ABC 24 – Lyndal Curtis
CURTIS:
…something you have been left by your predecessor Kevin Andrews who has announced that funding to some non-government organisations will be axed, is that something you would be seeking to review?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Well this is a process that has been running now for some time as a follow on from the decision to reduce funding in that area by some $240 million dollars and they were savings that were going to the budget. Some 700 organisations have been funded to do this work in the community. It was part of an exhaustive, competitive tender round and there will be some cases where organisations that receive funding are no longer but there will be other organisations, over 100 in fact which are new organisations which are now undertaking programmes in the community.
CURTIS:
But announcing that groups like National Shelter which looks after advocacy for homeless groups and Alzheimer’s Australia I believe and Deaf Australia aren’t they the sort of groups that you want to be running, to be not only advocating for their sector but also giving you information.
MINISTER MORRISON:
These decisions related to funding advocacy services as opposed to front line support services in the community. So for example there is no change to the national affordable housing agreements or partnership agreements. So not one bed place is changed on homelessness, nothing of that nature is contemplated under these funding round changes and these are things that the previous Minister and department have been working through for some time. Now the Williams case also has had a fairly significant implication for this funding round. That has affected areas in the homelessness area, particularly for advocacy services and peak body services and things of that nature, and the legal implications of that, the advice was, that those things were now very questionable under that High Court ruling.
CURTIS:
So it could be that they could maybe funded by States more easily?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Of course. These are organisations and services that are found to be more in keeping with the roles of the States and that is the advice that I have on this at this very, very early stage as I am sure you can appreciate. There has been $800 million in funding for organisations to get on with the work that they are doing and that includes over 100 new organisations out there doing work.
CURTIS:
Now you have been moved into a domestic portfolio, an economic portfolio is that what you wanted?
MINISTER MORRISON:
You always serve where the Prime Minister wants to best place you to do the job that you need to do for your country. It was a great privilege to serve as Immigration and Border Protection Minister, I was very pleased with the outcomes that we were able to achieve there. To be asked to take on this new role looking particularly at the role of families and getting people into work and out of welfare and giving them that empowerment in our community and to be able to participate not just economically but socially and to make our social safety net sustainable. These are the objectives; we just can’t take it for granted.
CURTIS:
You made a virtue out of taking a hard line in immigration, will you be bringing that same sensibility to social services or is there a bit of carrot as well as stick in moving people from welfare to work?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I’d hope I made a virtue out of getting outcomes and that is what I always focus on in every portfolio and that is what you have to focus on. You have to apply the means necessary to get those outcomes. In this area what is important is that we get sustainability into the safety net. We need to understand that welfare dollars don’t fall from the sky. Every welfare dollar paid has to be paid for by tax dollars or other forms of revenue and we owe it to those who pay for the system to make sure that the system works for those who need it most. So there are of course millions of people who are in a situation where they rely on this safety net and there are millions and millions of people who pay for that safety net and I need to ensure that both of those interests are respected.
CURTIS:
You come to the job at a time when unemployment is rising and the available funding is shrinking because the budget bottom line isn’t getting any better for the government. Given that there will be more money going out in welfare for those people who are unemployed do you have to look at further cuts, at putting further tightening on what the government provides money for?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I think the key challenge is to make the safety net sustainable and to ensure that we can achieve the great goals of the NDIS. The National Disability Insurance Scheme I think is something that the vast majority, if not all Australians, think is a great idea. We certainly do and we are committed to it. This is a programme that when it hits its first year of full funding is around about $10 billion a year. Now we are not currently paying for that in the current financial year or for a few years to come but we need to be able to ensure the system can support that in the way it needs to be supported. So I think that is a great goal. The welfare reforms we will continue to work through, that is the prize, to be able to have something as world standard as an NDIS that is a central feature of our system. Now I can’t think of anything more than the NDIS that supports those most in need.
CURTIS:
You also have the job of delivering the revised Paid Parental Leave Scheme with flexible childcare. Given money is tight will that be difficult to meet the expectations of people given that things like funding nannies has been looked at by past governments and found to be quite expensive?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Well I will be the beneficiary of quite a lot of work that has already been going on in this area. There is obviously the work of the Productivity Commission and Minister Ley has also done a lot of work in this area. I have been benefiting from that over the last 24/48 hours in particular. These are also topics that have been before Cabinet for some time as well. What is important here is that we simplify the arrangements that are in this area, we make sure they are effective and they provide the right incentives for people to get into work and to stay into work or come back into work and that they are flexible as well. The current system of payments and arrangements can be quite confusing and can become quite conflicting on occasions so again you have to make it sustainable, flexible and we have got to understand that someone is paying for it. It is not for free.
CURTIS:
Given the Prime Minister has put so much weight on your job now particularly in delivering that policy you have got to get it right don’t you?
MINISTER MORRISON:
You have to get everything right all the time. There is no let off in any portfolio for that. There was certainly no let off in my previous portfolio and there isn’t now. Every single Minister who has the privilege to serve in the Cabinet or Ministry has to do a great job for the Australian people. The Prime Minister has asked me to do that in this new area and I am looking forward to the challenges because it impacts millions and millions of Australians.
CURTIS:
One of those challenges will be getting the budget social security changes through the Senate. You gave away some things in your negotiations over Temporary Protection Visas, the legislation that went through in the dying days of the Parliament this year. Are you prepared to negotiate some further changes to those social security bills?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Crossbenchers will of course expect the same sort of engaging and inclusive approach they had from me on those issues. I am a practical person when it comes to these areas but I also know what outcome we have to achieve as I did on that occasion. But equally I open the invitation to the Opposition. I want to see a sustainable welfare system – something that we can afford not just for today but for decades to come. The intergenerational report will come out next year and that will further underscore the challenges and pressures that are placed on the system. We all want to see something like the NDIS. We all want to see that and we all want to see this system be secure and sustainable for the people who will rely on it for generations. To do that we have to make some changes. To think we just can’t make any changes and that all of this will be possible I think is quite foolish. I invitee the opposition to become part of the solution and if they choose not to they need to tell us what their plan is.
CURTIS:
One final question and about your old portfolio, if you had found a different way to achieve the same result, to stop people smugglers putting people on boats and sending them to Australia but without having to do offshore processing and putting people in detention would you have taken that option?
MINISTER MORRISON:
The approach I put in place worked and that is what history will record. People are no longer dying at sea. People who are waiting offshore for places now get our places under the system we have and the budget won’t suffer under the extraordinary costs that it was because the previous government just lost control. People will make their judgements about that time. I know that I did the job I was asked to do and that I was mandated to do by the Australian people. I trust and hope they are pleased with that and I will now take that same energy and focus and will apply it to this task.
CURTIS:
Scott Morrison thank you very much for your time.
MINISTER MORRISON:
Thanks Lyndal.