Raise your hand if you currently have a job? Well, all of you who have raised your hand will eventually pay tax at some point in your lives, some of you may already pay it. The tax you pay may go to new roads, it may go to Medicare or it may even pay for Australia’s welfare system.
According to the Australian Government’s Institute of Health and Welfare, $157 billion of tax payer’s money was used to fund welfare payments and facilities in 2015. There is a multitude of reasons why people receive welfare payments in Australia. It may be as they are a career, a pensioner or are currently looking for employment. Whatever the reason, they receive assistance from the Government via taxpayers’ money.
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Evident from the 2016 ‘National Drug Strategy Household Survey,’ there is a rising rate in the use of ice throughout Australia. This issue, along with the 3.1 million Australian citizens who have used illicit drugs in the past year, raises concerns for the questionable use of welfare payments throughout Australia.
Since the 1st of July 2018, the Commonwealth Parliament has trialed drug testing of 5,000 unemployed welfare recipients in multiple locations around the country. This trial is a result of the amendments made to the ‘Social Security Act [from] 1991’ and ‘Social Security Administration Act [from] 1999’. According to the 2017 to 2018 Government Budget, the first positive drug test will result in an income management system. This sets aside specific amounts of money for the receiver for basic necessities, such as food, housing and also utility expenses. If further positive drug tests are to occur, drug rehabilitation will be a requirement of the person’s welfare. By changing the way that dole recipients receive their benefits, the Government hopes to encourage socially responsible use of the payments and reduce the abuse of this privilege which they receive.
Some people may argue that drug-testing all welfare recipients is a breach of their privacy and rights as a human being. Whilst this may be true to some degree, the abuse which the welfare system receives requires changes to be made. This will result in the sense of entitlement surrounding ‘dole’ recipients being diminished and only those who truly require the Government’s assistance being helped where necessary. These tests will also potentially reduce illicit substance abuse within Australia. Further to this, many jobs throughout Australia, particularly those which involve machinery, transportation, defense and also aviation require regular drug testing. If people who have full-time employment have to be drug tested, why should this even be a topic of debate for people who are unemployed and surviving on taxpayers’ money?
By providing welfare receiving drug-users with rehabilitation facilities and also using strict income management systems, this will assist with the reduction of their drug dependency. By breaking the cycle of drug-use, this will increase their likelihood of obtaining employment, which will take them out of their state of poverty, reducing homelessness and diminishing long periods of unemployment. This has an impact on Australia, significantly increasing safety on the streets throughout the country. In addition, by increasing employment rates, this will have a positive effect on the Australian economy and also create greater productivity in workplaces.
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