Independent Senator David Pocock has signed a joint statement calling for increased safety net payments. Photo: DavidPocock.com.au.
David Pocock has joined 73 other independent candidates contesting the federal election in calling for the next government to substantially increase income support for Australia’s poorest.
The independent Senator for the ACT said raising safety net payments would go a long way towards tackling the current cost-of-living crisis and help lift people out of poverty.
With a minority government a possible outcome of the election, crossbenchers have signed a joint statement with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and representatives from the community sector declaring that raising the rate is “the most important thing the next government could do to address the cost-of-living crisis”.
The joint statement says the current rates of JobSeeker at $56 a day and Youth Allowance at $48 a day force Australians to go without food, healthcare and a safe place to call home.
It has been signed by 74 independent and minor party crossbench candidates, including the Greens and incumbent MPs and senators seeking re-election, including Senator Pocock.
“Australians are proud to live in a country that has a safety net and they want to ensure it enables people to live above the poverty line,” Senator Pocock said.
“So getting the Albanese Government to legislate an independent committee to provide expert advice on the adequacy of support payments is something I am proud of from this term of parliament.
“If returned, next term I will keep pushing the government to implement the committee’s advice in full and raise the rate of safety net payments above the poverty line and increase the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance as the most powerful thing we can do to end chronic intergenerational disadvantage in our community.”
Prominent economists Chris Richardson, Nicki Hutley, Jeff Borland, Nicholas Gruen and community group leaders including Mental Health Australia CEO Carolyn Nikoloski and Chief Executive Women CEO Lisa Annese have also signed the statement.
ACOSS chief executive officer Cassandra Goldie said the statement delivered a strong message to whichever party formed the next federal government that the crossbench would be pushing hard for cost-of-living relief for those Australians on the lowest incomes.
“The message to the next government is loud and clear. It’s time to finally raise the rate,” Dr Goldie said.
“Australia is in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, yet our income support system continues to trap people in poverty.
“It’s a disgrace that in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, our government continues to ignore the expert advice about the most important action needed to tackle poverty, raising the rate of income supports.
“People are being forced to skip meals, go without critical medication or sleep in their cars because they receive just $56 a day.”
Dr Goldie said Australians could not look for paid work, stay healthy or care for their families if they couldn’t afford the basics.
“The next government must act fast and lift these deeply inadequate social security payments as its first order of business in the next Federal Parliament.”
The independent Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, which the government established in 2023 on the urging of Senator Pocock, handed down its third report in March just ahead of the Federal Budget being delivered.
It listed recommendations for lifting the economic circumstances of the disadvantaged.
The committee had commissioned new research that made the case for increasing safety net payments and Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
Undertaken by the University of NSW, the research assessed income support payments against the amount of money a family needed to purchase the goods and services for a reasonable standard of living.
It found indexing JobSeeker payments and related income supports only in line with the Consumer Price Index resulted in their relative base rates falling “significantly below existing benchmarks such as the age pension” and these payments continued to be “seriously inadequate relative to all accepted poverty measures, creating sometimes severe hardship for our neediest citizens”.
The report also recommended lifting the remote area allowance, which is non-indexed and has not been increased for a quarter of a century.
