For future generations the deal changes

Kingson appears to agree that if social security is in financial trouble then taxes should be increased. He added, "This is not about economic possibilities-we are the richest nation in the world, and we have a very modest social security system." But increasing taxes is anathema to the neoliberals and completely off the agenda in Australia, so funding and benefit cuts are inevitable.

The boats may have stopped but ordinary people fear they will be left at sea. No wonder popular support is lacking for social security, health and education cuts when there are 2.2 million people living below the poverty line in Australia, with close to 600,000 of them children. Australia's working poor are saddled with high levels of personal debt: half of them aren't confident they have enough savings to last if unemployed for three months, yet Australia's richest nine individuals have a net worth greater than 4.54 million people.

Of course it's important to weed out those who seek to take advantage of welfare with dubious and illegitimate claims, just as it is necessary to streamline administrative processes to make them more efficient and user friendly. But it's a different story if the agenda results in social re-engineering in the interests of corporate profiteers and the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Will Australians ultimately have to pick the degree of social inequality they are prepared to tolerate? Will they even be given that choice?

Changes may be necessary but Scott Morrison should be asked now to categorically rule out privatising the delivery of social services by multinational corporations in an effort to achieve cost savings.