The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says there will be cost-of-living relief in the budget and the government will “prioritise the most vulnerable” but has still refused to commit to raising the jobseeker rate.
Labor backbenchers have broken ranks to publicly call on the government to adopt the first priority recommendation of the economic inclusion advisory committee and “substantially” raise the unemployment benefit.
But while Chalmers says he had “a lot of respect” for the people who co-signed the Australian Council of Social Service letter demanding a boost to jobseeker, he made no promises there would be relief in the May budget.
“I recognise that it is tough to live on the jobseeker payment and that’s why we want to move as many people as we can off that payment and into good, secure, well-paid jobs,” he said.
“A high priority of this government is job security and job creation and wages growth and we want to see more people grab those opportunities.”
Chalmers and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, are also facing a strong internal push from caucus members to raise the jobseeker rate, with backbenchers making their case directly to cabinet ministers in an attempt to move the government’s position.
On Wednesday evening the member for Wills, Peter Khalil, posted on Twitter that his “comments supporting raising Jobseeker are on the record”.
“I’ve advocated on this issue publicly & internally with colleagues since elected in 2016.
“My arguments for raising the rate haven’t changed. It’s the fair & right thing to do so people can live in dignity.”
Earlier, Albanese said he knew “what it is like to grow up in a household reliant upon a pension … I know the pressure that can place people under.”
He said the budget had not yet been finalised and the second-last meeting of the expenditure review committee was being held on Wednesday to make those final decisions.
“What we will be doing in the budget is balancing up the need to provide cost-of-living relief for people with making sure that we show restraint as well so we don’t add to inflationary pressure in the budget,” he said.
The majority of people attempting to live on the unemployment and parenting payments in Australia are in poverty, research has confirmed and while Australia is experiencing historic lows in unemployment, entry level positions remain competitive.
Anglicare Australia’s most recent report into unemployment in Australia found that people with the highest needs were more likely to be unemployed for an average of five years, which is four years longer than the definition of long-term unemployment. People who are unable to work for five years are also much less likely to find work again, with the largest cohorts in this group people with disabilities or chronic health conditions and older Australians.
Australia’s strict social security rules also make moving to the disability support pension, which is $278 a fortnight higher than jobseeker, incredibly difficult, even if a health condition is affecting someone’s ability to find and hold work.
Chalmers said the government’s focus remained on jobs.
“The unemployment rate at 3.5% does give us the opportunity, particularly in communities which are impacted by entrenched disadvantage and long-term unemployment … to try and make sure that more people can grab more opportunities,” he said.
The chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Services, Cassandra Goldie, told reporters in Canberra it was “not [her] understanding” that the government had ruled out a jobseeker increase.
“Our understanding is that this is a live debate,” she said. “I don’t think it has been ruled out – there is an important debate going on. This is a very, very important budget.”
The independent senator David Pocock, whose negotiations on the government’s industrial relations bill resulted in the creation of the economic inclusion advisory committee, said “at every opportunity I’ve pushed them on the rate” of jobseeker.
“I would hope that the government just does the right thing. Should it really take independents to negotiate for a deal for a government to look after Australians? It’s frankly ridiculous.”
At the National Press Club, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said that Labor “should be lifting all income support above the poverty line in this budget”.
“Instead, Labor is moving to occupy the political space occupied by the Liberals,” he said, declaring the Greens “the only social democratic alternative”.
Labor MP Mike Freelander, who was not a signatory of the letter but came out strongly in favour of a jobseeker rise on Wednesday, rejected suggestions from senior government figures that alternatives could be pursued such as investing in helping the long-term unemployed find work.
“That would be more nibbling at the edges rather than making a commitment,” he said. “Why do we have these inquiries and then don’t act,” he said in reference to the committee recommendation.
“There’s a lot of pressure put on Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher internally. It’s not just the backbench.”
