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Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say (Read 1664 times)
whiteknight
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Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Jul 18th, 2019 at 7:18am
 
Newstart allowance boost of $75 needed, Labor backbenchers say   

ABC News
July 17 2019


Unemployed people on the dole should be receiving "at least" $75 a week more, according to some Labor MPs who are speaking out about the urgent need to boost the payment.
Key points:

    Labor MPs are publicly backing calls for an increase to the Newstart payments
    They join business and welfare groups that want to pressure the Coalition to introduce changes
    The Coalition has repeatedly said it is unwilling to increase Newstart payments

With the Federal Government firmly opposed to any change, Labor backbenchers are urging their party to commit to an increase and put pressure on the Coalition to do the same.

The Newstart Allowance is worth about $278 a week — or less than $40 a day — for singles and has not risen, in real terms, in a quarter of a century.

There is broad support for an increase from a coalition of economists, business, industry and welfare groups, who argue the payment is so low it is preventing people from getting a job.

West Australian Labor MP Josh Wilson said a $75-per-week boost — as suggested by ACOSS — is "not a hell of a lot" and would be the minimum increase required.

"That really should be the minimum lift, I think, for people who are not being supported and who are essentially living in poverty," he said.

He argued the move would not only be fair but would also benefit the economy because people would spend the extra cash.

New South Wales Labor backbencher Mike Freelander told The Guardian his party needed to "show a bit of guts" and commit to a "significant" boost.

"I think we need to increase the Newstart, with rental assistance, to around $400 per week," he told the ABC.

That would equate to a $75 a week boost plus an extra $50 in rental assistance which Dr Freelander said would allow unemployed people to get a place to live, buy food for themselves and cover public transport costs.

"There's a large group of people out there stuck on Newstart who are homeless, couch-surfing or really on the periphery and we need to help them urgently," he said.

Labor has repeatedly described Newstart as "too low" and promised to review the payment, with a view to increasing it, if it won the election.



Backbenchers want a commitment to increase Newstart

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has made it clear the review will not be going ahead and said while he believed Newstart was "inadequate", it was up to the Government to do something about it.

Some within Labor back his position, arguing the party should make this the Coalition's problem for as long as it can.

Victorian Labor MP Julian Hill said the Government, now in its third term, had said nothing about the most vulnerable people in Australia.

"The question for me is, what are the Liberals going to do for people living in poverty?" he asked.

"Right now, it is not for us to put forward a proposition, it's not for us to lead from Opposition on every issue. They're the Government."

But others — including Chris Hayes — want Labor to take a stronger stand and firmly commit to an increase as it reviews all of its policies after its shock election loss.

Victorian Labor backbencher Peter Khalil said there was a will on his side of politics to "look at this issue seriously" while his colleague Ged Kearney said she would be surprised if anyone in Labor believed the allowance was sufficient.

"A lot of our policies are up for review and I don't see why we can't be reviewing our position on this," she said.

"I'm up for a debate on it within the party and I would certainly be supporting an increase."

But she cautioned against putting a dollar figure on it, before taking a "good, hard look" at the entire welfare system and how Newstart "interacts" with other payments available to unemployed people.
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #1 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 11:06am
 
Barnaby Joyce backs Newstart raise, saying rate needs to reflect geography

Quote:
Former Nationals leader urges reform as UN rapporteur says inadequate payment leaving Australians ‘increasingly miserable’

The inadequate level of Newstart is designed to leave out-of-work Australians “increasingly miserable”, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty has warned.

Philip Alston, the brother of former Liberal senator and federal communications minister Richard Alston, weighed into the debate about the adequacy of unemployment benefits on Thursday, as former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce joined the ranks of those criticising the level of Newstart.

On Wednesday Labor MPs Mike Freelander and Nick Champion called for a $75 a week increase in the unemployment payment, which has been frozen at $275 a week for 25 years, a reduction of 40% in real terms according to the Australian Council of Social Services. [Clarification: Newstart is indexed to CPI but has not received a cost of living adjustment for 25 years unlike the aged pension or the wages of workers. - Bam]

Philip Alston, who is in Australia to receive an honorary doctorate from the Australian Nation University, compared Australia’s approach with the intentional hardship caused by the United Kingdom’s benefits system, the subject of his scathing country report in November 2018.

“What the government is trying to do is say that work is the only way out of poverty,” Alston told ABC’s AM. “And what we’re going to do to make that happen is to make any form of government assistance like Newstart increasingly unsustainable.

