Call to lift Newstart by $50

    From: AAP
    May 01, 2013 7:32AM
    The Australian.

A GROUP of 40 prominent Australians have made a call for the unemployment benefit to be lifted by $50 a week.

In an open letter, heads of welfare and charity groups, unions and indigenous organisations as well as World Vision's Tim Costello, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside and feminist Eva Cox have urged the federal government to lift people on the Newstart Allowance out of poverty.     ;)

"The Newstart base payment of $35 a day has not been increased in real terms since Prime Minister Keating's increase in 1994," the letter says.

"The rate is now so low it is unbearable to live on and has become a major barrier to supporting people into paid work."    

Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie said the $1.8 billion price tag was affordable.    

"Increasing Newstart by $50 a week will help lift over one million people out of this despairing situation, and provide a welcome stimulus to the economy because every single cent will be spent on mere survival," she said.     ;)


However, the call is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Early this week, Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed a $12 billion budget revenue shortfall.

This needs to be done, I can't see how Labor can afford it this term and the liberals are more likely to reduce the payment and devert the savings to someone they like.

Very sad situation.

If it doesn't happen this budget, we can forget it, for at least the next two electoral terms.

It'll never happen under Abbott.

I don't know whether Gillard might give it based on the fact that she won't win anyway, so it doesn't matter.

Or will she continue to hold back, chasing the hardline conservative vote she'll never get.

After all, that was why there was all this BS about a surplus.

Well it didn't happen because it lacks political value so close to the election. It's just not that high a priority here in Oz Kat, where most of the electorate is already employed and so has no experience of the poverty experienced on Newstart.

What did happen was that the cost of welfare was reduced at this budget by removing certain family payments. You can expect that kind of budgetary welfare cost cutting to continue. Blame the Europeans for that one... they became too reliant on their welfare indulgences that their budget's cannot cope. Europeans are now witnessing to the free world the evils of excessive welfare dependency and the cost to our future children if we do not seek to live without everything except the most basic of welfare entitlements.

That sounds fine on the surface.

But we are taking the welfare spend from the truly needy and using it to buy votes off the middle-class.

It's there where the cuts should be made, not at the bottom-end.

Redirect the billions in foreign aid and for boat people for the unemployment rise.

Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Jun 10^th, 2013 at 12:59pm:

Redirect the billions in foreign aid and for boat people for the unemployment rise.

That foreign aid paid to developing nations, would be better considered to be compensation for the pain and suffering Australians have caused in their pursuit of materialism.

Many nations in Africa for example supply the leather, silver and diamonds we use to make our cheap fashion statements. The first world demands that these items be produced cheaply else we won't purchase them. Follow the business model in use, and what you will find is a First World Wholesaler pulling the strings.

The workers suffer shocking and dangerous conditions for enough reward to cover their substandard shelter and food for the day.

So, rather than take the foreign aid from these nations, better to give that aid with strings attached.... meaning essentially that we control the funding and how that funding is used, then use that funding to lift the standards of those we First Worlder's have caused to suffer greatly.

Broaden the base of the GST and raise the rate to 15%, overcompensating the poorest—by raising Newstart by $75/week, etc.

Further Budget savings could be made by reducing the amount of negative gearing that can be claimed by any investor by 10% a year for existing buildings and by 5% a year where an investor builds a home or group of homes, units etc.

So 3 years after the NG law was changed, any investor buying or holding a property can claim 70% of expenses on existing dwellings or 85% where they built a house or units, etc.

Nor affordably before the election with a likely result going to the group who believe that making the most vulnerable suffer is a good thing.

wrote on May 1^st, 2013 at 8:02am:

A GROUP of 40 prominent Australians have made a call for the unemployment benefit to be lifted by $50 a week. In an open letter, heads of welfare and charity groups, unions and indigenous organisations as well as World Vision's Tim Costello, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside and feminist Eva Cox have urged the federal government to lift people on the Newstart Allowance out of poverty.     ;) .

How noble of them to call for others to do something.  If they feel that strongly they could, you know...do something themselves?




Nah.

Sappho wrote on Jun 11^th, 2013 at 4:55pm:

Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Jun 10th, 2013 at 12:59pm: Redirect the billions in foreign aid and for boat people for the unemployment rise. That foreign aid paid to developing nations, would be better considered to be compensation for the pain and suffering Australians have caused in their pursuit of materialism. Many nations in Africa for example supply the leather, silver and diamonds we use to make our cheap fashion statements. The first world demands that these items be produced cheaply else we won't purchase them. Follow the business model in use, and what you will find is a First World Wholesaler pulling the strings. The workers suffer shocking and dangerous conditions for enough reward to cover their substandard shelter and food for the day. So, rather than take the foreign aid from these nations, better to give that aid with strings attached.... meaning essentially that we control the funding and how that funding is used, then use that funding to lift the standards of those we First Worlder's have caused to suffer greatly.

Is there evidence that Australia oppresses Africans economically?

... wrote on Jun 11^th, 2013 at 7:17pm:

wrote on May 1st, 2013 at 8:02am: A GROUP of 40 prominent Australians have made a call for the unemployment benefit to be lifted by $50 a week. In an open letter, heads of welfare and charity groups, unions and indigenous organisations as well as World Vision's Tim Costello, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside and feminist Eva Cox have urged the federal government to lift people on the Newstart Allowance out of poverty.     ;) . How noble of them to call for others to do something.  If they feel that strongly they could, you know...do something themselves? Nah.

The two I've highlighted probably do more to help the unemployed than ANY government ever has.

And you claim they do nothing?

Sorry, but that's simply not the case.

I think these 40 prominent Australians need too GET OFF Their FCKN Arse and make JOBS available to unemployed people, rather than push for a measerly $50 Increase in welfare.

YOU CAN"T Solve Unememployment by just Ignoring it.

IT won't just magically disapear off the face of the earth.

Kat wrote on Jun 12^th, 2013 at 8:49am:

... wrote on Jun 11th, 2013 at 7:17pm: wrote on May 1st, 2013 at 8:02am: A GROUP of 40 prominent Australians have made a call for the unemployment benefit to be lifted by $50 a week. In an open letter, heads of welfare and charity groups, unions and indigenous organisations as well as World Vision's Tim Costello, human rights lawyer Julian Burnside and feminist Eva Cox have urged the federal government to lift people on the Newstart Allowance out of poverty.     ;) . How noble of them to call for others to do something.  If they feel that strongly they could, you know...do something themselves? Nah. The two I've highlighted probably do more to help the unemployed than ANY government ever has. And you claim they do nothing? Sorry, but that's simply not the case.

Thats not what i claim at all.  Welfare was a community/charity initiative until government saw an opportunity to increase their power by usurping it.  Now it seems they're quite happy to leave responsibility to the gov. Unfortunately it doesn't do anything to spare us the moral preening of those who are wealthier than I'll ever be.

A Welfare or charity group has done nothing to help me.

That is why we are relient on government, because people FAIL.

PEOPLE DON"T CARE.

I received my fortnightly NSA payment on monday.

Then I lost $200 to the bank for repayment of credit debt.

That leaves $300 to live on for the next 2 weeks with NO accomodation to live in.

Provide Jobs you IGNORANT Bastards

Employers out there screaming for workers and yet we keep people unemployed. So we can tell the world we have a Unemployment problem.