E&OE TRANSCRIPT
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Today, I'm announcing funding for two really critical programs that help Australians in need. First I'm announcing a boost and investment to the Young Carers Bursary Program. Young carers are really special individuals that provide care and support for perhaps a family or a friend, but often by doing so, miss out themselves. So the young carers bursary is about providing financial assistance to support young carers with the cost of education. The Young Carers Bursary will be lifted from just over $3,500 to $4,000 with this announcement, and in the year 2025 it will go to 3000 bursaries. That's almost doubling the number of bursaries available. This is in recognition that there are a lot of young carers out there and that there's been a significant demand for this program. The types of things that young carers use this bursary for is to cover things like travel to education, the costs of textbooks and other auxiliary items that can add to the cost of education. This is important practical support for our young carers, who do an amazing job. And I'd like to thank Carers Australia, who run this program and for the work they do more broadly that makes sure young carers are supported and recognised.
Today, I am also announcing an extra $44 million investment into the National Debt Helpline. The National Debt helpline is a critically important resource where Australians that may find themselves in financial hardship or are concerned about their financial situation. They may have got themselves into debt and don't know how to get out of it, they can call the national debt helpline and be connected with advice and support. Importantly, today, we're announcing funding for the next five years and the eight providers that will be delivering this important program. Also there will be funding to support and train financial counsellors, which provides such critical support for so many Australians. Further funding will be provided to also make the experience of someone calling the national debt helpline that may need some more complex or extra support with a face to face financial counsellor, seamless, they will be able to get an appointment on the spot with the national debt helpline as well as, of course, access their live chat function, which is provides really important help and support. I would encourage anyone that finds themselves in a difficult situation, you don't have to pay for financial counselling. You can get it for threat free by ringing the national debt helpline, which is one 1800 007007.
Now the investments in these types of services also complement the huge investment our government's been making in Medicare, in housing and right across the board. My message to the Australian people is the Albanese Labor Government has your back. Peter Dutton's message is very different. He has labelled spending on programs like Medicare, like housing, like our investments in schools, like increases to pensions and payments, as useless, wasteful, reckless spending. Well, this is something I completely disagree with. Peter Dutton has made it clear that he wants to cut services and he wants to cut payments. He wants to cut payments like the pension. Well, Peter Dutton needs to come clean. What type of programs and support is he going to cut? What type of payments will it be? The increase to the pension? Will it be other important payments will he cut? If he's Prime Minister, the message is clear, our government is building Australia's future. Peter Dutton will take Australia backwards and cost you more.
JOURNALIST: Now I've got a question, even with this significant boost, there'll still be 370,000 young carers not receiving bursaries. What other support to be made available to them?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, of course, bursaries are one support that provides support for young carers, but there is a range of different programs that are funded both by state government and federal government to support young carers. We've recently launched our National Carers Strategy, which is really about making sure that young carers are recognised and supported. And in that strategy, young carers are particularly called out so we will continue to work across the board to support our young carers, but this bursary includes to doubling the number of bursaries for young People is a critical step.
JOURNALIST: How will the additional funding keep up with the growing demand for the National Debt Helpline?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: This is one of the significant amount of investments we've made to boost the availability of financial counselling. But this funding will make sure that the National Debt Helpline, has greater capacity. It will also improve the functioning of the national debt helpline website in which I was speaking to some financial counsellors yesterday. The staff that work on the live chat so they are able to get the information and advice to people that may not want to pick up the phone. But importantly, it's also about making the seamless availability from being on the phone with National Debt Helpline to actually be able to get an in person appointment. So they are the elements that will improve the national debt helpline. But part of this investment is also about how we support the training of more financial councillors. We know what a really important role financial counselling plays, and therefore the investment that we're doing is also about making sure that financial councillors can get experience on the ground through the steps program, and they're able to be out there helping people.
JOURNALIST: Here it says that the government is committed to extending the program to 2027 will that be more bursaries available is that inclusive in that 3000?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: So, the 3000 will be available from the year 2025 with the increase to $4000. We will continue to monitor and make sure that we are responding to the need of bursaries. The 3000 is just for 2025. We will monitor and make sure that we are responding to the need of bursaries. The 3000 is just for the calendar year 2025 so that could increase it to up. We will continue to monitor the demand and continue to respond to that, but bursaries will be available until 2027.
JOURNALIST: Just briefly. You touched on the eligibility criteria, could you just run through that?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: The eligibility criteria is that you applied through Carers Australia. It is up to the age of 25, years of age, and you are studying.
JOURNALIST: Just on a different topic. The Liberal Party is preselecting its candidate for Bradfield today. What do you make of Warren Mundine potentially being parachuted into a pro voice seat? And what does that say about Liberal’s chances at the next election?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, look, I would say that this is predominantly a matter for the Liberal Party. Warren Mundine has had a few goes at preselection. He had a go at preselection with the Labor Party. He's then tried to get elected with the Liberal Party and to the Senate and now in Bradfield. So look, it is a matter for the Liberal Party. But quite frankly, I'm not too fussed who the candidate for Bradfield is there's a choice at this next election. There's a choice between building Australia's future with the Albanese Labor Government or taking Australia backwards and costing you more under Peter Dutton.
JOURNALIST: The right isn't Supporting Female Gisele Kapterian despite a lack of female representation within the Liberal Party. Does the party have a women problem?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: I think you can see through its ranks in the Parliament that the Liberal Party is a very, very long way away from getting equal representation of women in Parliament, there has been many, many opportunities for women to be preselected. Take, for example, the seat of McPherson Karen Andrews retired, and we have the candidate being replaced by a male. I think this is a problem across the Liberal Party, where they are not even close to achieving gender equity in their ranks. And I think it's incumbent Peter Dutton and others need to look at how they can do better when it comes to female representation. We've just seen, for example, over the last few days, you know, elements within the Liberal Party allegedly undermining their deputy leader. I think there is a systemic problem in the Liberal Party, but I'll leave that for them to fix.
JOURNALIST: What are your priorities for the NDIS?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, firstly, I would say it was an absolute honour and a privilege to be announced by the Prime Minister that I will be sworn in on Monday as Minister for the NDIS. So I haven't been sworn in yet, and I’m look forward to getting a very large number of briefings around the details of the scheme. But firstly, I'd say a couple of things about the NDIS. The NDIS is a life changing scheme that provides care and support for people with a permanent disability. I think making sure that we are getting to the heart of supporting people with disability is critical. My focus will be making sure, as Minister Shorten did, we are putting people with disability at the heart of the scheme, making sure that the resources get to the people with disability and are meaningful for them. Making the scheme sustainable is also critical, and I will continue working across the board, but ultimately, it is doing work within the NDIS and also building a system of supports outside the NDIS for people with disability. That is something that I have already been working on and working alongside my state and territory colleagues on what the NDIS review called foundational supports. It is about making sure that the NDIS is operating in the way it was intended to, delivering life changing support for people with disability at the same time, making sure that there is good support for people outside the scheme as well that may be living with disability. There's over 5 million Australians living with disability in this country, not all of them are on the NDIS. We need to make sure, across the board, we have the right supports in place for people with disabilities.