“There’s going to be no incentive whatsoever no matter how badly off you are to stay on this allowance. That’s the mentality that’s behind it.”

Alston said it was “fine” for governments to prioritise employment but “there is always going to be a significant percentage of the population who are extremely badly off” and “simply can’t drop things and go out to work” because they suffer from family, mental health or other chronic problems.

“They’re gong to be left in increasingly miserable conditions which are not at all fitting for a rich, advanced country like Australia.”

On Thursday Joyce told the Australian newspaper that Newstart “is a hard life” and suggested reforming the payment to consider ­recipients’ geographical locations, to compensate them for higher costs of living in the regions and higher rents in capital cities.

“If someone’s on Newstart in a town like Woolbrook, it’s going to cost you $50 to go to Tamworth to do the groceries or go to a job interview,” Joyce reportedly said.

“They live in those places because the rent’s cheap but the rent’s cheap because it’s a long way from the services.”

The Morrison government has so far resisted calls to increase the rate of Newstart, with treasurer Josh Frydenberg citing the fact that more than 90% of recipients receive some other form of payment.

Many Newstart recipients receive a fortnightly energy supplement of just $8.80 a fortnight, and are also eligible for rent assistance of up to $137.20 a fortnight if living alone or $91.47 a fortnight if living in shared accommodation.

Alston also took aim at the third phase of the Coalition’s income tax cut package, which passed the Senate with Labor and crossbench support earlier in July.

The third phase will flatten the tax rate to 30% for all workers earning between $45,000 and $200,000 from 2024-25.

Alston said the third phase was “a very bad policy initiative” because it will tie the government’s hands years in advance, “hollow out” its revenues and have a “highly significant” impact on its ability to deliver services.

“Clearly the sort of tax cuts that are envisaged in phase three are going to have a huge impact on the governments ability to provide protection for the broader community … [such as] to ensure a functioning healthcare system.”

On Wednesday the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, defended Labor’s decision to pass the government’s $158bn income tax package, telling 5AA Radio that Labor had decided “to be defined by what we supported, rather than by what we opposed” by passing the cuts after failing to excise the third phase.

Albanese noted that changes legislated in 2018 – which Labor opposed – were already going to remove a tier from the tax scales in 2024-25 and the new income tax cut package merely reduced the rate of the new flattened tax bracket from 32.5% to 30%.

“It is just a fact that the flattening of the tax scales happened in 2018. Labor voted against it in the House of Reps and the Senate.”

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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #2 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 11:42am
 
Bammy quoting Barny ? How things are changing.

But a new slant on the NewStart - most on NewStart are over the Hill!!!!!




The surprising age group that is most reliant on Newstart
Samantha Maiden 10:00pm, Jul 17, 2019 Updated: 1h ago

...
For decades the popular stereotype of "dole bludgers" and "job snobs" in Australia has been of a bronzed surfer. Photo: AAP

For decades the popular stereotype of “dole bludgers” and “job snobs” in Australia has been of a bronzed surfer in Byron Bay or a stoned high school dropout on A Current Affair.

But what if everything we knew about the people on the dole was wrong?

What if the largest single group of Australians on Newstart were not teenagers but over-55s?

That’s the reality according to National Seniors chief advocate Ian Henschke and Centrelink data.

Read on here

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2019/07/17/surprising-age-newstart/
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #3 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 12:54pm
 
Good post Juliar - I'm glad more a becoming aware of this sad reality!
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juliar
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #4 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 1:01pm
 
Oh Gosh my prediction comes true as the Greeny Oky is following me around like a lost puppy because she worships the ground I walk on.
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #5 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 1:14pm
 
I apologize for my previous compliment ... the fleeting ability to have one of your posts truly reflect reality took me by surprise lol
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juliar
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #6 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 1:18pm
 
Oky is hooked now as she pursues her HATE SESSION with me.  I attract these poor creatures like Tony Abbo attracts HATE.
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #7 - Jul 18th, 2019 at 11:57pm
 
You should NEVER believe ANYTHING that oozes out of a LEFTY.

NewStart is not as simple as the lying Lefties would have you believe.

Fortunately ScoMo with experience as a former Ad Man and Treasurer is several steps ahead of the Lefties as he was during the election.






PM brushes off calls for boost to Newstart
Samantha Maiden 2:33pm, Jul 18, 2019 Updated: 2:46pm, Jul 18

...
Scott Morrison in Dubbo on Thursday. Photo: AAP

Scott Morrison has rejected calls to increase the dole as new data confirmed an improvement in the unemployment rate, declaring, “how good are more jobs?”.

