MEMBER for Mallee Anne Webster says drug testing welfare recipients aims to help community members with their addiction rather than punish them.
Earlier this year, the Federal Government announced it would expand its trial drug testing of Centrelink’s Newstart Allowance recipients.
The trial would have 5000 new recipients of Newstart and Youth Allowance randomly drug tested in Canterbury Bankstown (NSW), Logan (QLD) and Mandurah (WA).
Dr Webster said drug addition was a barrier for some community members to gain employment.
“The Australian Government is committed to breaking down the barriers Australians face getting a job,” Dr Webster said.
“Our region is not in the planned roll out of this trial.
“This trial isn’t intended to punish those on Newstart who fail, rather, as mentioned, it is designed to help remove a possible barrier to getting a job.”
Dr Webster said recipients who failed the initial test, and a follow up test, scheduled within 25 days of the first< would be linked to a general practitioner and recovery service.
“To help them get the support they need,” she said.
Dr Webster supported the continuation of the trial for the government to gain a “broader data set”.
According to the Welfare Reform Act 2018, from January 1, 2018, 5000 new recipients of Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance would be given random drug tests in trial locations.
The two-year trial would introduce random drug testing as a new condition of payment, with welfare recipients who test positive placed on welfare quarantining to help curb the effects of drug abuse.
The measure to curb welfare payments being used for drugs and alcohol, a suite of measures would progressively be implemented from 2017.
According to media reports, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was open to politicians being drug tested in the same way as welfare recipients, under revised proposals introduced to parliament.
