2017-10-16
Australia should be ashamed that one in six children live below the poverty line and almost half of all children living in poverty are in single parent households. Anti-Poverty week should be a wakeup call to the Government that they need to act on poverty in our country, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“The Government cannot continue their attacks on our social safety net, the first step needs to be an increase in Newstart and Youth Allowance payments. It is well recognised across the board, by the social services sector and business that the payment is way too low.
“Both old parties have refused to increase income support payments which have not gone up in real time for years. The Government continues their insidious attacks on income support, making it more and more difficult for vulnerable people to use the system, and it was the Labor Government that dumped single parents onto the Newstart payment.
“Increasing Newstart and Youth Allowance would alleviate pressure for the nations’ most vulnerable – children. That money would also be injected straight back into the economy, because it would be spent on essential goods and services.
“This Anti-Poverty week the Government and the ALP must commit to an increase to the Newstart and Youth Allowance payment if we are going to tackle growing inequality."
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