A split has emerged among the country's major charity groups over planned welfare reforms aimed at returning the long-term unemployed back into work.

Both the Government and the Opposition have called for tougher welfare restrictions, with $13.5 billion currently spent on disability support pensions and $7.2 billion on the dole.    

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says both these payments will be a key target of next month's federal budget.

Mission Australia is one of the country's leading Christian charities providing homeless shelters and employment services.

The charity has 55,000 unemployed people on its books and says it helps around 200 people a day find work.

CEO Toby Hall says the present welfare system is too soft in not penalising those who fail to comply with the job-seeking rules.  

"The current system as it is has failed and we need to have a new system," he said.

"We need to look at it seriously. We need to create a system which rewards opportunity, which works with people and gives them skills they need to get into work.

"That is not about bashing people. It is actually saying we believe in people, believe in their capability and believe that they can get into the workforce.

"What we believe at the moment is that there is a number of people placed on the disability support pension and the unemployment benefit who actually aren't getting the support they need to move back to the workforce.

"And we think that we need to see a change in the situation. We need to have faith in those people that they can get work, give them the right support to get work and actually see them move back into the workforce."

As other welfare groups met in Canberra to lobby the Government to take a more positive approach in the upcoming budget, Mr Hall says there should be financial penalties if people do not meet their obligations to find a job.    

"I don't think it is about people trying hard enough, I think there [are] a lot of people who are unemployed who are trying very hard to get into work and a lot of them are actually doing that successfully," he said.

"In fact we are placing around 200 people a day into work who are trying very hard, who are working hard to get into work.

"I think that is what we should be doing. We need to focus on working with those people, give them the skills they need, believe that they can get a job and work for them to ensure that they are moving towards the workforce."

"Work will set you Free"

mozzaok wrote on Apr 29^th, 2011 at 11:33am:

The reason for  the hike in disability claims around 2003-2005 was neo-libefralism and social darwinism in the work place.  We the disabled victims of this era of Government and corporate atrocities against our person, our health and our economic rights will tolerate no action against us from our persecutors - we will sue the commonwealth of australia for billions if it tries to screw with our medical records and play ideological semantics with our medical records and treatment.  That is a promise - That is all - the commonwealth will bear its full responsibility, blame and burden for its crimes.

Kat wrote on Apr 29^th, 2011 at 11:54am:




LOL.....this guy's a sure thing for a promotion, it seems he has the necessary qualifications......if he keeps saying things like this Julia or Tony will snap him up quick.

And I don't buy this "There is no jobs" shite.

In the 1930s in the last century my great-grandfather had TWO jobs.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Apr 29^th, 2011 at 1:27pm:



As am I with the elitists who have NFI.

Prevailing wrote on Apr 29^th, 2011 at 9:03am:


On what grounds mate?

You cant take legal action because you dont like what they have to say on a topic.