Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to table this petition calling on the government to raise all income support payments above the Henderson poverty line.

The petition read as follows—

There are currently nearly 900,000 people relying on unemployment payments. After September indexation is applied, the base rate of the JobSeeker payment is 45% below the latest poverty line (as at March 2022) of $611 per week. Youth Allowance is 56% below the poverty line. No welfare payment is above the Henderson poverty line. In 2020, the Australian Council of Social Service found that even when JobSeeker was at the Henderson poverty line a third of people were regularly skipping meals. While still not adequate, the Henderson poverty line is the best measure of poverty we have. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows that the probability of someone in the lowest income quintile dying by suicide is nearly twice as high than those in the second lowest income quintile. Leading mental health researchers from Australia's Mental Health Think Tank argue that "the first and most decisive action the government could take" to address the alarming increase in mental distress is to return to 2020 welfare payment levels, when they were lifted to the poverty line. The government has also made much of its commitment to women's safety and equality, yet the welfare system is creating the conditions that can lead to family violence, and trapping people in violent homes. Anti-Poverty Week reported that 13% of women who left a violent partner returned because they did not have money or adequate financial support.

We therefore ask the House to raise all income support payments to at least the Henderson poverty line.

from 2,766 citizens (Petition No. EN4488)

This petition has been considered by the Petitions Committee and found to be in order. It features 2,766 signatures of people who are calling attention to the sad state of income support in this country, where the JobSeeker payment is 45 per cent below the latest poverty line and youth allowance is 56 per cent below the poverty line.

Countries should be judged not on how they reward the wealthiest but on how they care for the poorest. Poverty is a political choice. It's a choice that governments make, and the ramifications of this choice are far-reaching and devastating, not just for individuals and families but for our society and economy as a whole. High rates of poverty mean more people struggling, higher rates of mental health issues and anxiety, less money to spend in local businesses and economies, and an unjust nation as a result. It is in the interests of all of us in this place and across this country, regardless of background or economic class, to eradicate poverty. In a wealthy nation like ours, nobody on income support should be regularly skipping meals because they cannot afford to eat. We need to work towards a guaranteed livable income, starting with raising the rate of JobSeeker and other income support payments to above the poverty line.