PRIME MINISTER Press Statement No.
8 September 1975
INCOME SECURITY REVIEW
The Prime minister, the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, today
announced the terms of reference and the administrative
arrangements for the Income Security Review. Mr Whitlam first
mentioned that the Review would be undertaken in the course of
his Chifley Memorial Lecture which he delivered in Melbourne
on 14 August 1975. The terms of reference for the Review, which
have been agreed to by the Government, are attached.
The Prime Minister said that it had been decided that
the Review would be monitored by a Cabinet Committee of Ministers
comprising himself, the Treasurer, the Minister for Social
Security and minister for Repatriation and Compensation and the
Minister for Labor and Immigration.
Cabinet had agreed that a Committee of officials ( Review
Group) should be drawn from the Department of Social Security, the
Taxation Office, Treasury, the Departments of Repatriation and
Compensation and of Labor and Immigration, the Social Welfare
Commission, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
with assistance from other Departments and authorities as
required. Mr Whitlam said that the Government had decided that
until the Review is completed there should be no new initiatives
or extension of existing policies in the income security area.
Progress of the review will be closely examined at
regular intervals by the Cabinet Committee. By the time of the
1976/ 77 Budget the Government expects to determine its long term
program of reforms and the steps which will need to be progressively
taken to achieve those reforms. ./ 2
When the Government came to power in 1972 there was
need for immediate improvement in the income security and social
welfare area. Considerable progress has been made to effect that
improvement. Further improvements of a more fundamental kind are
needed. The review process now started will take into consideration
the independent reports already commissioned by the Government.
The Prime Minister said the Review would have regard to
the Government's policies for the abolition of the means test on
age pensions and for the introduction of the National Rehabilitation
and Compensation Scheme covering injuries. In respect of the
latter aspect Mr Whitlam said that the Government was concerned
at the high cost to employers and car-owners of the existing
compulsory schemes for Workers Compensation and Third Party
Insurance and the incomplete, uncertain and time-consuming
remedies for the victims of industrial and highway accidents.
CANBERRA A. C. T.
ATTACHMENTI
INCOME SECURITY REVIEW
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Terms of Reference of the Income Security Review are
A. To examine the present income securtity system in
Australia with the objects of determining the
effectiveness of programs now undertaken at all levels
of government and in the private and voluntary sectors,
and of identifying inadequacies, overlaps and inefficiencies.
B. To examine options and make recommendations for
policy change with respect to income security
having regard to:
costs, appropriate methods of financing and
economic implications;
administration, including legislative and
staffing implications, ( noting that aspects
of this are being considered by the Royal
Commission on Australian Government Administration);
and transitional arrangements associated with any change.
2. In the course of its work the Committee will seek
Ministerial guidance on specific objectives for income
security and related welfare programs.
3. The Committee shall have regard to the Government's
policies for abolition of the means test on age pensions and for
the introduction of the National Rehabilitation and Compensation
Scheme covering injuries.
4. In carrying out its task the Committee shall include a
consideration of: the reports that the Government has received
or commissioned relating to income security
( including in particular the Woodhouse,
Henderson, Hancock and Toose Reports and the
Priorities Review Staff's Report on Social Welfare
Possibilities for Australia) and other relevant
information, ' including that from overseas;
the relative merits of providing benefits through
cash payments, services or a combination thereof;
the relationship and interaction between the
income tax and the income security systems;
the roles of other Government policies, including
employment and wages policies, in the provision
of income security; / 2
2.
the roles of Australian, State and Local
Governments and of private and voluntary
organisations, having regard for constitutional
aspects and any co-operative planning arrangements;
and the views expressed by consumer groups, voluntary
agencies and other interested parties.