The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, has accused Labor of becoming a “centre-right government” and making decisions “Scott Morrison would have been proud of” after it ruled out any substantial rise to unemployment benefits.
Labor’s own experts released a report on Tuesday that recommended the government substantially lift jobseeker, concluding it had fallen so far below a liveable level it was now “a barrier to paid work”.
The economic inclusion advisory committee’s report also recommended a boost to commonwealth rental assistance, and a shift in thinking in what the government considers full employment.
The government, which estimates the total cost of implementing the recommendations in full would be $34bn, began lowering expectations almost immediately.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, made no commitments, saying only that the government would look to make improvements when it could, while listing budget pressures.
Bill Shorten on Wednesday put the recommendations in the context of the May budget.
“We want to do things that are responsible and help people. And we’ve been doing some things. You’ll have to watch this space,” he said.
“But there are, of course, a whole lot of things the budget has got to do. And our predecessors did leave us with $1 trillion of debt. And that is the single greatest call on the budget, paying off the interest bill that’s left us.”
The Government has been forced to admit that $40 a day isn't enough to live on.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 23, 2020
In the aftermath of the pandemic, we can't have people sliding back into poverty.
Because when Australians fall on hard times, we should help them get back on their feet. pic.twitter.com/ZGYdUunKcC
Bandt, whose party holds the balance of power in the Senate, was furious with the government’s response, saying Labor was “not a progressive government”.
“There are single mums couch surfing with kids right now. There are kids without enough healthy food to eat. And instead of lifting them out of poverty, Labor is choosing to spend billions on submarines, stage-three tax cuts for the wealthy and handouts for fossil fuels,” he said.
“In a housing and cost of living crisis, Labor’s not making ‘hard choices’, they’re just making things harder.
“Labor is becoming a centre-right government, making economic decisions Scott Morrison would have been proud of.”
The Coalition seems to be in lockstep with the government over not raising the payments.
Liberal senator Jane Hume told Sky News that a 40% increase to jobseeker would be inflationary and economically irresponsible.
The opposition remains in support of the stage-three tax cuts, which will cost the budget $250bn in lost revenue over the next decade and give up to $9,000 in tax breaks to people earning above $180,000 from 2024.
Charities and welfare advocates such as the Australian Council of Social Service, Anglicare and the Antipoverty Centre have all called for jobseeker rate to be increased, along with the Greens and key crossbenchers.
The majority of people on unemployment and parenting payments are living in poverty. Many long-term unemployed people have chronic illnesses, disabilities or care commitments that make finding employment difficult.
Despite the government’s apparent rejection of the economic inclusion committee’s recommendations, the chair of the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, Sam Mostyn, remains hopeful the single parent payment will be restored by the government in the budget.
“I’d rather we didn’t think about these as welfare payments, and think of them as investments in 50% of the population that actually hold up the whole show,” Mostyn told the ABC.
