By GREG ANSLEY
CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister John Howard is preparing to reshape his cabinet following the announcement of a massive shakeup of the nation's welfare system that will greatly increase the obligation to work in return for benefits.
The cabinet reshuffle pivots on the expected early retirement of Family and Community Service Minister Senator Jocelyn Newman, who launched the reforms, and will position the Government for the run-up to next year's election.
The timing of the announcement and the shuffling of senior seats, linked to earlier boosts in spending for defence and roading, allows Howard to prepare for what will be a tough battle with Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.
Details of the funding for the new welfare package will not be announced until the May budget, but it is clear many more people, including single parents and the older unemployed, will be required to do some form of work or training in return for their benefits.
There will also be tighter checks on disability beneficiaries, who may also in the future be required to undertake paid or community work.
Welfare remains a sensitive area of Australian politics, affecting one person of working age in seven, and costs $A55 billion ($70.7 billion) a year.
Employment growth is slowing sharply with a cooling economy and a slump in the key housing sector that has pushed unemployment back up from 6.3 per cent to 6.6 per cent.
The present work-for-the dole scheme, which requires unemployed people up to the age of 35 to undertake work in return for benefits, has been electorally popular for the Government, but there is concern that the reforms may be preparing Australia for a much tougher regime.
The reforms will establish a Transition Bank, which will allow beneficiaries to average the income from part-time and casual work over six months, to allow them to keep more pay before benefits are deducted.
But single parents will be required to attend annual interviews on job prospects when their youngest child turns 6, and to find part-time or voluntary work, or undertake training or education, when the child turns 16, to receive benefits.
The maximum age for the requirement to work for the dole will be lifted from 35 to 39, and unemployed people aged 40 to 49 will have to do work-related activities.
Disability pensioners will face new medical assessments by Government-appointed doctors and will be given more employment services, training and education services, with some possible work obligations in the longer term.
Despite Government assurances, welfare agencies are worried that the package will hit the nation's poorest.
The Australian Council for Social Services said there were serious disparities between new obligations on low-income parents and the unemployed, and vague information about Government support payments.
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