Nationals MP Pat Conaghan joins other Coalition figures breaking ranks to lobby for Newstart raise

ABC News
Feb 27 2020

Related Story: 62yo who was on Newstart asks: 'How do you suggest people at my age have a go to get a go?'
Related Story: Barnaby Joyce joins calls to increase Newstart allowance
Related Story: Liberal senator and former minister Arthur Sinodinos has a 'radical' idea for Newstart

The Prime Minister is under renewed pressure from within his own ranks to increase unemployment benefits with a Nationals MP arguing it is needed to address poverty in rural and regional areas.
Key points:

    Nationals MP and Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan says he wants a raise in Newstart, joining colleagues including Barnaby Joyce and former PM John Howard
    Recipients get a minimum of $280 a week and, in real terms, the rate has not increased in 20 years
    Successive governments have shown little appetite for an increase despite pressure from economists, social services and business groups

First-term MP Pat Conaghan, who represents the New South Wales mid-north coast seat of Cowper, has broken ranks from Government policy and told the ABC he wants the Coalition to raise Newstart by $75 a week.

Mr Conaghan joins a growing number of colleagues including former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and former prime minister John Howard pushing for an increase.

He described the current rate as "inadequate" and said the Government should still be in a position to adjust Newstart, despite budget pressures.

"I would urge my colleagues from both sides of the floor to have a real discussion. Not just throw it up in the air and punch the ball around," he said.

"This is something that I think should be at the top of my priority list because you've got kids that are going to school without food.

"Forty-one per cent of kids under 15 [years of age] in both Kempsey and Nambucca are under the poverty line."

Newstart recipients get a minimum of $280 a week and, in real terms, the rate has not been raised in two decades.

It is estimated a $75 per week increase would cost the budget $3.3 billion a year, and Mr Conaghan acknowledged it was a sensitive time to campaign on the issue because of the money being spent on bushfire recovery, drought, floods and managing coronavirus.

    "It's probably the worst time to raise this conversation but we have to have it," he said.



When asked if he would prioritise people and poverty over a budget surplus, he replied "absolutely, any day of the week".

    "Despite the challenges we've faced over the last 12 months, I think we're still in a position that if we start that conversation now we'll recover from the fires, we'll get over the coronavirus, and the budget will still be in a position where we can genuinely talk about raising Newstart."



Successive governments have shown little appetite for increasing the rate despite pressure from leading economists, social services and business groups.
Drought, fires pushing more people onto welfare

With droughts and bushfires affecting numerous regions, the Red Cross said it is likely many more people are being pushed onto welfare payments.

"You've got a lot of people who might have lost their livelihood," said the agency's head of emergency services Andrew Coghlan.

"They may have lost tools of the trade in the case of builders and carpenters. For others they may have had a home office and it may have been destroyed.

"These types of things can lead to people having to apply for different types of assistance."

Increasing Newstart would lower inequality
The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling has found increasing Newstart would reduce inequality and boost incomes most in the 25-36 age group.

That rings true for the volunteers behind charities such as Loaves and Fishes, a food store in Coffs Harbour.

It sells heavily discounted groceries to people in need and also gives food away for free.

The store's founder, Russell Jones, said in a city of 75,000 people the store had almost 5,000 members signed up to receive discounted and free goods.

"When you factor in their families we're helping out about 15,000-odd people in our area," he said.

I was unemployed for 10 months about nearly 7 years ago.
I wasn't given a penny from Centerlink.
There must be millions of unemployed people who also get nothing.

They have a book called

"1001 reasons not to pay people anything."



You need to be an Abbo to get all the benefits:

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Feb 27^th, 2020 at 6:35am:



I wonder what trick Greggy uses to get the dole?

philperth2010 wrote on Feb 27^th, 2020 at 7:24am:



I am not racist  - there is no racial bigotry here
on this forum.

It's getting that bad out there that there is a real risk that long-term unemployed workers could end up suing the government in a class action lawsuit. Settling such a lawsuit could cost $100 billion or more.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 27^th, 2020 at 8:12am:


So what benefits do Aboriginal people get that nobody else does mate....You made the comment now back it up or be called a racist scum bag you are???

juliar wrote on Feb 27^th, 2020 at 9:44am:



Greggy puts nugget on his face and gets
the extra Abbo benefits.

Greggy, are you Aboriginal ?


Pas Forgione
February 19 at 10:05 PM ·
Renaming Newstart Allowance to JobSeeker Payment - as will happen on March 20th - is an Orwellian move, and a cruel joke.

None of us should forget that over 40 percent of people on Newstart have, at best, only a partial capacity to work, with many battling serious, complex, chronic, often permanent mental and physical health issues.

Many of these people not only struggle to work, but struggle to even leave the house.

Stuff your cynical name change, Federal Government, we want to raise the rate.