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Vinnies urges Govt: ‘stop dole payment inequality’
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| By Damir Govorcin
9 December, 2012 |
The St Vincent de Paul Society has urged the Federal Government to address the glaring inequality in support payments in Australia.
Vinnies’ national council CEO Dr John Falzon said the single unemployment benefit in this country remains “below any reasonable estimate” of the poverty line.
He was responding to the report of the Senate Committee for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Report which found dole recipients were battling, but stopped short of suggesting an increase to unemployment benefits.
The Senate committee report found that heeding calls from welfare groups for a $50-a-week rise to the $35-a-day dole would cost an extra $2 billion a year, reported Melbourne’s Herald Sun.
The committee instead recommended increasing the time a recipient could work without losing benefits.
“We estimate that sole parents and unemployed people together make up to 60 per cent of those the St Vincent de Paul Society assists,” said Dr Falzon.
“$35 a day doesn’t get you very far, especially after paying for a roof over your head. People who have been pushed out of the labour market need an adequate income if they are to have any chance of being job-ready.
“It’s not just a matter of food and shelter. It’s a matter of dignity.”
He added: “We are steadfast in our resolve that the Newstart payment is too low to live on either in the short term or the long term. Life on this payment is a daily battle waged from below the poverty line and must be increased as a matter of urgency.
“As it stands the rate of the Newstart Allowance acts as a barrier to participation. When you can’t afford the necessities of life it becomes so much harder to find work.
“People on Newstart are effectively denied adequate social security.
“You don’t achieve social inclusion when you take away social security.
“You don’t build people up by putting them down.”
Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Paul O’Callaghan said the committee report fails to provide any “real solutions” for more than 580,000 people who are expected to continue to rely on Newstart to meet their essential living needs.
“The committee found that Newstart is inadequate. Labor’s own senators recommended an increase while the Greens went further to suggest an increase of $50 to the single rate of Newstart,” he said.
“This assessment confirms advice to the Government from many sources and shows that an increased allowance level needs to be put in place.
“It is a reflection of Newstart’s inadequacy that Centrelink social workers regularly refer jobseekers to community services for emergency relief, material aid or financial counselling/support services.”
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