PRIM MUTAIAISTE
CHECK AGAINST DELITVFRY EMBARGOED UJNTIL. DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OPENING OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES COMMITTEE
CANBERRA 15 FEBRUARY 1990
First, let me welcome you and thank you for accepting my
invitation to join Brian Howe, Neal Blewett and me here
today. There are few more important social issues than that which
brings us together for this meeting. We are here to talk
about our children and the future they face as we enter the
1990s. I know all Australian Governments share the Commonwealth's
fundamental goal that our children should grow up in a
socially, financially and emotionally secure environment.
This is not simply a matter of natural concern for the next
generation of Australians, though, of course, that would be
motive and inspiration enough. Social justice for our
children is also the best contribution we could possibly
make towards a strong, compassionate, and productive
Australia in the years to come.
The goal, then, is not in dispute. And, together, we have
the capacity to make the goal a reality.
But vision and capacity are not enough. They must be
focussed into well co-ordinated action.
So far, this Government has put its major efforts into
ensuring that low income families with children have an
adequate, guaranteed, basic income. We have achieved this
by raising all children's payments to a benchmark of
adequacy and then indexing them. The introduction of the
Family Allowance Supplement has enabled us to meet those
benchmarks. Rent--assistanae -has-a-lso been substantially
increased, and it too will be indexed from March next year.
These initiatives have, as you know, have been warmly
welcomed by distinguished workers in the field, such as
Bishop Peter Hollingworth and the Institute of Family
Studies.
These fundamental reforms have been complemented by the
introduction of the Child Support Scheme itself an example
of the States and the Commonwealth working together to
improve the lot of Australian children. Thanks to our joint
efforts we have gone from a situation where 70 per cent of
non-custodial parents paid no maintenance to one in which
per cent of Child Support Agency orders are complied with.
Last April we introduced a $ 550 million family package that
increased Family Allowance Supplement and Family Allowance
payments enabling us to meet in full and indeed exceed, the
benchmarks of adequacy we set ourselves in 1987. Moreover
we have indexed these payments to ensure the benchmark
payments are maintained over time.
Our last Federal budget contained a $ 100m package to provide
co-ordinated help to disadvantaged young people. This
included: longer term accommodation; expanded labour
market assistance; help in staying on at school; health
services in high risk locations and improved access to
information and services.
The measure of our total commitment as a Commonwealth is
that we now spend $ 3.5 billion on family payments compared
to the $ 1.7 billion being paid in 1982-83. By any standards
that is an unprecedented achievement.
It's relevant, too, to consider improvement in the broader
economy. Providing jobs attacks the greatest single source
of poverty, so our creation of 1.6 million new jobs, and the
opening up of these jobs to disadvantaged groups through
schemes such as JET and NEWSTART, has greatly reduced the
extent and impact of poverty and hardship in this country.
Backing these measures is a whole range of services for
children for which the Commonwealth has either sole
responsibility or shared responsibility with the States.
These services, which include income support, education,
training and employment, health and housing, are documented
in the yellow booklet which has been provided to you all.
And it is clear that the States also put many resources into
programs for children, both together with the Commonwealth
and independently. I fully acknowledge your contribution
a vital contribution under our Federal system. I'd like to
thank you also for responding so thoroughly and promptly to
our request for documentation on your programs. Your
. response -is . yet -another--indicaticn-of our common sense of
purpose and is, I hope, a portent of our fruitful cooperation
on this issue in the future.
This is not an issue that need divide the Commonwealth and
the States and Territories. It is one which can and must
transcend differences in the party political complexion of
respective Governments.
The challenge for the future is to make sure that the
services we are all providing for Australia's children are
delivered to them in the most efficient and effective way
possible. I have said on a number of occasions that our
achievements to date are no justification for complacency,
in what is a critical area one in which hardship still
persists.
What this means, in part, is making sure that children in
need do not slip through the safety net that we jointly
provide. Our services must reach the right people, at the
right time, in the right place, and with the right back-up.
I have commented before that anyone who visits the outer
fringes of our larger cities or our provincial towns must
confront and recognise the special problems caused by social
isolation. It may be difficult to get to and from work, or to find
adequate child care so parents can return to work, or to
have a basic choice of schooling, or to ensure kids are
cared for after school, or to get special services for drug
dependency or alcoholism or marriage counselling or managing
the family budget.
These difficulties can put special pressure on families
pressures with which some families simply can't cope.
It's not a question of providing some specific new program
to deal with a problem at crisis point.
It's a matter of ensuring that families and children get the
help they need before the crisis point before problems are
too deeply entrenched.
It's a matter of finding an approach that, as I have said,
recognises the potential vulnerability of families
throughout the life cycle marriage and the potential for
breaking up; birth and child care; work and the possibility
of injury or the threat of redundancy.
It is the analysis and achievement of this large goal that
is the task of this committee.
Because a comprehensive approach must include the
participation of all levels of government. Whether the help
gets through to the children at risk in the most efficient
-and-effective-manner-often-depends on people and
organisations at the State level.
And let's remember this fact. Understandably, families and
children in need of counselling, health services, legal aid,
emergency accommodation, child care, emergency financial
assistance, or any other kind of help these families and
children are unlikely to care which tier of government has
the responsibility to provide such services. They expect us
to work that out ourselves, and to work together. And they
are right.
The real task is to do everything in our power to coordinate
the delivery of those services; the division of
responsibility behind the scenes should still present just
one face to the family in need; and it should be a caring
and efficient face.
There is a growing feeling that together we've got the basic
building blocks in position. It would be nothing short of a
tragedy if we still failed some children because we did not
take the time, effort and imagination to sit down together
and co-ordinate the delivery of our considerable joint
resources. It's not for me to foreshadow the detail of the work this
committee has in front of it and I am not here today to
announce new Commonwealth initiatives, although I do assure
you that we are never going to be content just to sit pat;
we will always have under review what we are doing and
whether we can do it better or do more.
This meeting today is not an end in itself, but the
beginning of a process of hard but immensely practical and
rewarding work. We've already made a good start in
documenting what we do for children right now. I hope that
your discussions today will identify areas of concern where
our combined efforts can have an impact in the future.
This committee is an important step towards a vital goal for
all of us. Over the coming months I look forward to seeing
the results of today's meeting and of future consultations.
I am confident they will be worth the effort and pledge that
my Government will attach high priority to considering your
recommendations and to responding as positively as we can to
them. I pledge my own continuing personal interest and
involvement in the effort.