2021-08-19
With thousands of unemployed Canberrans desperately struggling to make ends meet, the ACT Greens are today calling on the Federal Government to immediately reinstate the unconditional COVID-19 supplements which enabled so many to get through 2020 lockdowns, and boost online and phone services to guarantee people access.
ACT Greens candidate for Canberra Tim Hollo labelled the current approach “a tragic, heartless failure that demonstrates a complete lack of care for what so many people are going through. The situation is as bad as it was last year, when the Covid supplements were introduced. We urgently need them again. Pay people to stay home!”
ACT Greens Senate candidate Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng notes that the government refusing to institute these supports is itself to blame for the current crisis. “The majority of the country is in lockdown due to this government’s botched vaccine rollout. How can they think it’s ok to just expect people to get through it?”
The Greens welcome the support packages that the ACT and Federal Government have introduced, but there are huge gaps, especially for the unemployed. The Greens are calling for:
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JobSeeker to be immediately lifted to at least $80 a day, above the Henderson poverty line;
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JobKeeper 2.0 to be reintroduced, paid directly to workers, not corporations;
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A $3000 disaster payment not only those who've lost work but also for those who have none;
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An immediate boost to online and phone services for Centrelink, to enable everyone to access support payments during lockdown.
Hollo said “The swift action of governments last year literally saved countless lives, paying people to stay home with confidence and comfort, safe in the knowledge that they could make ends meet. We need the same approach now, with lockdowns as severe, and the delta strain even worse.”
“People have lost work and can’t even get through to Centrelink to get the support they need to get by. That needs to be fixed right away.”
The ACT Greens have today also announced their intention to use the 2021/2022 Federal Election campaign to highlight the need to reform the social security system.
“Australia’s welfare system, with its nasty, punitive approach, paying private companies to surveil people and force them to jump through hoops to get support that’s way below the poverty line, is a disgrace. We have to end this approach, once and for all, and bring in a system that helps everyone who needs help,” Hollo said.
Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng also noted “Poverty is a policy decision - we could end it by raising income support from $44 to $80 per day.”
“Instead, one in three big corporations pays no tax, and both the Labor and Liberal parties have chosen to give the rich tax cuts.”
The ACT Greens would also like to draw attention to the calls of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, who have been tireless advocates for a more just social security system during and outside of the pandemic.