Anglicare warns Newstart needs a new start

Vulnerable Sydneysiders will experience increasing rates of homelessness and food insecurity if Federal Parliament does not increase the Newstart allowance, a prominent community group has warned.

The warning comes just weeks after a Federal Senate Committee investigating the social security allowance made a recommendation advising the government not to increase payments despite finding their current rates to be woefully inadequate.

Advocacy and welfare group Anglicare has lambasted the recommendation. Director of Advocacy at Anglicare, Sue King said keeping Newstart payments at $246.30 per week would be particularly devastating for those living with Sydney’s high rental prices.

“[It is] particularly problematic for people who are single on the Newstart allowance in the private rental market,” she said.

“What we are finding coming through our emergency relief centres is increasingly those people are either homeless or at risk of homelessness and are very food insecure, which means they are often hungry or they often go without food.”

Since the committee made its recommendation it has faced criticism from a diverse coalition including community groups, Labor senators, the Greens and the Australian Business Council.

The committee’s decision not to advise the government to increase Newstart payments was derived from a desire to keep the federal budget balanced.

However, Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has derided the reasoning.

“The committee has agreed that Newstart is inadequate, but has demonstrated a lack of will to find appropriate and sufficient solutions to resolve the clearly demonstrated inadequacy of the payment,” she said.

“The majority report shows an unwillingness to accept the substantial evidence in favour of increasing the rate of Newstart by $50 per week.”

Despite working on the Committee, Labor Senator Doug Cameron has also publicly rebuked its recommendations.

“I think [Newstart] should be increased…living on 245 dollars a week is impossible,” Mr Cameron told Triple J radio.

Ms King played down the Committee’s budgetary concerns and argued effective aid could be given to those on Newstart without triggering a fiscal catastrophe. While the Committee recommended parliament increase the number of hours an individual could work while still receiving Newstart, Ms King said the recommendation fell short. She said individuals should be allowed to work at least 12 hours per week while still gaining the benefits of the payment.

“That’s a reasonable approach, really, without having too much of a fiscal impact on government,” Ms King said.

But Ms King maintained an actual increase to the payment was essential, which is currently well below the poverty line.

“As long as Newstart is so inadequate we’re just pushing people into a poverty trap. We’re just going to find more and more vulnerable and at risk families,” she said.