Blacktown has the highest rate of welfare noncompliance in NSW, second-worst in Australia
EXCLUSIVE: BLACKTOWN is the NSW bludger hotspot and, nationally, is second only to the town of Caboolture on Brisbane’s northern fringes.
NSW
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BLACKTOWN is NSW’s top bludger hotspot and, nationally, comes second only to the Queensland town of Caboolture.
With 333 people consistently failing to turn up to work-for-the-dole appointments or jobseeker interviews in the last year, Blacktown has the highest rate of welfare noncompliance in the state.
It is followed by Dubbo, Auburn, Orange and Liverpool, according to a list of shame released by the Turnbull government as it moves to crack down on welfare recipients taking taxpayers for a ride.
More than 28,150 people in NSW failed to turn up to five or more Centrelink appointments or job interviews in the last year alone, the figures show.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge told The Daily Telegraph that while most welfare recipients do everything they can to find a job, “there are too many who deliberately flout the system and have been getting away with it”.
About 50,000 people who the government says are capable of working were failing to turn up to job interviews — but were not getting penalised at all.
Only 10 per cent of people who consistently missed appointments faced any financial penalty in the last year — and almost all who did lost just one day’s payment.
“These are people who constantly miss job interviews, fail to turn up to work for the dole, and turn down suitable job offers,” Mr Tudge said.
“There are clearly suburbs in Australia where there is a concentration of people consistently missing appointments and job interviews and have no excuse for doing so.
“The majority are men under 30 who should be doing everything they can to get work.
“And if they are capable of working, but make no effort to do so, then they are going to find their welfare payments cancelled. It is in no one’s interests to have capable young people languishing on welfare when work or training is available.”
Mildura in Victoria had the third-highest number of bludgers — 329 in the last year failed to turn up to five or more appointments — followed by Frankston, also in Victoria, and Deception Bay in Queensland.
There were 2241 people across the top 10 suburbs with the highest noncompliance who failed to turn up to five or more appointments.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said welfare dependency for working-age, capable Australians should never be accepted as inevitable or a lifestyle choice.
“Taxpayers are happy to help fellow Australians, but expect their money to be spent effectively and not misused,” Senator Cash said.
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“We’re introducing a clear and fair system of compliance which provides greater support, but also, greater expectations on job seekers to have a go.”
The government will later this year introduce tough new legislation, as flagged by The Daily Telegraph ahead of last month’s federal Budget, in an attempt to crack down on welfare cheats.
That will save $632 million over five years by cutting payments to people who miss Centrelink appointments or job interviews. “Our new welfare compliance system will ensure that those who need more assistance will get it earlier, but those who are taking the taxpayer for a ride will face consequences, including having their welfare cancelled if they turn down a suitable job,” Mr Tudge said.
KEEPING TRUE TO A HARD YAKKA HISTORY
Jack Houghton and Clarissa Bye
NEPALESE student Rockey Basnet is living proof that Blacktown’s age-old ethos of hard yakka and sticking it out is still as alive as ever — even among the area’s newest residents.
The 26-year-old, who initially found major hurdles in his search for work after moving to Australia last year, has managed to nab a job — and he said anyone else in his suburb can do the same.
“I’ve been a chef at Cherry Beans cafe for about four months now and I love it,” he said.
Butcher Darrin Chandler, 33, says many on the dole are giving the area a bad name. “There is work out there if anyone wants it,” he said.
There definitely is work in Blacktown. It is the sixth most productive economy in NSW with a gross regional product of $14.2 billion. Manufacturing is the largest sector of the Blacktown economy.
It was also the birthplace of the global giant Westfields, when Frank Lowy and John Saunders set up a delicatessen business together in the 1950s in Blacktown’s main street, then in 1959 opened their first “American-style” shopping centre.
However, Blacktown mayor Stephen Bali said many residents needed help finding work. “There is a big problem with internet accessibility at places like Mt Druitt, where people cannot afford the cost,” he said.
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