Federal election 2016: ALP heartland seat tops welfare list

In Blaxland, there was almost one welfare payment made for every person living in the seat at the end of last year.

Mel Dally in the electorate of Blaxland. Picture: Britta Campion

In Labor’s western Sydney heartland seat of Blaxland, there was ­almost one welfare payment made for every person living in the seat at the end of last year, the highest in the nation.

The working class division tops a list of federal electorates with the highest volume of welfare transactions, 149,018, in December.

There are, on average, 150,000 people and 100,000 voters in each seat.

The figure for Blaxland, held by the ALP’s Jason Clare on 11.43 per cent, includes about 33,000 family tax benefit A and B recipients, 16,000 age pensioners, 7500 disability pensioners and 8000 on the dole.

More than 14.6 million welfare payments of all types were made across the country in December.

A single person can receive multiple payments.

While former prime minister Paul Keating, who held the seat when he was in parliament, once told a protester to “get a job”, the Coalition’s Social Services Minister Christian Porter has accused Labor of “trying to walk both sides of the street” on welfare reform.

“Labor is constantly trying to walk both sides of the street, at the same time both opposing and supporting responsible government savings measures depending on who they are talking to,” Mr Porter told The Australian.

Mel Dally, who lives in Mr Clare’s electorate, is 39 and has been unemployed for two years. After a lifetime spent working in childcare and aged care, she went on to the dole and is now on the Disability Support Pension. She has been looking for work.

“It’s what I need to survive,” she said of the pension.

“I hope I can find work before they (cut) it. It’s not enough money to survive and I’m bored.”

Ms Dally said “maybe a few people are lazy” but she genuinely wants to work.

“They (employers) aren’t giving me a chance. I’m really upset. I want a job. I don’t want to be on welfare.’’

Of the top 10 welfare-heavy electorates, seven are held by Labor MPs and three are held by the Coalition.

In Wakefield, held by South Australian MP Nick Champion for Labor, there are almost 10,000 people on the dole.

There are more than 18,000 age pensioners.

Julia Gillard’s former seat of Lalor in Victoria, with almost 40,000 family tax benefit transactions, is the highest rating in terms of payments for family assistance.

The national low-income retirement capital is in Queensland’s Hervey Bay and Bundaberg seat of Hinkler, held by the Liberal ­National Party’s Keith Pitt on more than 9 per cent.

There are more age pensioners in Hinkler than any other electorate in the country — more than 26,000 — pushing it to a total of 144,903 welfare transactions, the third highest of all the seats.

The Labor Party was approached for comment.