The dole would need to increase by $300 per fortnight to help close the poverty gap, research shows

The dole should be increased by $300 a fortnight and the pension by $11 to close Australia’s poverty gap, according to new research.
news.com.au December 12, 2018


The dole would need to be increased by nearly $300 a fortnight in order to reduce the poverty gap by 11 per cent within the same budget.

New research unveiled by the Australian National University’s Centre for Social Research and Methods has analysed five welfare payments and how we could restructure their values to reduce the poverty gap, The Australian reports.

Across the five payments, the current budget is around $100 billion per annum, but the formula found income unit poverty could be reduced by as much as 11 per cent just by adjusting payment rates.

In this particular scenario, Newstart for unemployed should increase by $270 per fortnight, the Age Pension by $11 and rent assistance by about $10.

These increases would be paid for by cutting Family Tax benefits by around $60 or more, and single parent payments by more than $30.

The idea is that the poverty gap for households on allowances would drop 68 per cent, while single parents would face an increase in their poverty gap on average from $97 per year to $382.

“The reductions for family payments suggests that these payments are currently paid to many households and income units that are either not in poverty or have low poverty gaps,” the paper says.

“FTB can go to families, admittedly at a tapered rate, with incomes over $100,000. From a poverty perspective, it is perhaps not as well targeted with respect to income as allowances and ­pensions.”


Labor has committed to increasing the Newstart Allowance and getting more long-term unemployed Aussies into work.Source:News Corp Australia

It comes as Labor has pledged to boost the “shamefully low” dole level if it wins the next election.

If Labor wins the federal election next year, Aussies on Newstart could be in for a $75 increase.

The party has already committed to reviewing Newstart and investigating ways to get more long-term unemployed into work.

But according to The Courier-Mail, Labor is seeking to go further and deliver “a substantial increase to Newstart payments in the first term of an elected Federal Labor Government”.

Essentially hundreds of thousands of dole recipients would receive a “substantial” increase if the Opposition won the next election.

Inner-western Sydney mayor Darcy Byrne will propose the resolution. He told the newspaper the dole payment was a “national shame” and said there was growing pressure for Labor to increase it.

“Not a single soul in the Labor Party or the trade union movement thinks the rate of Newstart is fair or adequate,” he said.

“After years of derogatory rhetoric towards Australians who are out of work, Labor has an opportunity this weekend to recast the national debate.”

There are currently 705,658 people on Newstart allowances across the nation. According to Yahoo! Finance, single adults without children receive $275.10 a week, or less than $40 a day. A $75 increase would mean $350.10 a week, or $50 a day.

The poor bastards will have to buy cheap domestic champagne on those rates.

When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :(

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12^th, 2018 at 4:54pm:

When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :(

1: Increase Newstart to take into account the massive increases in the cost of living since 1994 that are not factored into CPI.
2: Reinstate real full employment backed by a Job Guarantee. The NAIRU doctrine has been discredited, and it no longer makes sense to maintain an artificial floor of 5% unemployment.
3: Abolish all the compliance, red tape and penalties that constrain access to the Australian labour market for unemployed Australian workers.

Other measures will be needed but this is a start.

When labor abolishes negative gearing and reduces the capital gains discount they can then use the 11 billion a year saved to give an increase to the dole ;)

Sir lastnail wrote on Dec 13^th, 2018 at 10:01am:

When labor abolishes negative gearing and reduces the capital gains discount they can then use the 11 billion a year saved to give an increase to the dole ;)

They could also fund an increase to the dole by making deep cuts into the $7 billion a year that's spent on the job services networks.

"The dole would need to increase by $300 per fortnight to help close the poverty gap ..."

Well, that's not going to happen.

Super Bill   will do just that..

he plans to help everyone..

I cant wait!

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12^th, 2018 at 4:54pm:

When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :(

When they get a job.

