2021-07-14
The Greens have called on the Government to include income support recipients in COVID assistance packages.
“This package fails to acknowledge that people on income support need additional help as well, that they work too and have lost hours and would also have lost income.
“Almost half of people on the JobSeeker payment have an illness or disability, meaning they will need to isolate and require extra services like grocery or medication delivery. How can they afford that living below the poverty line?
“You cannot on the one hand say that people should stay home, and then not provide adequate support for people to do so.
“Once again Government is ignoring people on income support and those living in poverty.
“This haphazard approach to managing the economic fallout of this pandemic is damaging our communities who are in extremely stressful situations because the Government simply does not have a plan.
“By introducing the COVID Supplement of an extra $550 a fortnight for people on Jobseeker and Youth Allowance at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 the Government acknowledged that $40 a day was never enough for someone to survive on.
“This has not changed and people in NSW will be going through lockdown without the means to afford essentials.
“If we want people to be able to eat, clothe, and house themselves, they need a payment of $80 a day.
“To keep everyone safe Government must ensure everyone can afford to stay home.”