But the Prime Minister’s claim that the majority of Newstart recipients receive extra supplements that make the actual payment more generous than it appears has been questioned by welfare groups.

On Thursday, Mr Morrison was asked whether he would increase the current Newstart payment – worth $282 a week, or $40 a day – after former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce joined in calls for an increase, citing the plight of the unemployed in the bush.

“No plans to do that,” Mr Morrison said in Dubbo.

“We will continue to increase Newstart every six months, as has always been the practice.

“Newstart goes up on the indexation that has been in place for many a year, and will continue to do that. But, more importantly, for those who are on Newstart, well over 90 per cent, in fact 99 per cent, are on other forms of payments.”

The Australian Council of Social Services said just under half of all Newstart recipients were eligible for rent assistance. About 20 per cent are eligible for parenting payments because they have children.

The unemployed can get rent assistance of up to $137.20 a fortnight if they live alone, or $91.47 a fortnight if they are in shared accommodation – but fewer than half of are eligible for it.

Read more of the exposure of Labor's lies

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/07/18/scott-morrison-newstart/
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #8 - Jul 19th, 2019 at 9:21am
 
juliar wrote on Jul 18th, 2019 at 11:42am:
Bammy quoting Barny ? How things are changing.

What's changing? The obvious urgency of lifting Newstart to a survivable level is slowly finding its way into the cesspit that is the government. It takes a long time because it has to find its way past their corruption and their hatred of the poor and disadvantaged. The government won't act except as a last resort because their mates and cronies at Indue and Serco have too much to lose.
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #9 - Jul 19th, 2019 at 11:03am
 
Bammy is still stretching the facts. But then he is a Lefty.
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juliar
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #10 - Jul 23rd, 2019 at 11:22pm
 
Now for the enlightened policy.


LESS WELFARE DEPENDENCY
The best form of welfare is a job. With a stronger economy, more than 1.3 million more Australians are in jobs since September 2013.

230,000 fewer Australians are on income support than four years ago.

The rate of welfare dependency is now the lowest it has been in 30 years (14.3% of working age Australians are on welfare – down from 16.5% under Labor).

A strong safety net is part of Australia’s national ethos. But the right to welfare comes with responsibilities.

We are delivering greater support — and expectations — for job seekers.

WORK FOR THE DOLE
Labor let Work for the Dole wither. We’ve reinvigorated it.

This year, around 69,000 Australians will participate in Work for the Dole (up from just 17,000 in 2009-10).

Nearly 75% of those who participate in Work for the Dole reported that it increased their desire to find a job. Around 26% of participants found a job within three months.

TACKLING DRUG DEPENDENCY
For those with a drug and alcohol problem, we’re changing the rules.

Under our plan, those on welfare affected by drugs and alcohol will now be required to undertake available treatment.

If it is refused, we will no longer accept drug and alcohol use as a legitimate excuse for missing a job interview or training.

We are also seeking to trial random drug tests for 5,000 new recipients of Newstart and Youth Allowance in three locations - Canterbury Bankstown (NSW), Logan (QLD) and Mandurah (WA). Unfortunately, legislation is being blocked by Labor in the Senate.

CASHLESS WELFARE CARDS
The Cashless Welfare Card helps ensure vulnerable people get the basic essentials of life, such as food, housing, electricity and education.

So far, the card has been trialled in four locations - Ceduna (SA), the East Kimberley region of WA, the Goldfields region of WA and the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay region in Queelsland.

In these trials, we have seen 48% of drug takers using fewer drugs, 41% of drinkers drinking less, and 48% of gamblers gambling less.

FRAUD CRACKDOWN
We have increased checks through data matching to over 600,000 every year. This is half a million more than when Labor was in government (2012-13).

Taxpayers saved $1.4 billion during 18 months (to December 2017), from a Government crackdown on welfare fraud and non-compliance.

In one extreme case, someone used an alias to claim disability support, fleecing taxpayers more than $160,000. They were found guilty of fraud and sentenced to three years jail.

BETTER COMPLIANCE
The majority of job-seekers do the right thing by actively looking for work.

For the minority that don’t, we’re introducing a clearer and fairer system of compliance.

We are introducing stronger compliance measures, like better relationship verification steps to ensure people only receive payments they should.

HELPING PARENTS GET OFF WELFARE
A new program called ParentsNext is helping disadvantaged parents break the cycle of dependency.

A SIMPLER SYSTEM
From March 2020, the Government will introduce a new, single JobSeeker Payment, which will replace or consolidate seven existing payments.

