2016-03-02
The Australian Greens have today indicated their opposition to the Community Development Programme (CDP) legislation, tabling a dissenting report as part of the inquiry into the Bill.
“There is a host of negative aspects to the CDP that raise alarm bells for the Greens and key stakeholders. We are particularly concerned that these are fundamental changes to our social security system, there is also a concern that the measure is discriminatory.
“The Government is denying this unfair measure is disproportionately focused towards Aboriginal communities but the Minister for Indigenous Affairs is the responsible Minister.
“There is a shift in responsibility for social security to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. This provides significant discretion to the Minister to make policy through legislative instrument, reducing the level of Parliamentary scrutiny. It transfers responsibility for income support and sanctioning people from the Department of Human Services to employment services providers.
“What’s very concerning is people in remote community will be forced to work 25 hours a week year-round to receive their income support. People in remote communities working 25 hours a week in Work for the Dole will be working for well below the minimum wage.
“Private and non-Government organisations can take on people under CDP alongside workers that are employed and paid in full. This represents an unfair gap that could occur between two people doing the same job.
“The Government is deliberately trying to confuse the old Community Development Economic Program (CDEP) with this program, despite it being significantly different. CDEP was an opt-in wages programme and met minimum wage requirements, whereas on CDP people will be required to work for the dole.
“We need to move away from faux-consultative, top down, paternalistic approaches to unemployment which have failed in the past and will fail again. We can and must do better”.