Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. One in eight Australians are currently living in poverty with, according to the Grattan Institute, payments currently received by those under our JobSeeker programs being among the lowest in the OECD. In their advice to government ahead of the federal budget, the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recommended the government commit to a substantial increase in the base rates of JobSeeker and related working-age payments. What analysis did the government undertake in consideration of this recommendation that led them to choose not to act on the recommendation in the most recent budget?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the honourable member for North Sydney for her question. We, obviously, take very seriously the recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. I think, from memory—and the relevant minister will correct me if I'm wrong—that we're acting or progressing on about half the recommendations of that really important, well-regarded and well-respected committee.

In the last budget, we increased in a permanent way the JobSeeker rate. In this budget, we went for another increase to Commonwealth rent assistance, which was recommended by the EIAC, and we made other changes as well, consistent with the recommendations of that body. What we have tried to do, Mr Speaker, and to the member for North Sydney, over the course of our three budgets is to provide cost-of-living help where we can, especially for the most vulnerable: two increases to Commonwealth rent assistance, an increase to JobSeeker and changing the parenting payment single—a whole range of changes that we have made.

I acknowledge that there are people in the sector, important people who we respect and listen to very closely, who would like us to go further and faster—I do acknowledge that, and I acknowledged that at the ACOSS gathering on Friday as well. I have immense respect for the community groups and leaders who are calling for even bigger increases to social security. As a Labor government, we will always look to do what we can to help people who are doing it especially tough. From memory, the expansion of the safety net, depending on what payment you're on, is somewhere between $1,500 and $3,000 a year since we came to office. I acknowledge that when it comes to the working age payments, about a third of that is us and about two-thirds of it is indexation, but when it comes to rent assistance about two-thirds is us and one-third of that is indexation.

That's a long way of saying to the honourable member that we will continue to do what we can to help people who are doing it tough. We have made some progress, but we acknowledge in the members' question and in all of the engagement that the minister and I do with the sector that there is an appetite to go further. What we have shown, I think, in the course of our three budgets is a willingness to do that where we can.