Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Transition to Work) Bill 2023

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). This means that the usual motion will remain unchanged. The amendment was introduced by Deakin MP Michael Sukkar (Liberal).

Amendment text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the severe workforce shortages across the country, high levels of job vacancies and employing businesses having difficulty finding suitable staff;

(b) hiring and retaining employees remains a key challenge for small businesses;

(c) under the Government, the cost of food is up by 8.2 per cent; the cost of housing is up 10.4 per cent; the cost of insurance is up by 17 per cent; the cost of electricity is up by 18.2 per cent and the cost of gas is up 28 per cent; and

(d) the failure of the Government to tackle the escalating cost of living that is impacting older Australians; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) increase the work bonus from $300 to $600 a fortnight to incentivise eligible pensioners to work more hours without penalty from 1 January 2024; and

(b) review this increase every 12 months to ensure these settings remain appropriate".