(Transcript from World News Australia)
The government is launching a review of welfare payments which could make eligibility for the dole and disability pension tougher.
Thea Cowie reports.
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The federal government says its review is aimed at ensuring the nation's welfare system remains sustainable.
The system is now costing more than $70 billion a year and the government says it wants to see what can be done to reduce that cost.
Chief executive of the national council of St Vincent de Paul Society, John Falzon, says that's absolutely the wrong approach.
"The government needs to abandon an ideological fixation with taking from amongst the poorest in Australia in order to bring about better budget outcomes. Instead of taking away from the poor we should actually be looking at broadening our revenue base and ensuring that those at the top actually pay their fair share."
The review will look at reducing the number of people on the disability support pension which is indexed at a different rate to payments such as Newstart.
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews says that provides a perverse incentive for people to get onto the disability pension which he's labelled a "set-and-forget" payment.
The number of people receiving the benefit has risen in the decade to 2012: from under 660,000 to almost 830,000.
Ideas being flagged to reverse that trend include reviewing payments to people under 40, and looking at how people can be moved off disability payments and into the workforce quickly.
CEO of the First Peoples Disability Network Damien Griffis says those suggestions are offensive.
"If you have a permanent disability well that's not going to go away so to suggest that people have to go through an evaluation process again, particularly if they have permanent disability is frankly quite offensive for those people and quite demeaning."
Chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service Cassandra Goldie says she's concerned the review is all about making budget savings.
Dr Goldie told the ABC the government needs to get the balance right.
"We want a disability support pension which respects the fact that for some people, they are not going to be able to be in paid work because of the level of disability that they experience and that for other people, they desperately want to be in jobs but there are real challenges and barriers including discrimination. We would fully support the minister going down the path of a single payment for people of working age, a presumption that people want to work, unless there is something that is more important, for example caring for children."
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews describes work as the best form of welfare.
To that end, he says the review will consider eliminating the ability of those on welfare to refuse to take a job if it is more than 90 minutes' travelling time from their home.
Damien Griffis, from the First Peoples Disability Network, says that's impractical for many Aboriginal people.
"There is very little accessible transport options throughout Australia frankly so how you get to work is one of the fundamental barriers for Aboriginal people with disability so without some thinking around that then it's going to be very difficult for people to comply with these sorts of rules. And yet it's not through any fault of their own."
Heading the federal government's review is former Mission Australia head Patrick McClure.
He carried out a similar review of the welfare system under the Howard government.
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St Vincent de Pauls' John Falzon says unfortunately, very few of Mr McClure's recommendations have been implemented.
"The McClure report actually did contain some proposals that I think really did merit some attention. Chief amongst which was the idea of a universal payment with top ups that would be sensitive and responsive to people's actual living conditions and needs."
The government has already ruled out introducing a universal payment any time soon, saying that's a long-term solution.
According to government figures, more than five-million Australians are receiving Newstart, and either the disability or age pension.
People on the age pension make up almost half that number but the government says they'll be exempt from the review.
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