A simpler system means less money is spent on red tape.
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #11 - Jul 24th, 2019 at 9:48am
 
juliar wrote on Jul 23rd, 2019 at 11:22pm:
Now for the enlightened policy.


LESS WELFARE DEPENDENCY
The best form of welfare is a job. With a stronger economy, more than 1.3 million more Australians are in jobs since September 2013.

230,000 fewer Australians are on income support than four years ago.

The rate of welfare dependency is now the lowest it has been in 30 years (14.3% of working age Australians are on welfare – down from 16.5% under Labor).

A strong safety net is part of Australia’s national ethos. But the right to welfare comes with responsibilities.

We are delivering greater support — and expectations — for job seekers.

WORK FOR THE DOLE
Labor let Work for the Dole wither. We’ve reinvigorated it.

This year, around 69,000 Australians will participate in Work for the Dole (up from just 17,000 in 2009-10).

Nearly 75% of those who participate in Work for the Dole reported that it increased their desire to find a job. Around 26% of participants found a job within three months.

TACKLING DRUG DEPENDENCY
For those with a drug and alcohol problem, we’re changing the rules.

Under our plan, those on welfare affected by drugs and alcohol will now be required to undertake available treatment.

If it is refused, we will no longer accept drug and alcohol use as a legitimate excuse for missing a job interview or training.

We are also seeking to trial random drug tests for 5,000 new recipients of Newstart and Youth Allowance in three locations - Canterbury Bankstown (NSW), Logan (QLD) and Mandurah (WA). Unfortunately, legislation is being blocked by Labor in the Senate.

CASHLESS WELFARE CARDS
The Cashless Welfare Card helps ensure vulnerable people get the basic essentials of life, such as food, housing, electricity and education.

So far, the card has been trialled in four locations - Ceduna (SA), the East Kimberley region of WA, the Goldfields region of WA and the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay region in Queelsland.

In these trials, we have seen 48% of drug takers using fewer drugs, 41% of drinkers drinking less, and 48% of gamblers gambling less.

FRAUD CRACKDOWN
We have increased checks through data matching to over 600,000 every year. This is half a million more than when Labor was in government (2012-13).

Taxpayers saved $1.4 billion during 18 months (to December 2017), from a Government crackdown on welfare fraud and non-compliance.

In one extreme case, someone used an alias to claim disability support, fleecing taxpayers more than $160,000. They were found guilty of fraud and sentenced to three years jail.

BETTER COMPLIANCE
The majority of job-seekers do the right thing by actively looking for work.

For the minority that don’t, we’re introducing a clearer and fairer system of compliance.

We are introducing stronger compliance measures, like better relationship verification steps to ensure people only receive payments they should.

HELPING PARENTS GET OFF WELFARE
A new program called ParentsNext is helping disadvantaged parents break the cycle of dependency.

A SIMPLER SYSTEM
From March 2020, the Government will introduce a new, single JobSeeker Payment, which will replace or consolidate seven existing payments.

A simpler system means less money is spent on red tape.


Irrelevant propaganda copied and pasted straight from the Liberal party website without a link.
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juliar
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #12 - Jul 24th, 2019 at 10:01am
 
Poor Bammy is upset to see actual effective working policy set out for everyone to see.

And this effective policy is why the VOTERS ELECTED ScoMo and shoved Shorty into the garbage bag so what more do you want ?

And now Albo is trying to copy this winning policy.

Sag grapes and sucking lemons ? No surprise Shorty is feeling so bitter and twisted as he plots to overthrow Albo.
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Bam
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #13 - Jul 25th, 2019 at 4:05pm
 
juliar wrote on Jul 24th, 2019 at 10:01am:
Poor Bammy is upset to see actual effective working policy set out for everyone to see.

And this effective policy is why the VOTERS ELECTED ScoMo and shoved Shorty into the garbage bag so what more do you want ?

And now Albo is trying to copy this winning policy.

Sag grapes and sucking lemons ? No surprise Shorty is feeling so bitter and twisted as he plots to overthrow Albo.

It is very mischievous to copy and paste propaganda straight from the Liberal party website without a link or any other indication of its source.

Why do you refuse to acknowledge or correct this dubious conduct?
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juliar
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Re: Newstart Boost Needed Labor Backbenchers Say
Reply #14 - Jul 25th, 2019 at 4:57pm
 
One would think a well informed chappy like Bammy would be right up on the winning Lib's excellent policies that got them elected without having to be told what they are.

Just goes to show.

Now if one put up a losing Labor policy one could understand him complaining.
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