The dole was never meant to be a lifestyle choice

Baronvonrort wrote on Dec 13^th, 2018 at 12:45pm:

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12th, 2018 at 4:54pm: When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :( When they get a job. The dole was never meant to be a lifestyle choice

High unemployment was never meant to be a permanent feature of the economy either, yet here we are.

Give everyone a job at the same time or provide fair compensation to those who are forced to take one for the team against their will. Those are your choices.

Bam wrote on Dec 13^th, 2018 at 1:10pm:

Baronvonrort wrote on Dec 13th, 2018 at 12:45pm: whiteknight wrote on Dec 12th, 2018 at 4:54pm: When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :( When they get a job. The dole was never meant to be a lifestyle choice High unemployment was never meant to be a permanent feature of the economy either, yet here we are. Give everyone a job at the same time or provide fair compensation to those who are forced to take one for the team against their will. Those are your choices.

It's an individual resposibility to get a job, no jobs will come to you while you're sitting on the couch.

The unemployed always have excuses on why they can't work

“Not a single soul in the Labor Party or the trade union movement thinks the rate of Newstart is fair or adequate,” he said.“   :-?

Baronvonrort wrote on Dec 13^th, 2018 at 1:19pm:

Bam wrote on Dec 13th, 2018 at 1:10pm: Baronvonrort wrote on Dec 13th, 2018 at 12:45pm: whiteknight wrote on Dec 12th, 2018 at 4:54pm: When will the unemployed ever get a fair and just increase?.   :( When they get a job. The dole was never meant to be a lifestyle choice High unemployment was never meant to be a permanent feature of the economy either, yet here we are. Give everyone a job at the same time or provide fair compensation to those who are forced to take one for the team against their will. Those are your choices. It's an individual resposibility to get a job, no jobs will come to you while you're sitting on the couch. The unemployed always have excuses on why they can't work

There are not enough jobs for everyone to have one. The capitalist economy requires permanent high unemployment. Right-wing morons always have excuses as to why they must tell lies to hide these truths. Are you one of these?

Give everyone a job at the same time or provide fair compensation to those who are forced to take one for the team against their will. Those are your choices.

Harsher penalties on those who do not comply with their welfare benefits, i.e, being unable or unwilling to provide evidence of finding work.

Three strikes, and your dole gets cut. It shouldn't be the working (wo)man's responsibility to keep you afloat so you can live like a bum and get on mindless drugs for the rest of your days, being unable to get your shite together as a simple human being so it become's everybody else's fault your life is a mess. And that's only one example.

The ones who make the effort should be rewarded, given special attention from job providers to work with them one on one to find work or get them into study, anything that gives them skills to be more employable.

Using this method, those who don't comply with their welfare are cut off fair and square and no longer leeching off the worker who already has to throw away their money on garbage that gives them no pride or joy in the job they work in.

That way, the money poured into leeches goes towards boosting those who are compliant. With special attention given, they will then have more of a chance of obtaining employment.

This all depends on how big businesses will take their "less employees = maximize the profit" strategy into the future too. Perhaps there is something that needs to be looked at there as well..

The Reboot wrote on Dec 14^th, 2018 at 9:59pm:

Harsher penalties on those who do not comply with their welfare benefits, i.e, being unable or unwilling to provide evidence of finding work. Three strikes, and your dole gets cut. It shouldn't be the working (wo)man's responsibility to keep you afloat so you can live like a bum and get on mindless drugs for the rest of your days, being unable to get your shite together as a simple human being so it become's everybody else's fault your life is a mess. And that's only one example. The ones who make the effort should be rewarded, given special attention from job providers to work with them one on one to find work or get them into study, anything that gives them skills to be more employable. Using this method, those who don't comply with their welfare are cut off fair and square and no longer leeching off the worker who already has to throw away their money on garbage that gives them no pride or joy in the job they work in. That way, the money poured into leeches goes towards boosting those who are compliant. With special attention given, they will then have more of a chance of obtaining employment. This all depends on how big businesses will take their "less employees = maximize the profit" strategy into the future too. Perhaps there is something that needs to be looked at there as well..

