Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Macarthur for his question and also his advocacy for everyone in his electorate, including those who are most vulnerable. I am pleased that on 20 September many people who rely on our social security system will receive real cost-of-living relief as a result of our government's 'strengthening the safety net' bill, because it has passed the parliament.

It is this Labor government that is making responsible and targeted cost-of-living relief plans and bringing them to the parliament—plans such as our energy bill relief, our cheaper medicines, our cheaper child care and of course our extra support through our safety net measures. From 20 September we will see cost-of-living relief flow through to many who rely on our social security system, benefiting around 800,000 people on JobSeeker, 286,000 people on student and youth payments, 1.1 million households who receive rent assistance and more than 57,000 single parents. With indexation, this means an extra $56 a fortnight to those on working-age payments, and for those older Australians, facing more barriers, it will be an extra $109 a fortnight. And those on rent assistance will receive the largest increase in rent assistance in over 30 years.

Our package has been widely welcomed across the community, with Terese Edwards from the National Council of Single Mothers saying she was 'ecstatic' that the bill passed the Senate. And Jessica from Woodcroft said that after deciding to go back to study nursing as a mature-age student the increase to Austudy has meant that she can stress less. She said, 'Every dollar counts, and this increase will mean that I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay my bills.'

Of course, not everyone in this place was concerned about people like Jessica. Those opposite wanted to deny this much-needed relief to so many. They tried to block the $40 increase—but of course we shouldn't be surprised.

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