Introduction to the welfare state

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Introduction to the welfare state

• SWP12SP SWP12PPI
• Lecture 7, 2007
• Maureen Long

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Outline of lecture

• What is understood by welfare state?
• Brief historical overview of the development of
  the Australian welfare state
• Characteristics of the Australian welfare state
• Values and ideologies that influence welfare
  provision
• Australias current welfare state

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What is a welfare state?

• Notions of welfare and social welfare
  residual connotations charity (Jamrozik)
• The term welfare state is used when a nation
  has at least a minimum level of institutionalized
  provisions for meeting the basic economic and
  social requirements of its citizens (McMahon,
  Thomson Williams p.9)

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Welfare state meaning and definitions

• ..the range of state interventions which aim to
  protect individuals from unimpeded market
  processes and their outcomes (Polanyi as cited
  in McClelland Smyth 2006)
• type of state predominantly concerned with the
  production and distribution of societal
  well-being

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Welfare state meaning

• Social policy an instrument for welfare state
  development
• Social policy affected by the characteristics of
  the welfare state
• (McClelland, A. 2006)

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Australias key areas of activity

• Income support
• Community services aged care, child and family
• Health
• Housing
• Education and training
• Insurance and compensation
• Work related welfare sick leave, superannuation
  (McClelland 2006)

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Australian welfare state

• The Australian welfare state means tested,
  targeted residual policies
• The ideologies that have influenced the
  development of the welfare state are
• New Right
• Democratic socialist
• Middle Way (McMahon, Thomson Williams p.11)

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Brief overview of Australias welfare state
history

• 1834 Introduction of the Poor Laws in the United
  Kingdom principle of less eligibility
• 1893 Establishment of Australian Labor Party
• 19th Century was the age of charities
• 1901 Federalism
• 1904 -- Arbitration Commission established

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• From beginning of 20th century wages as
  platform for income equality, the role of social
  security was to provide support on a contingent
  and means-tested basis to those unable to provide
  for themselves (ibid.)

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• -- 1908 Introduction of the Old Age and Invalid
  Pensions statutory right for citizens seen as
  an entitlement
• -- Pensions were means-tested to be provided to
  the most in need exclusions were Aborigines,
  Asians and other non-citizens
• -- Introduction of the minimum wage living
  wage Harvester Judgement

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• No other policy did as much as the minimum wage
  to transform the lives of a whole section of the
  community whose welfare in the 19th century had
  so often been a problem of selective charity
  (McClelland Smyth 2006104)

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• Introduction of wage regulation meant as a
  safety net
• 1915-1940 few developments Australia still
  relying heavily on charities for welfare
• 1930s Great Depression and WW2

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Post-war period

• 1940sPost-war reconstruction with Commonwealth
  assuming more responsibility for payments
  maternity allowances, widows pension,
  unemployment benefit,
• Sickness and hospital benefits

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1970s social democratic principles

• 1972-75 Election of a Labor Government with a
  social platform
• End of conscription
• Expansion of social policy underpinned by
  social democratic principles
• Universal healthcare system - Medibank

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Whitlam years 1972-75

• Responsiveness to community introduction of the
  Australian Assistance Plan
• Introduction of free tertiary education
• Aged pensions for all over 70 years of age
• Sole parents benefit

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1972-75

• Participatory democracy and infrastructure in
  cities
• Child care development
• State aid to private schools
• Developing awareness of Indigenous rights
  Vincent Lingari

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1972-75

• Feminism
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Move towards universalism

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1980s

• Recession growing unemployment
• Economic issues dominated political agendas
• Family allowance means tested introduction of
  generous but targeted Family Allowance supplement
• Thatcher and Reagan

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1980s

• Jamrozik asserts that since 1980s, policies that
  have emerged have one common feature to control
  and reduce social welfare because
• -- morally hazardous
• -- negative impact of welfare on the
  market (20067)

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1980s

• Welfare state criticized and attempts to cut back
  on social expenditure
• Election of Hawke Government in 1983ACCORD and
  Social Wage
• Recession of 1990s

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Howard Years 1996..

• Coalition Government elected in 1996
• Pro-market policiesdevaluing notions of
  universality and equality
• Linking rights to obligations
• Welfare delivered increasingly by non-government
  sector
• Role of family
• More reliance on private welfare through tax
  concessions and other payments

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• Mabo and Wik judgements reconciliation movement
• Howard Government practical reconciliation
  recent interventions in the Northern Territory
  dismiss idea of self-determination and
  consultation with Indigenous people

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Indigenous people

• Early dispossession and destruction
• At Federation, denial of citizenship status
  including wage rights, voting census and payments
• 1930s further segregation
• 1948 Formal citizenship but state inaction

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• 1950s eligible to receive payments
• 1960s/1970s international pressure on Australia
  and Indigenous activism
• 1967 Referendum
• 1970s Wave Hill wage case
• Land rights campaigns self-determination

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Australias approach to the welfare state

• Australian approach to welfare and wealth
  redistribution has been described as a wage
  earners welfare state (Saunders 19982)
• Focus on establishing adequate incomes
• Centralized wage determination

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Characteristics of Australias welfare state

• Role of different levels of government
• Mixed economy of welfare role of voluntary
  organizations, markets and families
• Wage earners welfare state
• Selective/targeted welfare Liberal welfare
  state
• Notion of welfare state is changing in Australia
  and elsewhere what future for the welfare
  state

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Post welfare state.

• Outstanding feature of the post welfare state is
  the policy and practice of converting the
  political nature of social problems into
  individual problems (Jamrozik 2006320)

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Case study

• Last Thursday 30/08/07, The Age newspaper,
• published a report of a recent
• ACOSS study that found 2 million
• Australians currently live in poverty -- 30
• were dependent on pensions/benefits to
• survive. ACOSS President Andrew
• Johnson commented that the nations
• poorest were not benefiting from the economic
• boom.

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• With a Federal election due this year, it is time
  to start lobbying to make sure that poverty
  reduction is an election issue. You are part of a
  coalition that advocates for youth and this
  coalition wants to put forward some policy ideas
  about poverty reduction. One challenge is that
  this coalition represents a plurality of
  ideological views from neo-liberal to democratic
  socialist. The one common thread is you all agree
  that poverty must be reduced.

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• Identify three key social policy (developments)
  changes that you consider essential for poverty
  to be reduced.
• Locate these ideas within i. neo-conservative
  political agenda and ii. A democratic socialist
  agenda

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• Identify some ideas about how you
• will fund your social policy initiatives.

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References

• Mendes, P. (2003) Australias welfare wars
• McClelland, A. Smyth, P. (2006) Understanding
  for Action. Oxford University Press.
• Jamrozik, A. (2006) Social policy in the post
  welfare state
• McMahon, Thomson, Williams (2000) Understanding
  the Australian Welfare State
• Saunders, P. (1998) Global pressures, national
  responses. The Australian Welfare State in
  Context. SPRC Discussion paper, No. 90 October
  1998