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Tony Abbott has called out people suffering with depression who rely on the disability support pension.
Talking to 2GB, Abbott voiced his opinion on what the Turnbull government needs to do for the next national budget.
“If people are doing the best they can for themselves and for their families and it is literally impossible for them to find work, fair enough. We were far too ready to put people on the DSP [disability support pension], with bad backs, a bit of depression and so on” he said.
He continued “These are not permanent conditions.”
Disability pensioners were not the only ones though with Abbott also calling out individuals for not taking the first job they see, “We have to wake up to ourselves. This idea that you can be unemployed on benefits in a town where you can’t get fruit pickers…it’s just wrong,” he said.
“These might not be the jobs you want to do for the rest of your life but a job is a job…You have to take it, you just have to take it.”
The controversial comments caused quite the backlash with many taking to social media, slamming his comments for trivializing mental illness by calling it “a bit of depression”.
Kevin Rudd’s daughter, Jessica Rudd also voiced her thoughts on the former Prime Minister’s comments.
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