Welfare recipients blame drinking, drug taking for failing to look for work
Welfare recipients blamed their drinking or drug taking for failing to look for work or attend appointments more than 5000 times over the past year.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Welfare recipients blamed their drinking or drug taking for failing to look for work or attend appointments more than 5000 times over the past year.
But authorities rejected the excuses after the rules were changed last July to ban Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients claiming exemptions from their job search requirements because of drug or alcohol misuse.
The revelation that 5247 applications for the 13-week exemption for welfare activity requirements were rejected because job seekers used drug or alcohol misuse as an excuse comes as the Morrison Government hit a snag in its bid to pass new drug testing laws this week in parliament.
Key crossbench senator Jacqui Lambie on Monday suggested she would not vote for the Bill, maintaining her calls for politicians to be drug tested and more drug services to be put in place as a condition for backing it.
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said the new data showed thousands of welfare recipients believed their drug use meant they didn’t have to show up for job interviews or work appointments.
“The Morrison Government is committed to identifying welfare recipients whose drug use is an impediment to securing work so we can help them deal with those issues and become job ready,” she said.
“Drug addiction is a serious scourge on our society and the Government will use all means at our disposal to help people get over their substance abuse issues so they can get back into the workforce.”
Since last year, jobseekers are allowed to include drug and alcohol treatment in their job plans, meaning that showing up to rehabilitation services such as counselling could count towards their requirements for getting “job ready”.
The number of job seekers who have a drug treatment plan has increased three-fold over the past four years, from 1,436 in 2015-16 to 5977 in 2018-19.
Senator Lambie said random drug and alcohol testing was commonplace in the construction and mining industries and the parliament needed to lead by example.
“Do not inflict on others what you won’t do to yourselves, it’s a simple as that,” she said.
Senator Lambie said the drug and mental health services were not in place in many places which would make drug-testing “bloody pointless”.
“I don’t even think that’s going to help because they can’t keep up with the mental services out there, they’re miles behind there,” she said.
MORE NEWS:
DANNY FRAWLEY DIES IN CAR CRASH
WILL UFC GIRLS BE NEXT TO GET THE CHOP
EVIL CRIMINALS GIVEN WEBSITE FOR TWISTED RANTS
“They’re just not going to be able to bluff their way out of this one, I don’t think. I think it’s just not going to work.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he has no problems with drug-testing politicians while Finance Minister Mathias Cormann
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday took to social media to say he had “no problem with drug tests for politicians” while Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said he was “completely relaxed” about the proposal.
Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles said there was an “indignity” to drug-testing welfare recipients.
Originally published as Welfare recipients blame drinking, drug taking for failing to look for work