In Jamie Lee’s fortnightly budget there’s enough money for about four bus trips in her Tasmanian city.
She can do two trips out and two trips home, for anything else there’s simply not enough money from her Jobseeker payment after rent and bills are paid.
“If I do go out for dinner, I won’t order anything, I’ll just sit there,” she said on Monday.
Jamie says being out of the house is now too expensive and socialising has become extremely difficult.
She describes living in a “horrible cycle”. “I’m exhausted because I haven’t eaten enough and because I haven’t eaten enough then I don’t have the social capacity to talk to people in a proper functional way,” she said.
“And then that kind of knocks onto: ‘Can I get a job? Can I hold a job because I’m so tired’?”
Welfare advocates are calling on federal parliamentarians to raise the Jobseeker rate again this year when Treasurer Jim Chalmers hands down the budget on 19 May, arguing it needs to be at least in line with inflation.
Chalmers said last month there would be some cost of living relief in the budget but Australians should not expect a big “splash of cash”.
for those on welfare payments including JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy and others, from 20 September this year, which amounted to $2.85 a day.
Jamie about her devastation that the increase was so minor, but she says life has become harder since then.
“We have no money for a new washing machine which we severely need … we can’t drive to pick up a free one.”
“Last year about $200 for groceries would feed me and my housemate for two weeks without too much of a problem but now we are lucky to have it last us a week — the second week we’re picking at scraps.
“I’m used to it because it’s been so long but it sucks, to be just barely scraping by.”
It’s not just Jamie — life has become much harder for those with the lowest incomes in Australia in the last year according to a new report from Anglicare that says JobSeeker is too low to cover basic living costs.
Housing costs went up by 22 per cent between December 2021 and December 2023, while food and groceries were up 17 per cent, electricity has also gone up 17 per cent and transport is up 11 per cent, the report said.
Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers said the number of people seeking support from the charity is increasing, as well as the amount of money they’re asking for.
“We’re seeing people who have never seen before,” she said.
“We’re seeing working families, we’re seeing households with even two incomes coming for assistance. About 10 years ago it used to be quite small amounts would be useful for people but now we’re seeing households who just can’t meet their weekly rent.”
Source: SBS News
She said it’s not appropriate for welfare payments to be indexed in line with Consumer Price Index figures, because they include nonessential costs and don’t reflect the increased costs to the lowest earners.
“There should be a structural change to how we actually design the working age payments so people who are on them can actually have a standard of living that allows them to go looking for employment,” she said, adding that Anglicare would welcome increases to welfare payments in the budget.
Last week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hinted the government will extend energy price relief, declaring small businesses and families will be front and centre in the May budget.
He is yet to comment on whether Jobseeker or similar payments will be increased or not.
Social security payments must be raised in the budget to provide immediate relief for people who need it most and targeted investment to grow jobs and incomes during a period of rising unemployment, according to the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
ACOSS’ budget submission calls for JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and related payments to be lifted to at least the pension rate, currently $80 per day. JobSeeker for a single person with no dependents is currently $55 and the Youth Allowance for $45 per day. The rates vary for people with children.
The peak body is calling for supplementary payments for illness, disability and single parenthood, as well as increased investment in homelessness and other crisis services unable to meet soaring demand.
The Australian Unemployed Worker’s Union says payments should be raised to at least the recognised poverty rate in Australia of $88 a day.
But spokesperson Catherine Caine says this number is likely too low and doesn’t accurately reflect how inflation is testing Australians.
“For all Australians, whether they’re working or not, we need to have a good idea of how much it actually costs to live, what the actual poverty line is so that we can really understand what the impact of a cost of living is.
“All of us feel it individually every time we go to the supermarket and we look at the checkout number and just go or go and fill up that tank but we don’t have a grasp on that societally on just how bad things are.”
SBS News has contacted Chalmers’ office for comment.
Source Agencies