What a steaming pile of malodorous right-wing nonsense.

Neither party will raise it because minimum wage would have to go up with it

Bam wrote on Dec 14^th, 2018 at 10:12pm:

The Reboot wrote on Dec 14th, 2018 at 9:59pm: Harsher penalties on those who do not comply with their welfare benefits, i.e, being unable or unwilling to provide evidence of finding work. Three strikes, and your dole gets cut. It shouldn't be the working (wo)man's responsibility to keep you afloat so you can live like a bum and get on mindless drugs for the rest of your days, being unable to get your shite together as a simple human being so it become's everybody else's fault your life is a mess. And that's only one example. The ones who make the effort should be rewarded, given special attention from job providers to work with them one on one to find work or get them into study, anything that gives them skills to be more employable. Using this method, those who don't comply with their welfare are cut off fair and square and no longer leeching off the worker who already has to throw away their money on garbage that gives them no pride or joy in the job they work in. That way, the money poured into leeches goes towards boosting those who are compliant. With special attention given, they will then have more of a chance of obtaining employment. This all depends on how big businesses will take their "less employees = maximize the profit" strategy into the future too. Perhaps there is something that needs to be looked at there as well.. What a steaming pile of malodorous right-wing nonsense.

Just as "malodorous" as this assumption.

The compass is bollocks. I am not left, right, centre, nor centre right left right centre.

You read my post and assume I am right wing based on how harsh this solution may appear. Truth is, society is too soft and breeding these lazy wastes of space will only make it worse. This solution is fair on everybody.

Now for a change of pace in the "left" direction, I would also direct the funds, thus saved from effectively cutting leeches, into boosting the disability pension.

Big business and "the high end of town", can't expect people with severe back injuries to work when they will not hire based upon liability risks.

Moral of the story is, the ones who are putting in the effort to get themselves off the welfare cycle should not be punished or lessened to make room for genuine leeches.

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12^th, 2018 at 4:49pm:

There are currently 705,658 people on Newstart allowances across the nation. According to Yahoo! Finance, single adults without children receive $275.10 a week, or less than $40 a day. A $75 increase would mean $350.10 a week, or $50 a day.

How are people supposed to buy a farm and some horses with that kind of money? At this rate, people will have to inherit a bunch of money before they can afford to lift themselves up by their bootstraps.

There is an easy solution here. Bobby claims that he and his ilk are doing the job of 2 to 5 people. Therefore to create employment Bobby and his ilk has to go.

Storm the ramparts. Frogmarch Bobby and his ilk and put them on boats to Manus Island.

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12^th, 2018 at 4:49pm:

There are currently 705,658 people on Newstart allowances across the nation. According to Yahoo! Finance, single adults without children receive $275.10 a week, or less than $40 a day. A $75 increase would mean $350.10 a week, or $50 a day.

A $75 increase in the dole would cost taxpayers over $50 million a week.


We have over half a trillion in debt where are you going to get the money to give dole bludgers more sit down money?


$50 million a week would be better spent on hospitals,schools and roads.

Baronvonrort wrote on Dec 15^th, 2018 at 5:03pm:

whiteknight wrote on Dec 12th, 2018 at 4:49pm: There are currently 705,658 people on Newstart allowances across the nation. According to Yahoo! Finance, single adults without children receive $275.10 a week, or less than $40 a day. A $75 increase would mean $350.10 a week, or $50 a day. A $75 increase in the dole would cost taxpayers over $50 million a week. We have over half a trillion in debt where are you going to get the money to give dole bludgers more sit down money?

So pay for it by cutting a few billion from the $7 billion a year that is spent on the job services networks despite them doing little that is useful. Or better still, scrap them entirely and reinstate the Commonwealth Employment Service. A reinstated CES would cost about half as much to run as the failed job services experiment with its massive duplication of services and wasteful spending.