Family First senator Bob Day pushes deal on Newstart

Family First Senator Bob Day has been encouraging Senate colleagues to push for a compromise option of a one-month waiting period rather than six. Source: News Corp Australia

It comes as Tony Abbott was yesterday forced to defend his government’s struggling budget policy to deny people under 30 the Newstart payment for six months after a bipartisan human rights committee said the change was wrong. “I am all in favour of rights. I am also in favour of the rights of taxpayers not to have their money abused. I am in favour of the rights of taxpayers to say that young people should be doing the right thing by themselves and by our society,” the Prime Minister said.

Senator Day has been encouraging Senate colleagues to push for a compromise option of a one-month waiting period rather than six. Yesterday, crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm confirmed that Senator Day wanted a “trial” and he supported the concept. “They’ll have to be paid more than the dole otherwise they wouldn’t work. It will be more than the dole, less than the minimum wage,” he said of the ­proposal.

It comes amid a fierce parliamentary debate about the report by the joint committee on human rights that said “the committee considers that the measure is incompatible with the right to social security and the right to an ­adequate standard of living”.

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer yesterday ruled out any deal on the Newstart changes: “You really shouldn’t be discriminating against Australians because of their age”.

Coalition senator Dean Smith chaired the bipartisan committee but said he still supported the proposed laws. He said overall, the committee concluded the government’s broad social security policy was proportional in pursuit of a legitimate objective. The measure is due to be debated this week.

Last night, in a statement to The Australian, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said the government would continue to try to reach a deal on its changes.