's indictment on the economic conditions I suppose, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: With the they also laid off over six thousand public servants.

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Speaker 2: This is true doctor infrastructure projects and we've got ten

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Speaker 2: thousand pure jobs in the building and construction sector.

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Speaker 1: I've got time for one more question, come, and I

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Speaker 1: really want to ask you is there ever a situation

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Speaker 1: in which labor would cut the amount someone is paid,

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Speaker 1: would cut a benefit for a young person, no kids,

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Speaker 1: work ready, sitting on a benefit, sitting on welfare indefinitely,

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Speaker 1: would you ever cut that benefit?

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Speaker 2: Well, we still had a sanction system in place, and

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Speaker 2: so when we were in there was still the ability

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Speaker 2: to apply sanctions if someone was not living up to

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Speaker 2: their obligations with respect to seeking work or the work

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Speaker 2: obligations that were in place. So that was already a

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Speaker 2: tool in the toolbox in seat.

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Speaker 1: Okay, all right, we have to leave it there, came ol.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much for your time. Appreciate it, Thank you, Thank.

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Speaker 2: You for more. From early edition with Ryan Bridge.

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Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks. It'd be from five am weekdays,

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