Interview - Ben Fordham Live with Ben Fordham
BEN FORDHAM:
Well, when there's jobs around, but you turn one down, who are you going to call? DobSeeker, of course. That's what critics are calling the new dob in a dole bludger hotline. DobSeeker, the number 1-300-361-241. It's now up and running so bosses can report those who don't show up for job interviews or who turn down reasonable work. The idea is if someone doesn't try and just pockets the dole, their payments will be under review.
The Minister for Employment, Stuart Robert, is on the line this morning. Minister do you make any apologies for this?
MINISTER ROBERT:
None. We want to ensure Australians have every opportunity to work. We want to ensure there’s a good safety net for Australians through JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments. But that money comes from the nextdoor neighbour, the lady across the street. And the average Australian expects someone who's on payment to be looking for a job and not goofing off. And I think it's entirely appropriate.
BEN FORDHAM:
Well, I could tell you that you're going to reduce the number of calls we receive here at the radio station, because during the pandemic we received calls every day from bosses saying, look, we just can't give jobs to people. We've got work here, but people won't take it because JobSeeker was too attractive at the time.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Hervey Bay, for example, Ben, unemployment 8.5 per cent, the national average is 5.6, which is encouraging - but cafes and pubs can't get staff in Hervey Bay. And yet the unemployment rate there is well-above the national average. So I think there is a real issue here about some Australians choosing to pick and choose the type of job they want and when they want to work and expect that their neighbour will continue to pick up the tab and pay the benefits for them.
BEN FORDHAM:
All right. One of your neighbours in the Liberal Party, Bridget Archer MP, says the hotline demonises those without a job.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Yeah, I love Bridge, and Bridget has got some quite personal experience about being unemployed. The great strength of our Party is it’s such a broad church. So Bridget speaks to this from a personal experience, just how tough it was in Tasmania where she was working. So I've got great respect for her and her view. But at the same time, we’ll be sensitive, we’ll be encouraging, we’ll be supportive of people, but people need to know they can't take the system for a ride.
BEN FORDHAM:
You spent more than a decade working in military intelligence. Can I get your reaction to the staff email that was sent out by the Home Affairs Secretary, Michael Pezzullo, who says the drums of war are beating and we should be armed, strong and ready to send our warriors off to fight? It sounds like we're on a war footing.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Secretary Pezzullo is a very sophisticated Secretary. He’s a very, very smart operator, a former Deputy Secretary of Defence. And he makes the obvious point that our military exists to fight our nation's wars. That's the whole point of it. It exists to be armed, ready, powerful, and we should have a powerful military ready to support Australia and its interests. And that's the whole point of the military. That doesn't mean Government's going to send it off anytime soon, but it does mean we need a capable force all the time.
BEN FORDHAM:
The Federal Government is going to go 50/50 with Queensland on the cost of new infrastructure for the Olympic Games in Brisbane. After all the dramas they've caused us – Queensland - should taxpayers in Sydney and New South Wales pay for the Olympic Games in Brisbane?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Keeping in mind, Ben, that the Commonwealth Government contributed to the 2000 Olympics, contributed to the Commonwealth Games in Victoria as well as Brisbane. So there's been a long held regard that the Federal Government will contribute to national and major sporting events. In this case, though, we're looking for an independent organisation which the Commonwealth and the state would contribute to, that will oversee it, and that’ll ensure the accountability of the entire country and how we spend funds.
BEN FORDHAM:
Can you understand it leaves a sour taste in the mouths of people of New South Wales? When we sent them a bill for their quarantine residents to stay in hotel quarantine in New South Wales, they ripped it up on camera. They locked us out for 277 days and now we've got to pay for their Olympic Games.
MINISTER ROBERT:
I understand some of the chagrin if you like. However, the nation contributed to the Sydney 2000 Olympics as a whole, so it is appropriate.
BEN FORDHAM:
So the dob in a hotline phone number, we have tried calling it this morning, but it's out of hours. When does it open for business?
MINISTER ROBERT:
The normal phone lines are nine to five. It's only been running for a few weeks now, so we'll get a feel for numbers by the end of the month. And Ben, my hope is that no one calls it because every Australian turns up for a job interview, turns up for a placement, turns up ready to work. That's my hope and prayer, and that's what we really want Australians to do.
BEN FORDHAM:
Okay. The phone number one more time, 1-300-361-241. We appreciate your time, Minister. Thanks for jumping on the line.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Thanks Ben. Cheers.
BEN FORDHAM:
Stuart Robert, the Minister for Employment.