The end of the Age of Entitlement: What it means for you

“The age of entitlement is over,” declared federal Treasurer Joe Hockey last week. “The age of personal responsibility has begun.”

This message from the Federal Government is on high rotation at the moment, used to justify a range of decisions, from refusing assistance to the automotive industry to foreshadowing cuts to the welfare system.

What’s the debate likely to mean for you? Here’s our wrap-up of the story so far:

- If you’re working in an unsustainable industry, don’t expect it to be propped up with government handouts, as the recent SPC Ardmona, Holden and Toyota cases demonstrate. (This rule, as some have noted, might not apply if you live in a marginal seat…)

- Farmers can expect to continue to receive “exceptional circumstances” help during times of drought, but calls from the Nationals to increase assistance have so far gone unheeded.

- The review into the welfare system is tipped to make it tougher to qualify for the Disability Support Pension and Newstart.

- The aged pension has been spared from the current welfare system review but there have been several calls to re-examine how it is calculated. Including the full value of the family home in the asset test has been floated, and AWU national secretary Paul Howes last week declared the current system unsustainable.

- The family tax benefit has also been quarantined from the current welfare review but with “middle-class welfare” in the government’s sights, the test will be where it draws the line.

What do you think? Are we entitled to government handouts? Have we lost our sense of personal responsibility? Have your say in the FiftyUp Club Forum.