2017-05-03
A snapshot by ACOSS released today that debunks claims by the Government that we have a ‘welfare blowout’ blasts a hole in attempts by the Government to justify cuts they obviously want to make to our social safety net in the Budget, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“For far too long the Government has sought to drip feed stories to the media that paints people accessing the social safety net as ‘dole bludgers’. They’re not, they are carers, people with disability, students, families and jobseekers.
“Vilifying people accessing the social safety net makes it easier to erode the social safety net in the budget so the Government’s intentions are pretty obvious.
“Despite these attempts by the Government, the facts speak for themselves. As shown in the ACOSS snapshot, there is ‘only one job available for every ten people locked out of paid work or who want more’, in short, the jobs just aren’t there.
“We already have some of the most onerous mutual obligations for job seekers who are accessing the social safety net in the OECD. The Government is looking to tighten this in the upcoming budget, this could have disastrous outcomes and will further entrench poverty.
“Successive governments have eroded the social safety net and people are already struggling enough. I urge the Government to turn to revenue raising measures that have repeatedly been flagged by the Greens and others, such as addressing negative gearing and capital gains tax”.
Media Release Family, Ageing, Community and Disability Services