Catholic social service, health bodies say budget misses the mark.
By Anthony Barich
Australia’s major Catholic social and health care bodies have criticised the Federal Government’s budget as neglecting single parents and the unemployed.
The St Vincent de Paul Society has expressed “grave concerns” about the Budget leaving sole parents and the unemployed “out in the cold, failing to receive the income increases they badly needed”.
SVDP national council chief executive Dr John Falzon said that sole parents and the unemployed account for 60 per cent of those the Society is called on to assist in some parts of Australia.
“Those who were demonised in the past have emerged as the ‘forgotten people’ again. This budget fails to learn from the past, when the ‘forgotten people’ were systematically left out of this nation’s prosperity Dr Falzon said.
While welcoming the increase to most pensions and to the allowable work benefit, Catholic Social Services executive director Frank Quinlan said that the community’s poorest people, including the long-term unemployed, are still being neglected.
Catholic Health Australia, which represents Australia’s largest non-government grouping of public and private hospitals and aged care providers, said that the Budget is positive in its benefits workforce initiatives, $3.2 billion for hospital infrastructure and the promise of the development of a world-class cancer care system, it neglects the future of aged care.
“Older Australians and residents of aged care facilities could feel the effects of a failure to invest in a funding model that will ensure the viability of aged care into the future,” CHA chief executive Martin Laverty said. CHA is also disappointed in cuts to Medicare, changes to the private heath insurance rebate and cuts to preventative health programs.
“There needs to be a greater role for the non-government sector to have access to infrastructure funding in the future,” Mr Laverty said. He said that improving infrastructure and incentives for doctors to practise in regional areas, and making Medicare items available for midwives and nurse practitioners would help widen access to health services for disadvantaged Australians.
Mr Quinlan added that social security payments are currently set “according to political whim”, and urged the government to take the politics out of payments and “ensure all Australians have an adequate income for a dignified life”.
He said that while the Budget includes a plan to escape fiscal deficit, no such plan exists to escape “social deficit”.
While the single rate of many pensions increased by $32.49 a week, taking the base rate to around $318 a week, the base rate for single parents remains at $285 while Newstart has “stalled” at $277, $90 below the single base rate for most pensions. CSSA also renewed its call for the establishment of an Australian Entitlements Commission that would set and index social security payment indepent of the government, in a similar way to the Australian Fair Pay Commission or the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal.