2017-03-21
The Greens will oppose the Omnibus Bill proposed by the Government that would cut billions from the social safety net.
The Greens have tabled a dissenting report as part of the inquiry report on the legislation and are calling on the bill not to be passed.
“This fanatical obsession with hacking away at the social safety net has to stop. You cannot claim to be fiscally responsible whilst rolling out policies that throw people into poverty. This approach increases inequality.
“Everyone except the Coalition can see that targeting Australia’s most vulnerable is nonsensical and cruel politics. The Government is shameless in its refusal to fix tax loopholes for big business and reform negative gearing and capital gains tax, yet young people, low income families, children, single parents, women and pensioners must carry the burden of budget repair. We can afford a strong social safety net; in fact we cannot afford not to have one.
“Apparently we don’t need to rob Peter to pay Paul when billions is spent on fighter jets, why does it have to happen to fund the NDIS and childcare? To say these cuts are necessary to pay for childcare reform and the NDIS is just cheap politicking. The community is not buying it.
“As outlined in our dissenting report, the Australian Greens will not be supporting the bill as it is a hodgepodge of social safety net cuts that have previously been rejected by the Senate, with some new ones thrown in.
“Zombie measures like the proposed four week wait to access income support need to be put to bed once and for all.
“The Australian Greens have always stood with struggling Australians and will not support reduced paid parental leave, making young people live with no income for long periods and cuts to vital supports to children, families, single parents and pensioners.
“Given the extensive evidence presented to the inquiry on the real world impacts these cruel measure would have, the Australian Greens appeal to the crossbench and Labor to join us in blocking these harsh measures. They should be taken off the table, once and for all”.