Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

For every job, there are six people trying to exist on income support in some areas. In those areas of most disadvantage, where there are fewer jobs, it is one in 10. That is the reality for people trying to exist on income support allowances—not pensions but allowances. Those people need this payment just as much as those that are going to receive it.

As I said, we will be supporting this bill, but we do need to recognise that there is a significant proportion of people that are trying to exist on income support, that are doing it really tough out there and who will not be receiving this additional money. These are also the people that the government keeps trying to vilify. Just this week Minister Tudge was out there vilifying certain suburbs in this country, trying to demonise those people again. In my home state of Western Australia he was trying to do it the same as he was doing it in New South Wales, in Queensland and in Victoria. He was continuing that campaign of denigrating people that are trying to get by on Newstart or on youth allowance.